St Nathy’s fully

GEORGE LEETCH knows the territory. When he was last in charge of St Nathy’s Ladies Footballers, two years ago, the progressive club won county and provincial honours.

That Connacht LGFA Intermediate Club Championship win was followed up a very close encounter in the AllIreland semi-final – St Nathy’s lost by a point to St Paul’s of Belfast. Leetch stepped back from the team last year – what a life-altering campaign that turned out to be. The arrival of Covid-19 put a pause on things as the importance of health, livelihoods and survival took over.

Sport, understandably, took a back seat. When restrictions were eased for some normal aspects of Irish life to return, St Nathy’s didn’t even have a full season due to a change in Sligo’s grading system for adult competitions. St Nathy’s, therefore, were deemed Sligo LGFA’s Senior Championship winners – without kicking a ball – and the county’s representatives in the Connacht LGFA Senior Club Championship. Their only competitive game in 2020 was a provincial semi-final against Roscommon’s Kilbride, an epic at Bunninadden Community Park that St Nathy’s won by four points.

But the return of lockdown put the final on hold. Now, over eight months later, the arrived.

James McDonagh was at the helm last year and now George Leetch is back in charge – with Saturday’s provincial final against Galway’s mighty Kilkerrin-Clonberne at Markievicz Park (7pm). The Mayo man is relishing this weekend’s challenge, however daunting it may appear.

“Being in the final is a big thing, but especially so for the players because I only came back into the role earlier this year.” “The funny thing is, when I took a step back from management in 2020, I only ended up missing one competitive game!” big day has

Eoin McDonagh has returned to the backroom as well.

“We’re not looking to reinvent the wheel – last year’s management put in a lot of work in a year that was disrupted as we all know.”

“They did incredibly well given the circumstances and they had a big panel to work with – the in-house games were very competitive.”

“The fact that the players knew they had at least one game in Connacht meant they had to keep their focus.”

He points out that had 2020 been a normal year – with no pandemic turning the world upside down – St

Last year, George Leetch, was named Club Coach of the Year at the LGFA National Volunteer Awards for 2019. He is pictured receiving the award from then LGFA president Marie Hickey.

Nathy’s could have picked up useful challenge games throughout the province and further afield.

Last weekend St Nathy’s had two games in the Sligo LGFA Senior League – a Division One and a Division Four fixture. Fielding two adult teams is another sign of how the club is developing. The first team scored 27 times against DrumcliffeRosses Point and the second XV lost to St Mary’s put still bagged 20 points (4-8).

“When I first got involved with the club in 2019 we had 24 players for the first team squad – at the start of this year those numbers had grown and we’re now just under the 50-mark.”

“Attendances have been good at training since we’ve been able to have collective outdoor training again and all the players have been putting in a big effort.”

“Having a Junior team allows us to accommodate players who may not be able to give a full commitment and this team is the pathway to bring younger players through, too.” “With the first team being so strong, with so many players on it well-established, it can be tough for players to break into that.”

“But I learned from my time in 2019 that you still need to have different options and to try new players where possible.” For the new kids on the block and the St Nathy’s veterans,