“In my memory, I will always see,

The town that I have loved so well.”

As the late Luke Kelly brings the words of Phil Coulter to life, he is as much Derry as he is Dublin. Reminiscing on the good times, with “music there in the Derry air”. This past weekend, those days were brought to life again as Derry tied together a sense of harmony and home. The music in south-west Monaghan on Sunday evening was enough alone to suggest that level of money or madness should ever take away days like these.

As inhabitants of Ulster and as GAA fans, Clones is the town we all love so well.

Across the water in the city of Sheffield, there is a similar vibe. Once a year, the crowds assemble. No need to check the calendar, for this is the day. 364 days a year, there is the usual hustle and bustle. The short car journeys to work, the kids playing in the estates, the anti-climax that is everyday life. The noise is deafening from the heavy machinery and traditional steel industry, but it is artificial. It bears no authenticity.

Then come the crowds. They have come every year since 1977. And they will continue to come. The Crucible Theatre at full capacity, and there would be more in Copper’s on a Wednesday night. But that is the beauty of it, because this is where a final belongs. Revenue is a secondary thought.

980 people are aware of the magnitude of the events they are about to watch unfold. They largely watch in silence, in appreciation, in expectation. As the Sheffield sun sets, the decibel level increases, and the pressure on the edge of Crucible chairs does likewise.

This is tradition. This is atmosphere. This is history in the making. In sport, it is crucial that history has a home. If Clones town is the home of Ulster football, then surely St. Tiernach’s Park is the living room. A place where all supporters can kick off their shoes and slump into the comfy sofa of familiarity, for they have been here before. This is where football lives, and we should pray that the lease is long term.

The regeneration of Casement Park would prove to be a fantastic facility, with the potential financial investment something Clones could only dream of. But is that really the point? Sure, Clones could do with a lick of paint and a bit of a facelift, but Casement is not the answer.

It is strange to think that history could ever count against Belfast, but on this occasion it does. A town encapsulated versus a city hindered. A football mad town versus a city with almost as much hatred for the GAA as grá.

In the last decade, only Antrim along with Armagh have failed to progress to the final frontier of our island’s most northern province. Provincial championship struggles elsewhere have contrasted with new pairings here year on year. Derry have put their demons to bed after 24 years, with Cavan waiting 23 years for glory before their 2020 success.

Unlike the Breffni men’s success, Covid could not put paid to Oak Leaf celebrations. And with those celebrations came the awakening of a town that depends so much on this one day a year. The ascent into Clones town, the sight of the Diamond laden with county jerseys and colours, and the odd chancer with the hats, scarves, and headbands. This year it was all back and as good as ever.

The sight of Packie Willie’s wedged before some of the few non-football folk in the area have even had breakfast. And when the descent down to the ground and through the turnstiles finally comes, a glimpse of the pristine pitch appears. GAA folk in the province have a connection with this town that is incomparable to any other. So many, young and old, can recount the endless memories that are unlocked in seconds, all inside an arena that is ready to produce so many more.

For the people of Derry, the heartache of 2011 will be less prevalent on their return to the next Ulster final day. Whether that is a year or a decade away is anyone’s guess, in a championship that is so unforgiving, and where even the venue on the day of days is up in the air.

This year was our first reminder since 2019 as to why this is the only place for the Anglo-Celt decider. Covid-19 took down the county colours. The flags in the town were at half mast, each of them black. That was a matter that was largely out of our control. This is not. We often talk about consistency in sport, and the return of the boom in Clones proves we have a good thing going here.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Little did St. Tiernach himself know in the 6^th Century that his monastery would be the beginning of an empire. A footballing dynasty, where all are welcome, north or south of the border. A home for Ulster GAA, in a territory where football and Gaelic games, “spread like a prairie fire”, just as Michael Cusack himself would have dreamed it could.