The Andy Merrigan and Tommy Moore Cups could be closer than they’ve been in decades come Sunday evening.
The clubhouses of Glen and Dunloy, who are in the All-Ireland club football and hurling finals respectively, are barely 30km apart and there is a certain kinship between the two.
In the history of the All-Ireland club series, only when Cork city teams were at their zenith in the 1970s have the two winning clubs been closer. Nemo Rangers and Glen Rovers (1973) are separated by 7km, while Blackrock and Nemo (1979) are just 4km apart.
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Even though Salthill-Knocknacarra and Portumna completed a Galway double in 2006, they operate in very different hinterlands, some 70km apart on the western and eastern wings of the county respectively.
“It's nice that Dunloy are playing in the hurling final,” says Glen captain Connor Carville.
“There would be a lot of links between Dunloy and Maghera with people married in. My girlfriend is from Dunloy actually. It's only 20-odd miles away from Maghera. She's buzzing as well and so are her family. She's getting a half-and-half jersey made for Sunday.
“They're hurling-mad up there and it's a coincidence as well that it's green and yellow for Dunloy and green and yellow for Glen. There's a buzz about and it's nice for family members and stuff to have that thing to look forward to as well."
Albeit their first final in 19 years, Dunloy folk are far more accustomed to Croke Park visits, with Sunday’s joust with Ballyhale Shamrocks their sixth decider (including a draw and a replay in 1995) in less than 30 years.
Glen, meanwhile, only won their first ever Derry title little more than a year ago.
“Winning a county title was our big aim,” Carville acknowledges. “We probably didn't allow ourselves to think very far beyond that.
“I suppose once we won that first one last year, you were thinking, 'Right, where can we go here?' All that we want to do is try to realise our potential. It has got us this far and we'll see if it can take us any further.”
Their current lofty standing didn’t come about by chance. A concerted effort was made some years ago to raise standards and develop a particular style of play across all grades, with Carville part of a generation of players that reaped the benefits at underage level.
"There was a long period where Glen didn't win anything and there were times when there was a big drop-off at underage,” he explains. “A few insightful and foresightful men had the vision to realise that it had to change.
“They sat down together, put together underage structures and decided that Glen would play a certain way. They looked at some of the best teams in Ireland and I think they took a lot of inspiration from the likes of Crossmaglen, who had won all round them at club level.
“There was a lot of effort put in at underage level and thankfully it started to bear fruit. We won the Derry Féile, under-14, in 2008 and it was probably the first time in a number of years that we had won anything.
“That team went on to win an Under-16 Ulster Club Championship and the following year we won the first of four Ulster minors and three Ulster under-21s followed that.
“It sort of snowballed from there and it probably took a while to get going at senior level, but that was the story of how things happened."
In bringing it all together, the bonds that the players shared from an early age was a vital adhesive.
“I think a big factor was that a lot of the lads grew up together and would be very close with each other.
“I remember coming home from school, I'd fire the school bag away and run over to Emmett Bradley's house. Emmett, Ryan Dougan, Michael Warnock and myself would all be battering into each other in the backyard, playing football non-stop. We're all very competitive.
“Although we didn't realise it at the time, the same thing was happening elsewhere in the town as well in other estates.
“There's a row of about eight houses in Maghera called Hall Street, and probably five of our panel came from that row of houses. They were rattling into each other in their backyards as well.
“So aside from what was going on at the pitch, there was a lot going on in people's homes. You'd see lads walking about all the time with a ball in their hand.
“We had that competitiveness there as well. There are a lot of boys on the team who wouldn't like losing. If you beat them in a game of darts they wouldn't speak to you for 20 minutes.
“It was probably practising away from the pitch - even though we didn't realise it at the time because it was fun - coupled with the underage structures and that has worked well.”
With the acquisition of Malachy O’Rourke as manager and Conor Glass’s timely return from the AFL, everything came together in 2021.
"I suppose he [O’Rourke] just put all the jigsaw pieces together for us. He has brought a real calmness to us as well. We prepare really well for games and from there it's just about going out and performing.
“It was great to get Conor [Glass] back from Australia too. It just felt like all the jigsaw pieces were coming together at the right time.”
Read next:
- Allianz Football League fixtures: A complete guide to the 2023 season
Dunloy vs Ballyhale: Gregory O’Kane offers injury update ahead of All-Ireland decider
Glen vs Kilmacud: Crokes captain Shane Cunningham defends Shane Walsh transfer
- GAA fans fume at price rise as Football and Hurling League tickets go on sale
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