"Be loud and get behind us" urges Slaughtneil captain Mark McGuigan

Slaughtneil captain Mark McGuigan has appealed to supporters across Derry and Ulster to get behind the team ahead of their AIB All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship semi-final clash with Galway champions Loughrea at Parnell Park on Sunday afternoon.

The 13-in-a-row Derry champions have fallen at the penultimate stage on every previous occasion, with this marking their sixth appearance in the last four.

Last year, Slaughtneil suffered a heartbreaking 0-18 to 0-17 defeat to Cork’s Sarsfields, while Loughrea will also be seeking redemption after their own semi-final disappointment in 2024, when they lost 0-17 to 0-16 against eventual champions Na Fianna.

Parnell Park has proven an unhappy hunting ground for the Derrymen, having hosted two of their previous semi-final defeats. McGuigan has urged GAA supporters across the county and province to make the trip to Dublin next Sunday and to generate as much noise as possible in the hope that it might finally help the back-to-back Ulster champions over the line.

“Our supporters across Slaughtneil and Derry have carried us over the line many times before,” McGuigan said.

“You look back at Cushendall and Portaferry in last year’s Ulster Championship; the noise from our supporters was immense.

“When you’re tired or sore, there’s nothing better to pick you back up and drive you on. I’d love for supporters to come, be loud, get behind us, and not underestimate the power and lift their energy can give us.

“It’s been well documented by members of our squad that we have a real burning desire to get to Croke Park,” he added.

“If we don’t get past the semi-final stage this year, we won’t be content or pleased, even having won the Derry and Ulster championships.

“There’s a real desire to win a semi-final, but as we know all too well, that’s a lot easier said than done.”

The Derry champions secured their sixth Ulster crown in nine years last month with a 0-23 to 0-10 victory over St John’s of Belfast.

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In the provincial semi-final, they had overcome a dogged Portaferry side in a repeat of last year’s Ulster final before again advancing to an All-Ireland semi-final.

However, against St John’s, Slaughtneil made a slow start, taking almost ten minutes to register their first score against a Belfast side set up with a rigid defensive structure.

McGuigan believes the challenges Robert Emmet’s have overcome to once again reach this stage will stand to them, but he is under no illusions that any complacency against Loughrea would be costly.

“There’s no doubt it prepares you well,” he said.

“Portaferry and St John’s were two very different teams, but there’s no question that facing the Galway champions will be a massive step up.

“We’re now at national level, and if we’re off it at all, there are no hiding places.

“They have a lethal full-forward line, which we’ll be preparing for, and they also have very good players on the ball further out the field. When you come up against a team from Galway, you need to be at it from the very start.

“They have quality all over the pitch, and if you’re not fully tuned in, you could find yourself well behind by half-time.”