Coyne ready to fight his county’s corner

Mayo v Roscommon games resonate that bit more when you’re from border territory. From Ballaghaderreen, the home town of Mayo manager Andy Moran, to Ballyhaunis, the home club of Mayo captain Jack Coyne and Tooreen in between, the home of Mayo attacker Fergal Boland, that tract of land dividing the green and red from the saffron and blue will be an even more colourful place this week, as battle lines are drawn in advance of an eagerly anticipated Connacht SFC semi-final.

For Coyne in particular, the occasion will be especially significant. The Roscommon boundary isn’t much more than a couple of laps of a football pitch away from Logboy NS and on Sunday, one of its most famous past pupils will lead the fight against the enemy from across the ditch and captain Mayo for the very first time in championship.

“It’s an honour any day you get to wear the Mayo jersey, regardless if you’re captain or not,” says Coyne.

“Being given this extra responsibility is not something I take lightly. It’s great for the club, following in the footsteps of Keith (Higgins), and just for the wider community and for my family and friends, I’m very grateful for the opportunity.” 

The only Mayo footballer nominated for an All-Star last year, it’s worth remembering how relatively quick Coyne's reversal in fortune came. The corner-back was handed his senior championship debut against Leitrim in 2021 but was dropped from the squad by then manager James Horan ahead of the 2022 season and only recalled when Kevin McStay took the reins 12 months later.

“I probably did use it as motivation. I was probably honest with myself. I needed to get better, needed to physically develop, so I used the opportunity and worked hard,” he reflected at the launch of the Connacht SFC.

“Fortunately we had a good year with the club, in 2022 we won the intermediate championship and I got into a bit of form and was very grateful to get the opportunity from Kevin, because I’ve always wanted to play for Mayo, it’s been a dream of mine and I love representing our county and my town so it was great to get back in.” 

Last year’s All-Star nomination came despite Mayo losing the Connacht SFC Final at home to Galway and exiting the All-Ireland Championship as the bottom team in Group One. So good was Coyne amidst all that adversity that he was actually the only player from Connacht among 18 All-Star nominated defenders.

“It probably does give you a bit of confidence, the evidence that if you’ve done it before you could potentially do it again. The energy to go and improve on that is also there,” says Coyne, describing the nomination as a ‘great compliment’.

“As an individual, [it’s about] always trying to get better. Can I do better on the field? Can I be better around the group, maybe helping some of the younger lads out? Always trying to get better is the key thing.” 

Coyne, who took over as Mayo captain from Paddy Durcan, is also best placed to discuss the impact that new blood – on the pitch and on the sideline – has had on the squad environment this season, not least because he invariably ends up marking in training the likes of Cian McHale, Darragh Beirne and Kobe McDonald, all of whom are expected to have some involvement in Sunday’s showdown with Roscommon.

“It’s class. It’s just the natural cycle of things, you need to keep bringing in and blooding youth. The boys have taken to senior football very, very well. Obviously their talent speaks for itself but off the field as well, the types of character they are, they’re just really good lads, eager to learn, but also have such talent that we can learn off them as well.

“The defenders who have come in as well, Eoin McGreal, John MacMonagle, Hugh O’Loughlin to name a few, they’ve all added so much, great energy and enthusiasm, so we’re really grateful for having them in and looking forward to seeing how the year goes for them all,” said Coyne, adding that the change of management brought a new impetus also.

“Anyone who knows Andy, his presence and his energy that he brings is infectious and as a playing group, all we can do is try and replicate that energy, and when we bring it into training and into games, you’re going to hopefully get a bounce off that.” 

Andy Moran played his last game for Mayo in 2019 and current selector Colm Boyle retired two years later, meaning that Jack Coyne’s first year in the senior panel was Boyle’s last. He has nothing but admiration for the duo.

“They walked the walk and now they can talk the talk, in terms of their playing styles. Off the field they’re just really nice people and when they’re dealing with us, we’re more than just footballers to them; they look after the people side of things as well.

“If you can emulate how those lads played the game, you’re doing things right definitely. Their performances speak for themselves over however many years they were at the top level.”