Connolly savours remarkable Derry turnaround

By Niall Keenan at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.

For Mark Connolly, the past six months have been quite a journey.

Back in May, the Clones native was still a professional footballer, having helped Coleraine lift the Irish Cup before bringing the curtain down on his playing days when an opportunity he "couldn't turn down" arose.

Fast forward to November and Connolly has added another major honour to his collection, this time from the dugout, after leading Derry City to FAI Cup glory at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday.

It is a remarkable change in circumstances for the 34-year-old, who returned to the Brandywell initially as Director of Football before being asked to take charge of the team on an interim basis.

And while the former Derry captain has experienced plenty of highs throughout a career spanning England, Scotland and Ireland, he admits the latest achievement will take some time to sink in.

"It's crazy. It won't sink in for a while that I was a player with Coleraine in May, and this has just happened," he reflected in his press conference after Sunday's victory over Waterford.

"It's absolutely incredible. Just so proud. Lot of emotions around the club, around the season we've had which hasn't been good and then sort of the back end of the season, the change in results obviously but just the togetherness in the club.

"I've just had a chat with the players there and it was real emotion, real, real emotion but happy tears now that we've lifted a trophy.

For Connolly, the achievement carries particular significance given the challenges he has faced since returning to the club.

Management

Having initially taken up a position behind the scenes, the former defender found himself thrust into the managerial spotlight, with the responsibility of trying to turn around a difficult campaign.

It was an opportunity he admits arrived earlier than anticipated, but one he embraced after being offered the chance to return to a club and city with which he has such strong connections.

The former Monaghan minor has spoken previously about his ambitions to move into management, having completed his UEFA A Licence, but was surprised by how quickly he ended up in the dugout.

Looking back on the journey, he acknowledged the difficulties of the past few months and the satisfaction of seeing his work rewarded.

"It's been a really tough year," he said.

"It's been a tough, long number of months for myself coming back to the club just trying to get stuff back in place, trying to get the good times back, get the city back on side."

While the celebrations at the Aviva Stadium were shared by thousands of Derry supporters, Connolly's own sense of achievement was rooted in the response of those around him.

Asked what gave him the greatest pride, he pointed towards the happiness among the players, staff and supporters following a difficult period.

"The biggest pride I take, and I'm being honest here, is that there is a lot of happy faces, a lot of people smiling and that's staff members, that's players and that's I don't know how many thousand Derry fans," he explained.

"Them singing at the end and the faces of all the parents and kids and all the people that came was incredible and that's probably the biggest thing that I will take pride in is bringing them a sense of happiness and pride back to the city."

It was a fitting reward for someone who has experienced the demands of professional football from both sides of the touchline.

Connolly's playing career took him from his native Monaghan to Wolves, before spells in England, Scotland and Ireland, with his time at Derry bringing some of the most memorable moments.

He lifted the FAI Cup as a player for the Candystripes in 2022, having returned home from across the water, and believes that occasion remains the greatest day of his playing career.

Sunday's triumph has given him a different perspective on what it means to be involved in a cup-winning team.

"2022 was incredible. I came back home from being across the water and you win an FAI Cup, and it was the best day of my career," he recalled.

"I played in some big games in England and Scotland but without a doubt it was the best day in my career and now this is the best day of my non-playing career."

Future

There is also plenty of work ahead, with Connolly now tasked with helping Derry appoint a permanent manager and building on the momentum generated by their cup success.

He believes the club has a strong group of players and plenty of positives to build upon, with qualification for European football next season another incentive.

"Whoever it is coming in, is coming into an outstanding group of footballers and a team that's going to be playing Europa League football next season and something to build on," he said.

"There is a lot of good things happening at the club, infrastructure, loads of things happening so it's important that we kick on and it's exciting.”

For now, though, the Monaghan man can allow himself a moment to reflect on an achievement that few could have predicted when he was still lining out as a player earlier in the year.

Connolly has never been short of sporting ambition. Growing up in Clones, he divided his time between soccer, Gaelic football, golf and hurling, eventually following his footballing ambitions across the water.

His journey has now brought him back to the League of Ireland in an entirely different capacity, with another FAI Cup winners' medal to show.

And while he joked that his immediate plans involved a meeting the following morning before heading to the pub, the longer-term challenge is already firmly in his sights.

The former Clones youngster who once dreamed of playing at St Tiernach's Park has now experienced success on some of the biggest stages in Irish football.

From May's Irish Cup triumph with Coleraine to lifting the FAI Cup as Derry manager, the past six months have provided a reminder of just how quickly football can change.

As Connolly himself reflected: "You never know what will happen in life. You genuinely won't."