Looking north, towards Armagh

Maitiú Monaghan

So, we’ve white smoke on a new Monaghan manager. John McEntee, freshly departed from a four-year stint with Inniskeen, he has been promoted to his first job in inter-county management.

To paraphrase a saying from that part of the world; ‘Eternally we look north, towards Armagh.’

No doubt that the bucketful of Celtic crosses that McEntee brings with him will endear him to the Monaghan faithful.

Playing for Armagh, McEntee won the Anglo-Celt Cup six times, and Sam Maguire once. For his native Crossmaglen, he won 14 county titles, eight Ulster Championships, and five All-Irelands.

McEntee’s appointment is also the first time Monaghan have gone for an outside manager since September 2012, when Malachy O’Rourke was ratified by the county board.

For weeks there’s been speculation about how the search for Gabriel Bannigan’s replacement was going.

Many names were floated across club grounds and in WhatsApp groups, with some media reporting that Seamus ‘Banty’ McEnaney was in the running for the job.

Meanwhile, there was silence from Cloghan, as the Conclave went through its processes.

That changed last Saturday, when all the talk of McEntee’s appointment dominated chat before Clones played Ballybay in the Intermediate semi-final.

For what it's worth, I view McEntee’s appointment as a real statement of intent from Monaghan GAA.

Last season, McEntee’s native Armagh beat Monaghan after extra-time in the Ulster Final. In response, Monaghan have brought in someone who knows the competition inside and out.

Next year, it will be 12 years since Monaghan last climbed the steps of the Gerry Arthurs Stand.

Those in Inniskeen would remind us that we do, after all, live in important times, where great events were decided.

Promotion

As well as McEntee, Aghabog, Ballybay, and Donaghmoyne are also taking a big step up next season.

It was particularly great to see Aghabog get promoted. The club were left wondering who and when they’d be playing in their Junior Football Championship quarter-final, before beating Truagh in a quarter-final on a Tuesday night.

After just a five-day turnaround, they beat local rivals Currin in the semi-final with a dominant performance.

It has been 23 years since the Bog last contested a Championship final- when they beat Doohamlet in the 2003 IFC final and briefly went up to Senior.

While most of the country is lamenting rural decline, Aghabog seem to be defying the odds. This year, they entered a third team for the first time, registering 46 players at the beginning of the season.

Such commitment from an entire parish has paid off, and they will be keen to return to Intermediate as Champions, with only Drumhowan standing in their way.

Aghabog weren’t the only ones who celebrated promotion last weekend- although there’s was by far the most well received.

In Intermediate, Ballybay and Donaghmoyne both secured returns to Senior, as well as setting up a mouthwatering IFC decider in a fortnight’s time.

I was on the line for Clones as Ballybay pulled away in the second half for a comprehensive victory.

Under any other circumstances, it would’ve been a joy to watch Shane McGuinness rack up 3-7 for Ballybay. As it was, all I felt was begrudging respect as I dutifully tallied up his scores, like the band who played on while the Titanic sank.

They’ll take some stopping in the final, Ballybay. With Dessie Ward, Thomas Kerr, the DuPlessis’, and the McGuinness brothers, the spine of their team is as daunting as an iceberg.

It would be remiss of me not to mention The Celt’s analyst Michael Hannon, who started for Ballybay, and put in an excellent performance.

Donaghmoyne were the other promoted side, the south Monaghan team overcame a scare from Emyvale to clinch their place in the decider.

What a final that will be, with Donaghmoyne’s Davy Garland, Liam McDonald, and Stephen Finnegan more than capable of toppling Ballybay.

Either way, it bodes well for Monaghan football ahead of the Ulster Intermediate Club Championships. Carrickmacross were beaten finalists last year, I’d back either side to go one step further.

The flip side of the coin is that some teams will suffer the heartbreak of relegation. This time around it was Stephen Mooney’s Cremartin who fell short, after losing to Magheracloone last weekend.

In order to survive, the Shamrocks had to beat Magheracloone twice; in the Championship play-off, and in the overall relegation play-off. Such is the doggedness of their side, no one was willing to ultimately rule them out.

However, it proved too great a task, and Magheracloone were able to sign off their season with a bitter-sweet win- they will feel they should have been competing for silverware.

Finally, Eire Óg have kept the IFC on its toes. The Smithborough club are in the same position as Cremartin, needing to beat Tyholland twice to avoid the drop.

So far so good for them, winning the first game in dramatic fashion last weekend to set up a do-or-die clash in the final game.

After that, all the rest can exit stage left. We’ve got two finals in a fortnight’s time: Drumhowan vs Aghabog in the Junior and Ballybay vs Donaghmoyne in the Intermediate.

But that can wait, this weekend is all about Scotstown and Truagh.