Gaughan is ready to lead once again

ACLUB doesn’t claim six successive titles, with a remarkable seven-in-arow just a win away, without having leadership.

Whatever the day, whoever the opposition are, however trying the circumstances – Tourlestrane have players who are willing to step up, get stuck in and deliver the goods.

Gary Gaughan is one of these invaluable leaders. He captains the south Sligo giants in Sunday’s decider against St Mary’s, having also had the honour of captaincy previously, including last year’s decider when he led the team, then managed by Gurteen’s Kevin Johnson, to a 2-12 to 0-7 win over Coolera-Strandhill. Tourlestrane’s title defence rests on them beating a resurgent St Mary’s, with Gary one of three Gaughan brothers – the others being Liam and Noel – that current boss Fergal O’Donnell will be delighted to rely on.

Gaughan, an industrious ball-carrying attacker, who continually unsettles opposition defences, expects to be available after sustaining an injury in the first-half of the recent county semi-final against Shamrock Gaels. The 33-year-old admits that he isn’t used to watching on from the sideline as his team-mates survived the intense challenge from Shamrock Gaels, with just two points separating the sides. He said: “We have a lot of experience – look at what the likes of Niall Egan did for us when he came on.”

Despite the number of titles won by

Tourlestrane – 17 in total, with 14 of these coming in the last 28 campaigns – these multiple medal winners remain humble. This group plays as if the next game will be their last. The ‘one game at a time’ mantra has been enshrined at

Tourlestrane GAA Club.

Nothing is taken for granted – Tourlestrane, like all clubs, have had their lean years. Between 1956 and 1994, almost four decades, they won the Sligo Senior Football Championship on just four occasions.

Gaughan, who played in his first Sligo Senior Football Championship final in 2007 (Tourlestrane beat Eastern Harps), is looking forward to Sunday’s showdown with as much enthusiasm as ever. He points out that the 30-somethings in the group have an obligation to set an example for the next generation of green and gold wearers coming through.

“We want to try to keep everyone motivated for the games in front of us – no-one knows what will happen in a year’s time or the seasons down the line. He continued: “For the young lads who are breaking through it is important that they get that sense of winning, what it means to represent this club, and want to bring that feeling on.

When the older players have gone, it will be these lads that will have to keep pushing on.”

When looking back to his first county medal, in 2007, he remarked on how

Tourlestrane were unpredictable over the subsequent campaigns.

Until the six-in-a-row phenomenon commenced in 2016, an achievement that has made Sligo GAA history, Tourlestrane were winning the big prize every two years – 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. They could seize the Owen B Hunt Cup, but not retain it. It wasn’t until 2017 that they became the first club since St Patrick’s to win back-to-back championships (the west Sligo’s feat was in 1988-89). “We had been there or thereabouts in a lot of those years but we wanted to be more consistent – if we won a title we wanted to really work at winning it the following year.”

Gaughan laughs when asked if Tourlestrane’s success is down to a secret formula. While their results suggest they are superheroes from a Marvel movie, Tourlestrane have been fortunate that a pool of unassuming players constantly put in the work.

“We just have been lucky to have a good group of lads there, not a lot of lads have retired – they’ve kept going.

He stated: “There are three or four lads coming through each year and they aren’t just there to be in the panel, they want to start games and that competition for places has kept the rest of us sharp and on our toes.”

There are also good club structures in place and excellent management teams – present boss Fergal O’Donnell is continuing the exceptional work of Eamonn O’Hara, Gerry McGowan and Kevin Johnson. Gaughan added: “We have to keep working – the likes of St Mary’s, Drumcliffe-Rosses Point, Coolera-Strandhill and Shamrock Gaels are all there, looking to catch up with us. “We know we have to keep our standards high and that’s what we’ll be aiming to do this Sunday.”