Lahardane dreaming of more Connacht success

Football fate was hovering in the breeze when Adrian Leonard heard the throaty chant. The death-throes of the Connacht junior semi-final were being played out. Menlough were pouring forward looking to deliver a dose of heartbreak and then the long-time terror of defenders heard “La-har-dane, La-har-dane” rise through the noise.

“The hair stood on the back of my neck. I’ll never forget it. It was ferocious. I’ve been playing a long time and that moment will stay with me forever,” he told The Mayo News as the build-up to tomorrow's Connacht junior final cranked up.

The proud attacker from the famed village of Knockfarnaght played his first junior championship match in 2008 when the world was young and full of opportunity.

“We went on a bit of a run that year but Killala beat us in the county semi-final and went on to win the championship. Of course I was disappointed to miss out on the county final but I thought I’d play in loads of them after that.”

That assumption was slightly off the mark. In the 12 seasons since that maiden voyage Leonard and his colleagues have played in two finals - 2017 and ‘23 - winning both.

Those victories were celebrated joyously with family, friends and supporters at the butt of Nephin where tales of local legends dance in the breeze.

Now, the men in black and amber have the chance to add provincial glory to the county crown, as they did in 2017, and they’re determined to leave it all on the pitch - but first the elusive forward was asked about the formative days and the merging of the back and amber with the green and red.

“Yeah, I had a good run underage with Mayo. We had a really good minor team in 2010 and were seven points up against Tyrone in the All Ireland semi-final but they somehow beat us with late goals.”

A young corner-forward by the name of Cillian O’Connor kicked six points that day. Brendan Harrison helped mind the house. Danny Kirby was in the middle of field and Darren Coen was on the edge of the square.

Leonard cut a disappointed figure coming off Croke Park that afternoon, but the journey was only beginning. Further outings in the green and red followed, capped by the the evening in 2019 in Salthill when Adrian lined out alongside his cousin Barry for the Mayo junior team against Galway.

However, the real love of Adrian’s sporting life was and is, Lahardane MacHales - nothing else comes close. His parents Seamus and Noreen and sister Sandra have been hugely supportive and now he has two extra-special supporters - his wife Shauna and their four-month-old daughter Lily Rose.

Shauna has three brothers on the team, Jarlath, James and Matthew Maughan and she famously came back to play for MacHale Rovers in this year’s county intermediate final, just weeks after giving birth.

“I don’t know how she did it, but she did and they won the county title which made it a nice double for us,” Adrian added.

On Saturday next, Shauna, Lily Rose and the entire world population of Lahardane will be focused on MacHale Park where the young men of the parish will look to win their second Connacht title in six seasons.

“It will be a huge day. They don’t come around too often, but we’ve taken it game by game all the way this season and now we have a Connacht final in front of us. Eddie (Conroy), Bryan (Mannion) and Enda (Langan) have been very honest with us all year and have filled us with positivity, so we’re determined to give it everything.

“The club is in a good place. There are so many great people working so hard in the background and the work at underage is paying off with all the young lads coming through. The numbers are good. We have a big squad and I don’t think we had less than 20 at any training session all year.

“Of course success helps too. We won an U-16 title this year and you can see it in the eyes of the young people - they want to play for Lahardane now. There’s a great buzz in the place,” the buying executive with Connollys Motor Group explained.

That buzz will go into overdrive if the the Nephinsiders get over the next hurdle and enter the All- Ireland series. It’s a lifetime since Leonard walked off Croke Park after the All Ireland minor defeat to Tyrone, but he doesn’t spend a second thinking about such things.

“We’re living in the moment. We’re loving it and that’s the way it is. We’ve a game to play next weekend and that’s all that matters. We’ll enjoy it and see where that takes us. We’ve had worse days,” he concluded.

Lahardane will face a big challenge from the Sligo men who defeated Ballymote in the county final. Interestingly, Ballymote were the team defeated by Lahardane in the 2017 provincial final. The more things change the more they remain the same.

FIXTURE

Connacht Club Junior Final

Lahardane v Owenmore Gaels

MacHale Park

Saturday, December 2, 1.30pm

Ref: Christopher Ryan