Mayo U16 manager on balancing new fatherhood and All-Ireland dreams

A lot can happen in a year. Mayo’s U-16 boss Francis Regan can tell you that.

On Saturday, July 24, 2024, He was on the sideline in Ballinasloe as his side agonisingly fell short of All-Ireland glory at the hands of a fine Cavan team.

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Now, some 357 days on from that heartbreak, his side stand one hour away from ending the 49-year wait to hang green and red ribbons around the cherished trophy.

There were plenty of new faces dotted around the training ground in Bekan when the panel gathered to continue their final preparations on a sun-splashed Bekan Wednesday. 

Away from the pitch and the training and the matches, there has been an even more important addition to the Regan household.

Ten months ago, Francis and his partner Laura welcomed their daughter Éabha into the world. It was a milestone moment and one which has given him a new perspective on life. It’s been an interesting and rewarding challenge trying to balance the commitments of being a new dad with a full-time job, inter-county management, and playing a bit of ball himself with Mayo Gaels.

“I’ve a partner with the patience of a saint at home,” the Project Engineer mused in conversation with The Mayo News. “She allows me to do so much.

“She’s the rock behind the scenes that allows me to do this. Last year, after the All-Ireland, I was untalkable for a couple of days.

“Now I know next Wednesday, whatever happens, I'm either going to be delighted or upset, but you have to get up again Thursday morning, you have to be a dad, first and foremost.”

The conversation swiftly turned to tomorrow evening’s match, and just how much it would mean to everyone involved to reach the mountain top.

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Last year’s loss brought pain, and many of those in the Class of 2025 endured that solemn bus trip home from Ballinasloe, which must have felt like an eternity.

It may have been a steep learning curve, but it was a learning process nonetheless, according to the man in the dugout.

“It took 28 years to get a Mayo team to an U-16A final, and now we're back for a second one in a row.

“That hoodoo is gone. I think there was a bit more of that hype last year about us being the first one for so many years, and we probably fell into that trap a small bit. That experience is definitely going to stand for something.”

Regan’s side are no strangers to high drama, as evidenced by the utter insanity of their narrow last-gasp Connacht Final win over Roscommon earlier in the season, when Katie Hughes was the hero.

They rolled up their sleeves and left no doubt in their next game, a big win over Kildare to punch their ticket to Wednesday night’s blockbuster tie. Be it pretty or ugly, they can get it done.

“These girls are battle-hardened now,” their manager stated. “They've been there and done it in tight games.

“Scoreline-wise, the Kildare game probably was the most comfortable we've been all year. So they've been through one-point wins and ten or eleven-point wins, so they have experience of both, but they know it’s not going to be tight in Nenagh.”

Now, onto Kerry. Regan will have been studying every inch of information he can glean on the side coming up from the Kingdom. At this stage, every I has been dotted and T crossed.

Come 7.30 pm tomorrow evening, nothing will be left to chance.

“They have some top players,” Regan stated. “Jesse Lynch is one of the top forwards I’ve seen at this age.

“Brosnan is great in midfield, O’Connor in corner forward. They’re great, but it’s going to be a new challenge for them as well, and they could be in the same boat as us.

“They're very well set up defensively, and they're a big, strong physical team. They don't give away scores that easy, and they love to score goals, so we're looking to keep another clean sheet. 

“I have great faith in every one of the girls and they’ll give it everything they have,” he concluded.