Kieran Tobin using the hurt of the past to drive St Eunan's to victory

When St Eunan’s won the 2021 Donegal senior championship in Kieran Tobin’s first season, he cited the victory that day in MacCumhaill Park as a dream come true.   

With all fingers pointed to Naomh Conaill to win back the Dr Maguire Cup for the second season in-a-row, St Eunan’s poleaxed the Glenties side as they bridged a gap of seven seasons.    

For Tobin, who scored two points in that final, it was a debut year like no other. But three years on, the Letterkenny defender knows that the reality of sport can take you in so many different directions, where more often than not, there’s more bad days than good.   

Two defeats at the hands of their Naomh Conaill rivals in the 2022 final and the 2023 semi-final, has built up an extra layer of experience for the 21-year-old captain, but the level of hunger, ambition, and drive has never waned, as he looks to bring back the Dr Maguire Cup to the Cathedral Town for the 16th time in the club’s history this weekend.   

“The hunger and ambition of winning a county title is definitely the same, that never changes here,” he said. “For us in St Eunan’s, the goal every year is to get to a county final.   

“Maybe there’s a bit of a different feel, it’s a bit fresher perhaps because we have new guidance with the new management, but overall, the aim is the exact same, and we’re fortunate enough that we have experience of knowing what the build-up to a county final is like and we know how to prepare for it.  

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“For us, the last two weeks are all about getting the bodies ready and hopefully have a good craic at it now.”   

The return of Barry Meehan as St Eunan’s manager has brought new ideas and a fresh perspective to the football field which Tobin feels has got them over the line in key moments this championship campaign.  

Having played Kilcar, Naomh Conaill twice, and Gaoth Dobhair twice already in this championship campaign, Tobin is well aware of the tricky journey his side were faced with in making the final, citing their performances as mixed.    

But for the Cathedral men, while they are aware that they have on-field aspects to work on, the main ambition is for their side to race over the finish line first this Sunday against Dungloe, as they hope to vanquish the disappointment of the past two seasons which still lingers with them.   

“There’s been a change in terms of we all know the management and that they have a certain vision of how they want us to play. And I think we’ve bought into that this season which is very encouraging,” he said.   

“Even though it hasn’t always come off for us all the time, the most important thing that the management stresses is that we try, and that brings a new and fresh feel to the camp.   

“I think we have played a bit of a different way to how we’ve played in the past since I first came into the Eunan’s senior team, and you could say the way we’re playing this season has been working for us because we now find ourselves in a county final.   

“The hurt from losing the 2022 final is still there, even though it’s not something we talk about that much, because at the same time you have to leave the past in the past and move on, but two years ago we put so much work into winning that championship and we unfortunately fell short in the final.   

“I know that year’s final was probably overshadowed by a few different things and decisions that maybe didn’t go our way, but at the same time, we came back last year and we fell short again at the semi-final stages which was disappointing.   

“This season we have the same panel more or less from the past two years, so we know what that hurt of losing feels like and we don’t need to be reminded of that, so our aim is to make sure we don’t go into another winter without having anything to show for.”   

Despite his mother hailing from the town of Dungloe, there’s never been a doubt of Tobin’s loyalty a service to St Eunan’s, and like most top players in that club, he is well aware of the added pressure that comes with playing for them, especially if there’s seasons with no trophies to show for.   

“In St Eunan’s, there’s always pressure to be competing every year for a championship and winning,” Tobin added. “Look, we all know that it’s not possible to be successful every season, things have to fall your way and you have to get the rub of the green.   

“Even this season, there’s been massive upsets, no more than Dungloe, but for us in St Eunan’s, we know what it means to play for this club and the pressure that comes with it. As a team, we’ll continue to do our own work and not buy into any outside noise.   

“I know the football can sometimes be frustrating and not the most intriguing, but look, you can feel a positive mood in the camp and the way we come together as a unit is fantastic, so we just hope we can make it enjoyable for the supporters against Dungloe.”   

For Tobin, the scene is set for him as he aims to return St Eunan’s to the mountain top of Donegal football this Sunday.