By Cian O’Connell

These are exciting times for Coolera-Strandhill. A first Sligo SFC title captured since 2005 ensures Coolera-Strandhill head for the provincial stage heartened.

Sunday’s AIB Connacht Club SFC Quarter-Final against Roscommon standard bearers St Brigid’s at Dr Hyde Park will be a demanding assignment. Coolera-Strandhill, though, are relishing the challenge with joint manager Enda Mitchell delighted to be involved in competitive action in the closing months of the year.

Football is on the agenda most of the time for the highly regarded Mitchell, who was an integral part of Paul Henry’s backroom team with an accomplished Sligo U20 outfit. Sligo triumphed in Connacht before losing an All-Ireland decider to Kildare. After the inter-county campaign ended Mitchell was straight back into club duty.

For nearly two decades Mitchell has helped out with teams in Coolera-Strandhill. Coaching always interested him because people are ready, willing, and able to assist in the club. “A lot of work has gone on at underage level, I was involved as a player the last time we won it, I'm joint manager now with Adrian McPartland, both of us were coaching underage teams in the club from a young enough age,” Mitchell explains.

“I'm only 39, Aido is only 38, from 20 or 21 we got involved with teams. Some of the lads on the team now, we would have coached them as U16s or minors. We wouldn't be a club for winning a lot of underage titles, but that is starting to change.

“I think we have focused more on trying to keep lads involved, rather than going all out for success. Sometimes we know we probably can't get that success. We just try to keep lads involved as much as possible.”

That long term approach has worked well for Coolera-Strandhill. Winning the Sligo senior title last month mattered deeply. “There is a great buzz,” Mitchell says. “For us, we have been very close in the last few years to doing it.

“We came up against Tourlestrane, who I suppose were a machine in Sligo. They were going for their eighth this year, they had won seven in a row.

“They beat us in two of those finals, with semi-finals and stuff we have always been there or thereabouts. It was nice to get across the line this year, as a management it is our fourth year involved, it was nice to finally get there.”

Resilience had to be demonstrated, but Mitchell and McPartland always believed that silverware could be secured again at the highest level in the county. “We got a bit of hope last year, we won the Division One title for the first time in the club's history,” he says.

“That probably showed that we can do it, that we had good enough players. It boosted some of our good U20s coming into the panel, they pushed on the lads a bit further. We always knew we had a good enough panel to do it, but it was just a case of going and doing it.”

Coolera-Strandhill now hope to make an impact in Connacht. There is plenty of sporting ability in the panel so Mitchell is looking forward to the next challenge. “It is nice, but we are going there to be as competitive as we can,” Mitchell responds.

“We look around our dressing room, we have two lads that have won club All-Irelands, Luke Bree with St Vincent's and Ross O'Carroll with Kilmacud.

“We have lads that have been there in terms of club championship and we also Jonathan Cassidy from Carrick-on-Shannon, who played in numerous provincial games.

“There is that bit of experience with young lads, who played in an All-Ireland final with the Sligo U20s. Then you add in the likes of Niall Murphy, Kealan Cawley, and Peter Laffey, who are playing for Sligo at senior level for years. We have a lot of guys with experience despite the young age of some of the lads.”

Undoubtedly coaching is a significant commitment, but Mitchell embraces the chaos. “I do enjoy it, my wife mightn't be as happy because I've two kids under two so I'm out of the house a lot,” he says.

“I've been coaching Coolera for years, I was head coach with the Sligo minors in 2021 and the Sligo U20s this year. So the seasons have all rolled into each other.

“I got involved first really with the club and I was coaching St Mary's, Edenderry in Offaly when I was teaching there. I won an All-Ireland with them at junior level, I was trying to progress myself as much as I could, to push myself too, I suppose.”

Momentum has been generated by Sligo. Tony McEntee’s clever work with the senior team provides a dash of hope, while work continues to be carried out in the underage ranks. Ultimately there is positivity about Sligo football. “A lot of that comes down to the work being done in the Academy structure in Sligo,” Mitchell acknowledges.

“Currently we are looking at picking a panel for the U20s in 2024, you're looking at more than 100 guys which wouldn't be the norm for a county like us. In the past they were maybe persuading guys to play, so that has been a big turnaround.

“Summerhill getting to the Hogan Cup final and St Attracta's getting to an All-Ireland semi-final in the B just showed, that for a county not seeing as traditional in the GAA, if the work goes in, it can pay off in the end.

“If you look at the club championship, the crowds at the games have gone up so there is a buzz about Sligo football. Even the seniors winning Division Four in the league last year, people can see the progress.

“It isn't going to happen overnight too, it could be five or six years down the road where we see the full fruits of it.”

Mitchell is occupying a central role in the Sligo revival.