Connolly: 'Sports was my life growing up in Clones'

Niall Keenan

For Mark Connolly, sport was never simply something to do. It was a way of life.

Growing up in Clones, the now Derry City interim manager would always have a football or an O’Neills in his hands, with a golf club or a hurley never too far away.

“Sports was just my life growing up in Clones,” Connolly recalls.

“My mother and father pushed me and anything I done; I loved it.”

Whatever the sport, Connolly wanted to have a go, and there was little danger of the 34-year-old spending his childhood sitting still.

He played soccer with Clones, Lisnaskea Rovers in Fermanagh, Monaghan United and Dundalk schoolboys and would go “anywhere” to play, while also playing Gaelic football with Clones.

“I was quite addicted to it. Once I started something, I got really addicted to it,” he says.

“I was always practicing, whether that be going out to the back of the house and kicking a ball up against the wall. I'd probably do maybe an hour or so soccer and then an hour or so Gaelic.

“I'd have a golf club in my hand later, or I'd have a hurley in my hand. I was always doing something.”

That sporting upbringing would eventually take Connolly far beyond his native Monaghan, but one of his most vivid memories remains much closer to home.

He grew up walking past St Tiernach's Park, dreaming of one day playing there.

In 2008, that dream became reality when Connolly lined out for his county in the Ulster Minor Football Championship final against Tyrone.

He scored two points that day, but the Farneymen ultimately came up short, losing 0-13 to 0-10 to a Red Hands outfit that featured Kyle Coney, Peter Harte and Mattie Donnelly.

The former Kilmarnock captain can still picture the occasion.

“I grew up walking past St. Tiernach’s Park to go down to what we used to call ‘Coyle’s Field’ (now the Peacelink), you used to always think, ‘Jeez, imagine playing an Ulster final in there.’

“Again, only minors, but I got to play one. I didn't get the chance to get back and play a senior one. I'm too far gone for that now.”

That Monaghan minor side contained several players who would go on to enjoy distinguished careers, including Kieran Hughes, Kieran Duffy and Colin Walshe, while Connolly ultimately followed a different sporting path.

“It was a strong minor team. The boys went on and were so successful,” he says.

“I've always watched from afar and I know sometimes you're away at soccer, but you always think, ‘Jesus, imagine you’d have stayed, you would have won an Ulster.’

“I'm delighted for them. They've been incredible. Top, top boys. Serious footballers.”

Playing soccer for Monaghan United gave him the platform to catch the attention of clubs across the water, and he took the major decision to leave home and join Wolves — a move he admits was a huge risk.

“You don't really know what will come from it or what will happen,” he says.

“It was a big risk because you go over there and if it doesn't work and it doesn't go the way you want it to go and then you're back home.

“Once I went over there, I wanted to make a career and have a career.”

He did exactly that.

A professional career spanning England, Scotland and Ireland followed, eventually bringing him to Derry City, where he won the FAI Cup in 2022 and later captained the club.

Now, after stepping away from playing, Connolly has found himself back at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium in an entirely different role.

He initially returned as Director of Football before being asked to step into the dugout as interim manager, an opportunity he admits arrived sooner than expected.

“I'd say being interim manager has come a wee bit earlier than I would have expected in my career,” he says.

“Maybe down the line, but certainly it's been a massive learning curve and something that I've really, really enjoyed.”

Management

Connolly had already been preparing for a future in management, completing his B license and UEFA A license this year.

“It definitely showed me now that in years to come it's potentially something that I would like to look into,” he says.

For now, he is juggling the interim manager's role with his Director of Football responsibilities.

“There's a serious amount of work,” he says.

“You're not just dealing with the players; you're dealing with staff, you're dealing with the football club, you're dealing with everything that comes with it.

“It's not really a Monday to Friday job. It's a seven-day-a-week job, and you're taking calls, and you're speaking to people at any stage at any time.”

His wife, he admits with a smile, isn't entirely thrilled with the new workload.

Having been a player and captain until the end of the 2025 season, Connolly's familiarity with the Derry dressing room is an advantage, but the ex-Coleraine and Dundalk centre-back says the relationship between player and manager still requires honesty.

“You know what way these boys tick,” he says.

“You know what they want, you know what they need. There's respect there on both ends, and just being honest and straight with them.”

That relationship will be put to the test this weekend when Derry travel to Galway United for an FAI Cup semi-final, with a place in the decider at the Aviva Stadium awaiting the winners.

He has experienced the pressure and excitement of the competition as a player, winning the Cup with Derry in 2022 before featuring in another final two years later.

But preparing for a semi-final from the dugout is a very different experience.

“As a player you kind of just switch off once you've won the quarter-final,” he says.

“Whereas when you're a manager and you're doing all that stuff, it's a lot of watching back games, watching through stuff, trying to get the training right for the build-up to the semi-final.”

Derry have had a three-week break because of the international window, leaving Connolly and his staff to keep the squad sharp, and there will be no complacency from Connolly’s men ahead of the trip west.

“Galway's an extremely tough team, an extremely good team,” he says.

“John Coffey's teams are always very, very well-structured, hard-working and hard to play against.”

But the prize is obvious.

“A semi-final in any cup is amazing, because you know you're one win away from a final,” he says.

“So, it's an exciting time for everyone involved in the club.”

His career has taken him across the Irish Sea and back again, from playing professionally to captaining Derry and now attempting to lead the club back to the biggest day in the Irish soccer calendar from the sideline.

Through it all, though, one thing has remained constant.

“My life is sport,” Connolly says.

“If there's a GAA match on TV, I'll be watching it. If there's a hurling match, a soccer match, or the golf on a Sunday, I'm just sports mad.”

“I've gone down that route in sport and, luckily enough, I've been able to make a career out of it.”