Finn Harps - Tales from the School of Life

As we go into the fourth round of Premier Division games this weekend, it’s obvious that, beyond the most ardent of Finn Harps supporters, few would have imagined Ollie Horgan’s men to be at the summit following the opening three rounds.

For the majority of their current period in the top flight of League of Ireland football they have fought tooth and nail for every point they earned- escaping relegation in a 2019 play off courtesy of a Finn Park extra time winner from Harry Ascroft and avoiding a play off the following year by a single point.

In current form, of their last 7 league games (4 from last season, 3 from this) they’ve taken 16 of a possible 21 points- 5 wins, one draw, one defeat, that coming at the hands of Shamrock Rovers who have a point more over the same number of games.

They kept clean sheets in 3 of their last 4 games of 2020 and that Rovers defeat is their only loss in their past 11 league games.

But, is it now time to change the narrative around the Ballybofey side?

What am I talking about here? Let’s be clear from the start- Harps, much like the League of Ireland itself, is not a setup for everyone. At a brief glance on the field, both can be instantly discredited by a cursory glance at the nature of both the product and surroundings. However, they are worth much more than that- there are solid strategies in play on and off the field.

This week, after a prolonged delay since the initial sod was first turned, we have seen the first tranche of a grant towards the building of a new stadium at Stranorlar. This, funding however is only the start of the planned development.

Committee member Leo Mc Loone spoke eloquently and passionately on the RTÉ Soccer podcast about how the ultimate vision is to create a sporting hub in the area, create a number of training pitches, name the stadium as the ‘Donegal Community Stadium' and Finn Harps having a women’s team playing out of Finn Park.

Throughout the interview, the theme of partnership between club, community, county and national sporting organisation rang through- collaboration being a key tenet in driving progress forward to improve conditions for everyone. This project has been a long time in the reckoning and has plenty of road left to travel but the key funding has been promised and dreams can start to turn from imagination to expectation.

Collaboration has also played an important role in Ollie’s approach with regards to recruitment for the Premier Division. As well as being involved with Finn Harps, Ollie Horgan has been extensively involved in the FAI Schools setup over the past decade.

This is another avenue which has proven fruitful for his senior recruitment- of the 2018 squad, defender Tunmise Sobowale had been in the 2017 FAI Schools international squad alongside sub goalkeeper Jamie Bell while the 2016 FAI Schools side contained cult hero BJ Banda alongside Gareth Doherty, who was part of the Finn Harps squad of 2016.

Let’s look at the start of the 2019 season- after 10 league games and Harps had two points. 27 minutes into an Oriel Park clash against Dundalk, goalkeeping stalwart Ciarán Gallagher had to leave the field with his arm in a sling.

Two points from 30, one clean sheet and one of their team leaders gone- things did not look good for the recently promoted Donegal men. Enter Mark Anthony McGinley- the former UCD keeper was back in his native county and had been involved with the county GAA side. However, fellow múinteoir Horgan persuaded him to sign for the Harps in May and what happened next is almost legendary.

He made his second debut for the club in a 3-0 home reverse to Dundalk, however he would only concede in one more home game before the end of the season. His six clean sheets at Finn Park coupled with two away- at Cork and Waterford respectively- saw him pick up the Player of the Year award and Harps record 18 points to climb into the play off places and ultimately stay in the league for 2020.

2020 saw Horgan dip into his contacts book from the FAI Schools as he took Milford’s pacy winger Adrian Delap (FAI Schools 2016) on loan from Derry City, to add to a squad now including fellow Donegal men Tony McNamee and Mark Timlin were team mates on the 2011 side. One of the most eye catching additions to the 2020 defence was the experienced Dave Webster.

However, he also found a former schoolboys team mate in the Finn Park changing room in the form of McGinley- the two were in the January 2008 FAI Schoolboys side under Seán Carr, Dave Archbold and Hugh Colhoun- Horgan was added to the coaching ticket for the December 2008 squad and became head coach for 2012/13. Incidentally, that squad contained two players who went on to feature previously for Finn Harps under Horgan- goalkeeper Shaun Patton and defender Killian Cantwell.

A member of the current Finn Harps squad recruited from that 2012/13 side is Galway native Conor Barry while the return of Ethan Boyle adds to the list with the Waterford man being part of the 2015 FAI Schools international squad while loan goalkeeper Luke Mc Nicholas was amongst the 2018 Centenary Shield winning crop.

The successful 2018 FAI Schoolboys side also shows how Horgan's reach stretches off the field too. Former Cockhill Celtic defender William O'Connor is the current FAI Schoolboys international manager and the Head Coach of Shelbourne Under 19s, having cut his teeth alongside Horgan at both Ulster Schools and Finn Harps. The Balbriggan based teacher was a coach at Finn Park from 2015-2020. In 2018, he won both the Centenary Shield as FAI Schoolboys manager and promotion with Finn Harps as a coach- Horgan in the dugout alongside him on both occasions.

For the Harps' opening game of the 2021 league season, four of the starting XI were ex FAI Schools internationals, with another three on the substitute bench.

However, unlike a Tony McNamee throw which consistently torpedoes in one goalward direction, Ollie sometimes deviates from his picking up players solely with experience of football in Ireland as, in the current squad, there are also a couple of underage international players littered throughout the squad- both Karl O’Sullivan and Shane McEleney have been in ROI Under 21 squads.

Bonagee’s ex Wolves midfielder Ryan Rainey (ROI 17s), former Newcastle defender Stephen Folan (ROI 17s), ex Hibernians defender Kosovar Sadiki (Canada U17s, U20s and U23s) and former Derby County midfielder Ryan Connolly (ROI U17s and U19s) have all represented their country as teens while in form forward Adam Foley (NIFL experience) has a number of caps for the Republic of Ireland amateur side.

Like Sadiki in 2020, Ryan Shanley is now on loan from Hibernians while Will Seymore follows the Joshua Smith route of college football and some MLS experience before arriving in the League of Ireland.

Seymore is one of 5 squad members born outside of Ireland and there are 10 spread across the four provinces (of whom 4- McNicholas, Barry, Boyle and Webster- have represented the FAI Schools international side.)

The remaining thirteen of the 28-man squad registered with the league are Donegal men, some still with the Academy and others graced its presence in the past- underlining the importance of the region in player development.

Collaboration with the community for long term communal gains and investment in young Irish underage international players- not everyone is doing it and the results may not be visible immediately, but Harps have a tune worth playing and their charismatic figurehead has a recruitment strategy which many can learn from.