GAA Young Footballer of Year back for more All-Irelands and to tear up one-hit wonder talk
Oisin Conaty insists Armagh are determined to add to their 2024 success and prove they are not a one and done team. The Orchard County were shock All-Ireland winners two years ago but failed to add to their reputations last summer, losing a third Ulster final on the trot before bowing out of the All-Ireland series at the quarter-final stage.Now with the Championship about to begin again this weekend, Conaty has his eyes on a medal - and you get the impression he would value an Ulster one as well as an All-Ireland.He said: “We're all back because we want to be winning an All-Ireland. That's the one we want to get. You'd like to be up there with two All-Ireland medals. Not many teams have won two All-Ireland, so that's the aim for us. If we can get through the challenges in Ulster, that would be good too, because we try to get one of those medals. But we know it's going to be a massive challenge and one we're up for.”That challenge begins on Sunday against Tyrone. After that the path to an Ulster Championship will probably involve Fermanagh, Donegal and Derry - but it is a road Conaty is anxious to take - as 18 years have passed since Armagh’s last Anglo Celt success.He said: “It's some fixture list, isn't it? No one gets it easy in Ulster. But look we're doing the right things in training and we're listening to the management team and improving. We back ourselves fully to go and do it. It's been a hard few years for us Ulster, making the finals and getting beat three years in a row."But my feeling is no one owes us anything, you have to earn that right to win a medal but hopefully we can do that. You want all the medals available to you, don't you? I think, especially getting beat three finals in a row, a lot of lads are jumping up to get that medal. For now, we'll focus on Ulster and if we can, we'll do it. And then it's on to the big one, the main one.”And you get the sense Armagh want another crack at Kerry - after their All-Ireland disappeared last summer in a disastrous third quarter, when Kerry overturned a half-time deficit to eventually win by eight points. Conaty said: “It was Kerry's year last year. We felt like we didn't do ourselves justice in different periods of our defeat to them and when that is the case, a team like Kerry will punish you."Our mentality is to concentrate on the work we're putting in right now. We are backing ourselves, not focusing on what we did in 2024. We have that mindset of improving constantly because that's what winners do. I think that backing yourself comes from the hard work you're putting on and off the pitch.”And considering the life Conaty could have had - as a semi-pro soccer player - he has no regrets about his big decision to switch codes four years ago. Having played for Linfield and Portadown, Conaty could easily have sustained a career where he was earning money to play sport. But he is glad he sacrificed a few quid to concentrate on the sport he loves.Conaty said: “Looking back on the decision I made (to leave soccer to play Gaelic football for Armagh), I have no regrets. And a lot of that comes down to the boss. The amount that Geezer (Kieran McGeeney) has done for me on and off the pitch is massive. I can't thank him enough. When someone of his stature texts you and asks you to come on board, it is hard to say no. What a manager, what a man. And I'm sure a number of players will tell you in the group that he really does look after us. I just want to repay him by winning stuff because he is always talking to you about your life outside of fotoball. And it's just them general conversations where he gives his advice for you and you think about it and you use it.“I am so glad I made the call to play for Armagh. When I was younger, when I was playing for Linfield and playing for Northern Ireland’s underage teams, I was watching players going across the water every other week, and you're hoping you would get a chance. You just need one phone call maybe but it never came from me.”Instead the call he always craved came from Geezer.And he has no regrets about taking it.Click here to sign up to our sport newsletter, bringing you the top stories and biggest headlines from Ireland and beyond.Oisin Conaty was speaking on behalf of AIB, at the launch of the 2026 GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.
