Monaghan will play Armagh in Sunday's Ulster Senior Football final, and Paul McGrane says the Farney men will have no fear when they walk into Clones. Armagh are favourites to end their 18-year wait for the Anglo-Celt Cup, but Monaghan have arrived at the final with memories that make this anything but a straightforward assignment.
McGrane, the last Armagh captain to lift the Anglo-Celt Cup in 2008, said Monaghan will relish the occasion and the setting on their own patch. He pointed to the way they have responded after a poor league campaign, and to their record against Armagh in recent years, including wins in the All-Ireland in 2023 and the Ulster SFC in 2021. "There's a Monaghan team coming that are Ulster club champions, on their own patch and the display of grit they showed against Derry and to do what they did with the sideline points, they'll relish playing Armagh," he said.
Armagh arrive with the numbers that usually travel well in championship football. They have scored 100 points across their three Ulster games and backed that up with a 28-point victory over Down in the semi-final. That form has made them favourites, but McGrane said the weight of expectation does not remove the need for caution.
He said Armagh must be "very wary" of giving away frees because Rory Beggan can punish any lapse and "churn them out" from distance with two-pointers. He also said Monaghan's recent success against Armagh should give them belief in a final that has already been shaped by history as much as form. "They'll have no fear playing them. The last two big games they played them; in Croke Park [shootout win], they came out the right side of it and in the match in Pairc Esler [a thrilling 4-17 to 2-2 win]," McGrane said.
The larger burden sits with Armagh, who have lost three successive Ulster finals and are trying to turn strong championship performances into a title. McGrane said the county's management deserve immense credit for how they have handled turnover in the squad, stayed in Division One and brought younger players through while keeping experienced men involved. "From Armagh's point of view, the management deserve immense credit. The turnover of players, they've stayed up in Division One, nurtured the old fellas, transitioned in the young fellas. They've stepped up each part of the championship," he said.
For Monaghan, the final is a chance to turn a recovery story into something bigger. They have not won an Ulster title since 1988, and the route back to this stage has given them a platform that few would have predicted after the league. For Armagh, the task is sharper and simpler: deliver the kind of performance that matches their form, and finally end the wait that has stretched across 18 years. McGrane said experience can help, but not by itself. "There's fellas there that have soldiered for years and would love to go and get them a medal for all they've done, but it doesn't happen like that," he said. "I've no doubt there's plenty of hurt in the locker, but you have to go deliver a big performance and hopefully the past experiences help you get over the line."
