Former Inishowen Oscar Traynor player Stephen McLaughlin has paid tribute to Diarmuid O'Brien's side who won the All Ireland title with a 2-1 win over Limerick at Maginn Park on Sunday.

The Isle of Doagh man was celebrating himself at the weekend after he started for Southend United in their penalty shootout win over Wycombe Wanderers in the League Two play-off final in Wembley.

But the following day his thoughts were with his friends and some former team mates on the Inishowen side who made Irish football history.

“I was on the phone to Paddy Harkin after the game and my friend Seanan McColgan, whose brother Oisin was playing, kept me informed about how things were going.

“It’s unbelievable for an area as small as Inishowen to win an All Ireland title against leagues from Dublin and Cork with hundreds of teams and I think it shows how strong the league is.

“I always felt the standard was high when I was at Clonmany so I’m absolutely delighted but not surprised.

“My uncle Paul McLaughlin played Oscar Traynor for years and it was a team that everyone who played in the league wanted to be part of."

McLaughlin played Oscar Traynor for Inishowen in 2008 but he revealed he was restricted by a training ground injury inflicted by Malachy McDermott who was then at Moville Celtic.

“I was surprised when Bryan Bell called me and asked me to join the squad," he recalled. "In the end I only played 45 minutes against Galway in Terryland Park as I was carrying an injury and we lost 2-0.

“I got a calf injury in our last training session before the game when Malachy McDermott absolutely smashed me so I just wasn’t right heading into that game,” he laughed.

Full interview with Stephen McLaughlin in tomorrow's Inish Times.

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