YOU don’t have to scroll too far down Ronan Devlin’s X account for a flavour of what gets him going.
Donald Trump’s return as US president, and the madness of American politics in general, has left most on this side of the world scratching their heads. But then there’s his love for Liverpool, as well as basketball and boxing.
The new rules that could change the face of Gaelic football, however – that’s the big one. As a man who has been at the coal face as player, coach and manager, Devlin knows well the challenges the game is up against.
Yet he is a pragmatist too; football, like any sport when you’re at the business end of it, is about winning. He watched some of the reaction to the cagey Derry semi-final between Newbridge and Magherafelt, broadcast live on RTE, and shook his head.
Devlin’s Cargin side has not been immune to the odd touch through the years either. But, with eight county crowns from the last 10 years, the Toome men are unlikely to change anything they are doing now.
And so, after a decent weekend’s fare a fortnight ago, he couldn’t help himself.
“Thoughts with those who won’t get to complain about a bad game this weekend.”
Devlin smiles when those X-ploits are raised.
“Christ, this could go anywhere…”
The proposed ‘rule enhancements’, brought forward by Jim Gavin and his Football Review Committee, go before Special Congress later this month. Devlin, like everyone else, will be watching with interest.
It’s not that he hates them, or is even against them all, it’s moreso the constant focus on football’s woes that wind him up.
“There are people online who seek confirmation bias – I know some of them personally, and they cannot wait to see a bad game, because what they want to do is pick up their phone and tell everyone.
“I understand that sometimes the games at the minute are not great to look at. We had a semi-final with St Brigid’s recently and nearly went in at half-time scoreless… it was embarrassing. But I felt like there wasn’t a whole lot we could’ve done differently.
“In terms of rules, yeah, I’d be open for an odd tweak, but I don’t understand why you’d go in with a full paint kit and renovate the room completely. If you want to keep three up and see how that goes, grand, but I’ve no idea why you’d want to add six more rules on top of it and confuse the life out of everybody.
“I think there’s a whole lot right with the game. The game is not as sick as people say.”
At Corrigan Park on Sunday, Devlin’s men bid to take another significant step on the provincial stage, having edged ever closer to making a major impact in recent years.
Coming up against eventual champions Glen twice was the ultimate acid test of Cargin’s Ulster credentials, and on both occasions showed they weren’t too far away.
In 2022, it wasn’t until a last-gasp Danny Tallon penalty that the Derry kingpins finally engineered a bit of breathing room while, 12 months ago, a controversial red card for Tomas McCann proved costly in the end as Malachy O’Rourke’s men advanced.
“I probably spent a wee while dwelling on that,” sighs Devlin, “but at the same time we made mistakes during the game that we could’ve controlled; missed a couple of chances for scores before half-time, to maybe go in level, but we didn’t.
“So there’s wee things we could’ve done better.”
Now in the Ballinderry man’s third year at the helm, having stepped up from Damian Cassidy’s management team, a battle-hardened Errigal Ciaran lie in wait at Corrigan Park on Sunday.
It will be the Tyrone champions’ third game in just 16 games, having dethroned Trillick in a hell for leather county final before edging out St Eunan’s at the death. Cargin, meanwhile, will have had a full month to recharge after defeating Portglenone in the Antrim decider.
Setting the standard on familiar fields is one thing, of course, but Devlin believes Cargin are primed to make their mark in Ulster this time around.
“You have to be careful because if I say we’re not progressing people will point the finger at me, but I think we’re in a good place, I really do.
“Looking at the fellas, there’s a nice wee bite there, I’m seeing pace, I’m seeing power, I’m seeing intelligent footballers… I couldn’t be happier with where we’re at.
“I actually would feel Ulster’s an opportunity, rather than pressure. The pressure we feel might come within Antrim, because there’s so much expectation. But the way it is in Ulster, nobody’s looking at us.
“So, in a sense, the pressure’s off. I find it very refreshing going into Ulster. It’s a new competition, I really enjoy it, and it’s up to us now to do ourselves justice.
“If we don’t, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.”
