Glen's All-Ireland victory was one borne of time and belief!

Just after eleven o’clock on Sunday night, the Glen bus pulled into Maghera. Within minutes, Andy Merrigan was the tallest person in the throngs of their celebrations. 

In their Watty rollercoaster world, the latest and most glorious hour was now very, very real. 

Every set of eyes in their packed hall were fixated on the most precious piece of club football silver in the land. 

Twelve months after stuttering ahead of the finish line in their first ever final, Glen were now top of the pile. This was redemption with a capital r.  

Before Sunday, Bellaghy, Lavey and Ballinderry were the only Derry clubs to have a star on their jersey, a symbolism of All-Ireland champions. 

Glen now have that licence to have it emblazoned above their crest. They’d been granted access to that exclusive club. 

Their late night official homecoming parade, up through the town, was put on ice until Monday, in the interests of safety in the eye of a storm.  

They’d waited long enough for this moment. One more day wasn’t going to make any difference. 

Like last year, when the eyes of Ireland awaited their response to the Kilmacud extra man controversy, Glen were going to make sure their glory lap would be without blemish. 

On Sunday night, friends, family and club members, still collectively flocked to give their heroes the warmest of welcomes. 

Walking through the throngs, Glen’s all-conquering heroes would’ve felt 12 feet ball. 

But it wasn’t always this way and everyone present could relate to decades of underachievement before a three-year spell that has changed their club forever. 

In the mid-noughties, Glen failed to field a minor team for a couple of seasons. That’s impossible to fathom when you think of their total dominance of the grade across Ulster over within a decade. 

In that same dark window, their U-12s came a cropper against Lissan in ‘C’ level to provide another reason for a deep clean. 

Despite plenty of chimney pots, numbers at the youngest ages were becoming as scarce as money in the coffers. 

Their club house was in need of a bit of love. In so many ways, they were surviving from hand to mouth. 

It was time for change. Meetings were called. It was back to basics.  

Proper foundations were needed. Not on sand, but on the concrete of enlisting people on coaching courses to bring through a promising group of players. And it needed done properly. 

The mechanics of kicking were important. So too were coordination and perfection in the tackle. The mantra, coach lads the basics and the rest would take care of itself. 

A glut of underage success followed. At the other end of the scale, at senior level, the dam eventually burst and relegation cut deep. 

Ah, sure they’d win the intermediate championship. But they didn’t. 

When they did climb back at the top flight, they could only watch as Ballinderry, Coleraine and Slaughtneil polished the John McLaughlin Cup. 

Getting to their first senior final, against Magherafelt in 2019, was another step up the ladder, yet another false dawn. 

Then, it was back on the horse only for another fall on the receiving end of another hammering 12 months later at the hands of their neighbours. 

It was another crossroads. 

What next? In poker terms, Glen then went all-in with a hand that now included Conor Glass. Malachy O’Rourke was sounded out. He took the job. Ryan Porter came on board too. 

The rest is history. The Wattys have been a beacon of consistency since. John McLaughlin will wear green and gold ribbons for third winter. 

They’ve lost two championship games since - both to the eventual All-Ireland champions Kilcoo and Kilmacud Crokes. 

A stray ball on the field forced Connlan Bradley to retake a kick-out they’d already taken possession from. He got too much right hand side on the retake. Ryan Dougan slipped. The ball squirmed loose and Jerome Johnston’s bullet to the net delivered an extra-time turning point. 

It was the same story of inches last year. Glen played better than they give themselves credit for against Kilmacud and despite missing chances at crucial times; it was Conor Ferris who denied Conor Glass a winning goal. 

Fast forward to Sunday morning. On the back of ousting the Crokes in the semi-final, every column inch and soundbite backed up the fact that Croke Park was a victory procession St Brigid’s earned an invitation to. 

And it was hard to argue against it. Finding someone who didn’t fancy Glen to complete the job was impossible. Only 2013 St Brigid’s All-Ireland winning ‘keeper Shane Curran put his hand up. 

His argument was based on three non-footballing reasons. First, bus driver Rodney Gallagher might not know his north from his south around Dublin. 

The luxurious Johnston House would struggle to rustle up a spot of breakfast like the Glen mammies around home and, sure, it’s hard to beat sleeping in your own bed. 

Glen were unbackable favourites for anyone looking value in a Sunday punt. 

The Watty mood at the Applegreen pit stops and the watering holes around Dublin was consistent. Nerves were jangling everywhere and the words of pregame chatter seemed like therapy.  

They’d never get a better chance. Many travelled in hope last year. Now there was pressure to win. Expectation does that.  

References were made to Clann na nGael of Roscommon not being able to apply the gloss despite reaching five finals in eight years. Slaughtneil should’ve won it in 2017. 

Their confidence in a group of players was mixed by the nervous energy of coming up the road with their tail between their legs again. 

They didn’t need to say it, but a second sucker punch might’ve been one kick in the teeth too many. 

Sure the weather would be a leveller. The chat continued. Ben O’Carroll and Brian Stack would get on any team. The northern team always needs a performance convincing enough to take a questionable refereeing decision out of the equation.  

Sunday was about one thing and one thing only - finishing the job. 

Jack Doherty joined Danny McDermott on the injured list. Eunan Mulholland had a calf injury that lasted 25 minutes. As he walked over the whitewash, Glen’s hopes were already crumbling.  

Older brother Cathal’s black card saw Glen down to 14 men for 10 minutes of the final quarter, the spell when they’d suffocated other championship contenders in. 

They’d also lost their leader Connor Carville to injury. Winning from here was a tall order. 

In the end, it all came down to Conor Glass. Whatever hole in the dam that need plugged, he pulled up his ladder. 

Three first-half interceptions when Glen’s house was down. He kicked a 45 when it needed kicked. He flung himself at everthing in the middle sector. Some stuck. Some didn’t. Backward steps weren’t welcome. He just had the cut of man who was born for Sunday. 

By the time his father Cathal brought him to Glen underage, he was kicking off both feet and could catch the ball whatever way it came. 

Shooting the breeze at Sunday night’s homecoming, Eamonn Higgins recalled how Glass was able to step back and perform those core catch and kick components.  

Up against a wall, he execute to perfection, before moving a metre further away. Further perfection was followed by stepping back another metre. 

While still at primary school, Glass was playing at full-back against a Claregalway Féile team containing 15 strapping lads in their final year. 

As a midfielder in his own age, those days at full-back armed him with the defensive instinct that closed down St Brigid’s on those three separate first half moments. He does it in his sleep now. 

Sunday was just his time. This is what he came home from Australia for and the day Glen people clung to during the dark days. 

Glass, underrated by many, has had his own tough moments. The David Gough Hogan Cup red card he later had rightly rescinded. 

There were others. Coming up short against Kerry last year. Watching Conor Ferris turning his shot around the post to deny him the fairy-tale finish Sunday delivered. 

He landed a point off the left on Sunday when Glen were looking for a spark. The early days kicking off the wall served him well. And that’s before you even dip into the goal that changed absolutely everything.  

The pace with while Ethan Doherty strode with seconds later signified Glen’s new life. Conleth McGuckian and Conor Convery continued to throw themselves on anything that moved. 

Warnock broke loose to kick a wonder point that offered their final lifeline. And, all the while, Ryan Dougan had Ben O’Carroll on a tight leash. 

Add in Cathal Mulholland’s block on O’Carroll after spending 10 minutes of reflection in the sin bin. 

With the finish line in sight, Glen were now top dogs and Glass bagging the goal was the glue that ensured there was a puzzle in need of that final piece. 

The sight of him shedding a tear after expending everything he had told it all. 

Glen saved their messiest and most error ridden performance for the day when their chance or landing the biggest prize was at its greatest.  

When the Andy Merrigan Cup was carried into Glen club on Sunday night, the manner of their win didn’t matter one iota. 

Glen will have a star on their jersey when they begin the defence of their Derry, Ulster and All-Ireland titles later this year. 

After taking last year’s final debacle on the chin, they are Kings of Ireland. The days of not being able to field a minor team are a million miles away. As for these days, to quote Connor Carville, these are the days of  their lives.