Owen Lennon and Conor McManus lift the Anglo Celt Cup.
By Cian O’Connell
It started with a Monaghan burst. One that had been talked about and planned for weeks. Monaghan just knew the importance of a good start in this particular game.
The summer of 2012 showcased Donegal’s power and strength. A glorious ability to seize the initiative forcing teams to chase games meant Donegal frequently played matches setting the agenda.
That is why Monaghan were so focused on producing at the outset. To have a chance of claiming a first Ulster crown in 25 years a Monaghan statement needed to be made early on.
So Monaghan thundered into the contest. Four points were scored in seven minutes. In Clones, the Farney Army knew that small battles had to be won. Reigning All Ireland champions Donegal were vexed, failing to score for 30 minutes. With Donegal ailing Monaghan knew that an historic victory was possible.
Monaghan kicked four points in the first seven minutes to take control.
“It was a thing we really focused on for that game, getting a good start,” the well regarded Monaghan captain Owen Lennon recalls. “In 2012 Donegal just had a great year – we looked at it, we studied long and hard.
“The biggest thing they did we found was they were really good at protecting a lead. For that reason we just targeted getting them out of that defensive system.
“In a way we had a new team compared to them and maybe in a way they weren’t really sure what to expect from us. Getting the four points on the board in the first seven minutes was exactly what we wanted. We knew that we had a great chance then.”
By the time the interval rolled around Monaghan’s advantage stood at 0-5 to 0-2. Suddenly all sorts of questions were being posed.
Donegal attempted to summon a response, but Monaghan had generated sufficient momentum to close out the game with commendable composure.
Monaghan manager Malachy O Rourke.
Lennon, who was in his 12th campaign in 2013, felt that Monaghan’s campaign had been simmering nicely under the stewardship of Malachy O’Rourke.
“A lot of things came together for us, we had a top class manager, we had targeted the League and we wanted to get promoted from Division Three.
“Things just rolled along nicely for us, we won the League and in our Championship games, I know it is a cliché, but we took it step by step in Ulster.
“Thankfully it finished well in Ulster. It had been something that we had been building towards for a very long time.
“Looking back I think we took encouragement from how we did in 2007 and 2008. We always felt that we had the players, but we didn’t get across the line. In the 2007 Ulster Final we were well beaten, it was a sore point.”
Owen Lennon celebrates.
The search for provincial silverware lingered on, but there was always hope in Lennon’s heart so being the captain on such an absorbing afternoon was a special feat. “Yeah, it was a massive honour. We were lucky the way everything fell for us in 2013, the older players that stayed on gelled very well with some of the younger lads, we had a good mix.
“For years we had nothing to show for our efforts really. A couple of the older lads would have spoken and got together, we knew that 2013 offered another shot.”
Monaghan had announced their arrival as a serious force in the game, but the 2015 Ulster Final triumph cemented their status according to Lennon.
“It was great to win in 2013 make no mistake about it. Still we probably had been listening to stuff like ‘we caught them on the hop’ type comments.
“Any source of motivation you can get you hone in on. To get credit, the only way was to do it again and we used that as motivation.”
Conor McManus scored three points for Monaghan.
Two Ulster titles in his last three years on the inter-county beat was a satisfactory conclusion to a fine career for Lennon. “I suppose it was a massive thing alright,” Lennon reflects. “I can remember when Dickie (Clerkin) and myself were starting out we were in Division Three and Four so it was a long step up from that.
“Once you get big games in the Championship you get a taste for it, we always wanted it, and the guys that came in did too.”
At the start of 2016 Lennon announced his retirement, but a managerial role with Latton has been quickly embraced.
Not being involved with Monaghan on the week of an Ulster semi-final is a strange experience for Lennon. “I suppose when the Championship started you’d really start to miss the small things. The build up, the banter on the bus. Just small things like that, you probably feel you miss out in a way.
Jim McGuinness had guided Donegal to All Ireland glory in 2012.
“Getting your body ready, your head and your body. It is different now, but as time goes on and it has only been a short while you can deal with it.
“The decision was taken out of my hands in a way because I’m not able to play anymore, I was advised to give up, but I’m grateful for what I got with Monaghan.” A county will always remember his diligent service to the cause, especially the day when they walked on the famous Hill as Ulster kings again.
