Quinn highlights battling qualities as key to Moy mission

From the moments directly after their agonisingly narrow loss to would-be champions Kilmeena in last year’s semi-final, the focus of every Moy Davitts player was to get back on the horse and better themselves in 2024. They’ve delivered on that ambition impressively so far but the job is not complete yet.

It was no easy thing to return to training in those wintry months of last January and February – it is always gruelling for any player – but as the old adage goes, ‘no pain no gain’. Moy Davitts are now just 60 minutes away from gaining promotion to the senior championship for 2025 and as defender Oisín Quinn explains, there is a great atmosphere at training these days.

“Everybody is training well and we have 30 players at every session and there is a good buzz in the club at the minute.

“At the beginning of the year when you are training in the early wintry months, this is where you want to be come the end of the campaign, preparing for a county final. Last year we got to a semi-final and our aim this year was to go one step further, and it would be nice to win it now,” said Quinn.

He may be one of the elder statesmen of the team but Oisin’s older brother Conall, for so long the full-back, remains an integral part of the squad too.

Oisin sees similarities between his Moy Davitts outfit and Crossmolina, their opposition in next Saturday’s county intermediate final, and is pleased to have some of the younger players step up to the mark for the Moysiders.

“It will be a real tough game against Crossmolina, they are a good side with some very accurate forwards. They also have some good backs and similar to ourselves there is a nice balance to their team.

“It has been a while since we have been in a final and there are a lot of players still involved from our successful 2017 campaign, and equally there are a lot of new players who have come in and stepped up to the mark as well.” 

It’s fair to say that there’s little team still needs to learn about the other; Moy Davitts visited St Tiernan’s Park at the end of August, where they performed a remarkable turnaround to beat the North Mayo side for the second year running in the group stages of the intermediate championship. And it’s their never-say-die attitude that Oisin Quinn believes has been imperative to Moy Davitts’ campaign thus far.

“In the group game against Crossmolina we found ourselves eight points down at one stage, and we really had to show our battling qualities that day. We have found ourselves in trouble in a couple of games this year, but we have that never give up attitude and that has served us well,” he noted, reminded also of their semi-final triumph that saw them come from five points behind in the second-half against Davitts.

Quinn, who also finds time to oversee the club’s under-6 academy, may miss this final due to a long-term injury, but he is always on hand to impart any knowledge and advice that he has garnered over the years whilst wearing the red and white jersey.

“I have been playing football for a good few years now and I am always available to some of the younger players if they need any advice. I am willing to help them in any way.”