McKenna And Clogher Valley Have Home Semi-Final In Their Sights

There is a certain kind of loyalty in rugby that cannot be taught, only lived. It is forged on muddy pitches, during long bus journeys, and the quiet repetition of training nights where the same faces gather, week after week, year after year.

For Eugene McKenna, that loyalty is not just a trait, it is the foundation of everything he has become as a player and as a leader.

At Clogher Valley RFC, he is not simply the captain of a team chasing promotion, he is a product of the club’s past and a custodian of its future, standing at the centre of a journey that has gathered pace and belief with each passing season.

Now 32 years of age, McKenna leads a team that finds itself on the cusp of something significant. Clogher Valley, in just their second season in Energia All-Ireland League Men’s Division 2B, sit second in the table and are within touching distance of securing a home semi-final.

After making the play-offs last year, another push for promotion is far from a distant ambition whispered in dressing rooms or set as a hopeful target at the start of the year. It is tangible now, shaped by results, resilience, and a growing sense that this group is ready to take another step forward.

It is not lost on McKenna how much that opportunity means, particularly given the journey that has brought both him and the County Tyrone club to this point.

His connection to Clogher Valley runs deep, rooted in a pathway that began not with a grand plan, but with a moment of curiosity in a classroom. He is now the one who is developing the sport in schools like St. Ciaran’s College where he started playing the game.

“Me and Michael Treanor there, we both would have been in the same age group,” he told IrishRugby.ie. “We would have played for the same Gaelic club, Augher St. Macartan’s, and then there was a guy who came into St. Ciaran’s in Ballygawley and showed us rugby.

“The two of us were hooked. Went up the road to Clogher from underage. Me and Michael would have played the same age grade as Paul (Armstrong). And then I think it was 17s and Stevie Bothwell was our head coach at U-17s, and we just pushed on from there.

“Being the Community Development Officer, that’s a role that also started in September for me as well, and it’s a nice balance. Whenever I’m in the local schools, primary and secondary schools, and the schools that I go into that obviously play rugby, they know me.

“Obviously I play rugby for Clogher and I’m the captain. You can go into schools that don’t normally play rugby and I can give them a bit of perspective. I played Gaelic when I was younger, but I played rugby as well.

“So, they have something to go off and something to aspire to, because I was the same at that age. When I was in Ciaran’s, I never thought about it, but somebody came in and they had played rugby before and they had similar backgrounds.”

That introduction to rugby set him on a path that has rarely strayed from the club that nurtured him. From those early underage days to representing Ulster at Under-19 level and later lining out for the Ulster Juniors in an all-conquering 2015 side, McKenna’s development followed a trajectory that might have led elsewhere.

Opportunities to move to more established senior clubs were there, but the pull of home proved stronger. In many ways, that decision reflects the ethos of Clogher Valley itself. This is a club built on community, on players who grow together and commit to something bigger than themselves.

Second row McKenna’s rise through the ranks mirrors that collective journey, and his appointment as captain for this season felt less like a change and more like a natural progression.

“It was massive. It was nice to be thought of in that way. Players and people around the club, committee members, past Presidents, all thought that I was the right person to take it on from Paul Armstrong.

“Because Paul obviously, since he’s come back, he’s been captain for six years. He’s probably one of the most decorated Clogher Valley captains there ever has been. So it was a hard one to follow.”

Replacing Armstrong was never going to be straightforward. The weight of expectation that comes with following a long-standing and successful captain is significant, particularly in a club where identity and leadership are so closely intertwined.

Joining his brother Mark, who is the captain of the seconds team, the family dynamic is a key part of this Clogher squad. McKenna’s approach has been grounded in the same principles that have defined his career so far – honesty, work-rate, and a willingness to learn.

That willingness has been shaped as much by setbacks as by successes. The Fivemiletown outfit’s recent history is not one of uninterrupted progress, but rather a steady climb marked by challenges that have strengthened the group.

Promotion from Division 2C was a milestone in their debut season in the Energia All-Ireland League, but it did not come easily, and McKenna himself had to fight for his place during that period.

“The first year, most junior sides coming up in the last couple of years have just done really well. The likes of the Junior All-Irelands helped us massively, getting trips away down south and winning big games away.

“I remember winning a game against Newcastle West in awful weather, that was a Junior All-Ireland semi-final. Winning those sorts of games stood us in good stead.

“I missed the first part of the 2C season, and I had to fight my way back into the squad because there were younger players coming into the team, which is what you want. Having massively competitive first and second squads helped us really.

“It was the first year the boys pushed on and we got a promotion straight out. Obviously it wasn’t easy. It was the Ulster derby with Omagh before Christmas that hurt us that year. We pulled ourselves back out of it again after Christmas to win the league.”

That internal competition has become one of the defining features of the current squad. It is a group that pushes each other, that understands the demands of the league, and that has learned how to respond when things do not go their way.

Those lessons were particularly evident last season, when the physicality of Division 2B presented a new level of challenge for Stephen Bothwell’s men.

“Last year was a hard season, it was a bit more physical, I would say,” admitted McKnena. “We’re not probably the biggest team in All-Ireland rugby and the boys need the weeks off for the body to recover.

“This year, again, I suppose we just said we wanted to set out. Last year we got to the semi-finals and you remember that feeling after losing to Dungannon in Stevenson Park. After that loss, I wanted to go one step further. We wanted to get promoted, that was the goal.”

Even in those difficult moments, there was a sense that the team was building towards something. The disappointment of falling short at the play-off stage lingered, but it also sharpened the focus for the season that followed.

That ambition has underpinned everything this year. The campaign did not begin perfectly. Early losses to Malone, current table toppers Galwegians, and UL Bohemian exposed areas that needed improvement, and there were moments where results did not reflect their performances.

“We actually started pretty well in the Ulster Senior Cup. A couple of really nice wins. The first time we ever beat City of Armagh, and we beat Ballymena, and then obviously came up against a very good Instonians side.

“But we were obviously happy with the way we played and then came into the league. A very tough game to start up against Rainey. Then the likes of Malone, it was a game where we looked back at it and we definitely should have won it in our heads.

“It was just one of those days where calls were going against us and we were putting ourselves in the wrong positions, basically. Galwegians, from the side that we played last year to this year, a different side.

“They were up a level. Them winning the league with three games to spare, you can see that they’ve definitely stepped up a level. And then UL Bohs, they travelled and they were the better side on the day. It was nip and tuck. Either team could have won the game.

“Then I think after, we nailed it down. The boys were getting out to training more regularly again. What was our goal at the start of the season, it was to obviously get promoted. If we want to get promoted, we have to start winning games. Whether that’s getting the four points or getting the bonus points.”

What followed was a run of eight consecutive victories, a sequence that transformed Clogher Valley’s season and repositioned them as genuine contenders once again. It was not just the results that mattered, but the manner in which they were achieved.

There was a growing maturity in their performances, a sense that the team understood how to manage games, how to respond to pressure, and how to close out tight contests.

Even when that momentum was interrupted by a 35-28 defeat to UL Bohemian in Limerick late last month, there was no sense of panic. Instead, there was clarity.

“After we lost that UL Bohemian game down in UL, we had five games to set us straight. It was all in our hands. We said, obviously, if you look at the teams that we had to play and the teams that UL Bohs had to play in their run-in, they probably had on the table, the easier run-in. But we said, that’s what we want.

“We want to challenge ourselves. We want to be playing the top teams and when we come to play, whoever it is in the semi-final, if we’re still there, that we’d be in a better state because we’re playing harder games week in, week out.”

That desire to embrace the harder path speaks to the mentality that has developed within the squad. That mindset was evident in their 31-0 win away to Galwegians last weekend, a result that carried both significance and symbolism.

Facing the league leaders away from home, Clogher Valley produced one of their most complete performances of the season, handing ‘Wegians their first defeat of the season.

The opening stages of the game were a test of their resilience. Their defensive efforts proved crucial against such usually free-scoring opponents, allowing the team to weather the storm and grow into the contest.

By the final whistle, the bonus point picked up through a stunning run from Josh Kyle that spanned nearly the full length of Crowley Park, was not just five points on the board, it was a statement that Clogher Valley are here to get promoted this season.

“We said that ourselves. We were talking about it in training the week before. Galwegians may have taken their foot slightly off the pedal but they’re still the league winners. They’ll not want us to come down to their home ground and beat them.

“They want to finish in style. The first 15 to 20 minutes of the game, we were under the pump. There were a couple of try-saving tackles to stop them. They were held up over the line. There were two or three times in that first 15 to 20 minutes if they had scored, definitely a different score to the game.

“A big part of our game is our defence. We want to shut teams out. We’re looking at the stats, we’re probably one of the only teams, along with Galwegians, to keep teams to zero. There’s four games this year we’ve done that, home and away.

“Our defence won out at the start. We got the scores when we needed them. To get the bonus point in the last play was massive. Our centre Josh intercepted the ball on our five-metre line and pretty much ran the length of the pitch. His legs were just about getting him there.”

Now, as the season enters its final phase, the focus is firmly on what lies ahead. An Ulster derby away to Malone on Saturday presents both opportunity and challenge, followed by a home clash with Rainey that could define their position heading into the play-offs.

Discipline will be key, particularly given the lessons learned from earlier in the season. For McKenna, these games are about more than points or standings. They are about representing a club and a community that has supported them every step of the way.

“The likes of this week, Malone on Saturday and Raney even the following week, they’re both fighting for top four and they want to be in the semi-finals as well.

“They’re always the same as any sort of derby and especially Ulster is no different. It’s trying to get through the game, obviously, get the win and try not to pick up any injuries.

“We’re going down there, we need the win, and they’re the same obviously. The biggest thing for us will be the difference from the home game at the start of the season. We’ll stop giving away penalties. We had three yellow cards in that game. That was a big thing, obviously, with us being down to 13 at one point.

“If we don’t do that, if we don’t give penalties away, then they don’t get access to our 22. Malone have a big pack and they’ve got good backs. We just need to stop them by not letting them into our 22 with silly penalties or yellow cards.”

The prospect of a home semi-final carries particular significance. That connection between team and community is central to everything Clogher Valley represents. It is reflected not only in match days, but also in the work that McKenna does away from the field as Community Development Officer, bringing rugby into schools and introducing the game to the next generation.

It is, in many ways, a continuation of the same pathway that brought him into the sport, a reminder that the future of the club depends on moments like those.

As the season reaches its conclusion, there is a sense that something special is building. Clogher Valley are once again targeting that promotion. They are a team with purpose, with belief, and with a clear vision of where they want to go.

For McKenna, leading them on that journey is both a privilege and a responsibility. He knows better than most what this club represents, what it has given him, and what it could yet achieve.

“I think it is one of the things that I’ve noticed is different about the All-Ireland League. Not that we still don’t look, but everyone would have said how great our support was and it still is.

“But whenever you’re travelling four or five hours down the country, it just won’t suit everyone. We want a home semi-final not for the fact that we want to play at home, but the fact that we can get a home game and give it to our supporters for a semi-final of an All-Ireland League play-off.

“It would be a reward for all their support they have shown us throughout the years, and this year especially. A home semi-final would be massive as well. One game at a time, a big one away to Malone on Saturday away, and then we’ll take it to Rainey next week after that and see where we’re at,” he added.

– Photos taken by Rachel Armstrong and Francis Flynn

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