From competing in Division Four of the National League to reaching the Division One final inside six years, Derry’s rise to glory has been extraordinary.
The Oak Leaf County face Dublin in the Division 1 final this weekend - a rematch of last year's Division 2 final - and it’s an occasion they’re used to at this stage.
2019 – Division Four
Before Rory Gallagher took over Derry and led them to unimaginable provincial glory in a few short seasons, Damian McErlain, who took the Derry minors to the All-Ireland final in 2017, guided his native county out of the basement division two years later. Having made the drop out of Division Three in 2018, finishing with just two wins from seven outings, Derry had to literally start from scratch and rebuild from the lowest base possible.
They did that in quite impressive fashion as they won all their Division Four league encounters, setting up a Croke Park date with a Leitrim side that had also gained promotion, but that Derry had already beaten in round six on a day when Shane McGuigan top scored with a haul of 2-5. Chrissy McKaigue guided Derry to the league title with a 0-20 to 0-16 victory and that kickstarted their rise to the very top.
30 March 2019; The Derry squad celebrate with the cup after the Allianz Football League Division 4 Final between Derry and Leitrim at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
2020 – Division Three
Rory Gallagher took over in the off-season of 2020 and one of his first objectives was to get Conor Glass home from Australia. Covid-19 intervened, and the league was suspended in early March and not restarted until October, by which time Glass had returned to Ireland. Derry beat both Longford and Offaly in their final two league games but just missed out on promotion with their round two defeat to Down way back in February proving their downfall.
The Mourne men made the jump to Division Two despite finishing on the same points (9) as Derry as they held the upper hand in terms of head-to-head. Glass wasn’t the only one to make his debut that season as Ethan Doherty, Paul Cassidy and Padraig McGrogan pulling on the Derry shirt of the first time. Only Galway’s Shane Walsh scored more than Shane McGuigan in the league, with the pair finishing on 2-29 and 2-28 respectively.
READ HERE: Defiant Conor Glass Responds To Critics Of Harte's Derry Selection Calls
29 May 2022; Conor Glass of Derry during the Ulster GAA Football Senior Championship Final between Derry and Donegal at St Tiernach's Park in Clones, Monaghan. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
2021 – Division Three
Having missed out on back-to-back promotions in 2020, Derry were sure not to make the same mistake twice and powered to Division Two with relative ease. With Covid-19 still present and the country in semi-lockdown, the leagues were split in two and Derry won all three of their ties against Fermanagh, Cavan and Longford to top their mini group.
The Oak Leafers had four-points to spare in the semi-final against Limerick before blasting Offaly out of their way in the decider, winning 0-21 to 1-9. McGuigan led the line for Gallagher’s men with a tally of 0-7 and was one of 11 players that got on the scoresheet that day. Conor Doherty, a constant member of the Derry starting team now, made his inter-county debut that season and slotted straight into the half back line for the final alongside Gareth McKinless and Paul Cassidy.
That Shane McGuigan sideline… pic.twitter.com/fGKIyNJi75 https://t.co/sqVn4fxo7u
— Derry GAA (@Doiregaa) June 19, 2021
2022 – Division Two
Derry’s rise to the very top was briefly halted in 2021 when they failed to get out of Division Three, but they knocked on the door fairly hard. They finished third in the table, just one point behind the top two pairing of Galway and Roscommon. With promotion in their sights, McGuigan was (harshly) red carded in round five against Roscommon as they teams played out an 0-12 aside draw and with McGuigan suspended, Galway beat Derry the next day out to claim a top two finish.
The two games against their Connacht rivals were the only two blots on Derry’s record as they beat the other five teams in the division but when it came to the crunch, they just came up short. Derry continued to grow their panel however with Lachlan Murray getting his first minutes two years after helping the Derry minors capture the All-Ireland crown.
16 July 2023; Lachlan Murray of Derry during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Semi-Final match between Derry and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
2023 – Division Two
While Derry were one-point off promotion in 2022, they made sure that wasn’t the case 12 months on as they dropped just one-point in the entire campaign and that was a final round draw with Cork. The biggest win of them all was their round five victory over Dublin when they came from five-points behind at half time to win by the minimum of margins. Brendan Rogers stroked over the final, game-winning score and his move from full back to midfield was a major boost to Gallagher’s armoury.
That was only made possible by the introduction of Eoin McEvoy as the youngster made the number three shirt his own instantly. Derry did face Dublin again in the Division Two league final but didn’t have as much success, with Dessie Farrell’s men dismantling their opposition in a 4-6 to 0-11 win, although Derry did enter the game without Chrissy McKaigue and McEvoy through injury.
20 January 2024; Eoin McEvoy of Derry in action against Ciarán Moore of Donegal during the Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup final match between Derry and Donegal at O'Neills Healy Park in Omagh, Tyrone. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
2024 – Division One
It’s so rare that two newly promoted teams will instantly make an impact at the top tier but that is exactly what Dublin and Derry have done. They are the two leading contenders for the Sam Maguire Cup, alongside Kerry, so it certainly hasn’t come as any surprise that they will face off in the Division One league final.
SEE ALSO: Mickey Harte Has Strong Message For Those Who Want To Scrap GAA League Finals
2 March 2024; Cormac Murphy of Derry in action against Cian Murphy of Dublin during the Allianz Football League Division 1 match between Derry and Dublin at Celtic Park in Derry. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
With Mickey Harte now in charge of the Oak Leaf County, they have already retained the McKenna Cup title and will go to Croke Park on Sunday in search of more silverware. Their earlier meeting with Dublin proved to be their only defeat of 2024 to date but that game has an asterisk beside it as Harte choose to rest the likes of Conor Glass and Gareth McKinless. Outside of that defeat, Derry have had a clean slate and have added the likes of defender Diarmuid Baker and attacking ace Cormac Murphy to their ever-improving squad.
SEE ALSO: Mickey Harte Has Strong Message For Those Who Want To Scrap GAA League Finals
