Watch out Cork the Colemans are coming. Gary may be the manager's son but the brilliant Magherafelt youngster is there very much on merit. Every G.A.A.household in Derry is, this week, buzzing with excitement as the county prepares for it's first All-Ireland final since 1958 but one family in particular will be thinking about nothing else but football - the Coleman clan where dad Eamonn is Derry manager and son Garry will be one of the key players in the Oak Leaf County's bid for glory. Last Sunday week, Ollie and Michael Walsh both had a major bearing on the hurling final as Kilkenny took their second crown in a row, so Gary Coleman will be hoping that it will prove to be a good omen for Derry and that the Coleman family can follow in the footsteps of the Walshes and help Derry to their first ever All-Ireland Senior football title. Some might think that it would be very difficult on a player to have his father involved with the team selection, others would probably say it's an advantage. Gary himself never really found it a problem during his inter-county career, except when he was starting off. " At the beginning it was difficult sometimes. Most people who know me said that I was there on ability but there were some who said it was because of my father. I think I've proved them wrong. Sometimes he used to treat me a bit harder than the others, but now I'm just one of the lads. The whole set-up is like a family, like a club team." The set-up has certainly proved to be very successful, this year in particular as the highly talented and determined Derry team pushed everything out of their path to reach their first All-Ireland decider in thirty five years. Gary Coleman himself has played no small part in their great campaign, a rock of consistency in the left half back position. He's happy enough with his own form this season which is probably his best ever. "Last year I thought went fairly well for me but this year I'm delighted with my form. It's been fairly consistent I was on a weights programme for nine months and it helped keep me in trim". As can be expected, the Derry panel have been winding down the hard physical work over the last couple of weeks and in the days before the match training is just a matter of getting through the motions as the players are urged to get plenty of rest. Not that they need any telling. "It's up to you the rest. You know yourself when you're feeling bad and we just make sure to take it easy". It's this Derry teams first Senior All-Ireland final so there is bound to be some tension in the camp in the lead-up to the big match. "I wouldn't really say we're nervous yet, but I'm sure we will be on the morning of the match. At the moment, there's great excitement around. Morale is high and there's a great spirit among the players." So are the team confident as they face their biggest ever challenge? "We're very confident alright but not over-confident. I'd say expectations are high. We're in a final so we'd have to hope for the best or else there's no point going there at all". It's this determined attitude which has carried the Northerners successfully through this year's Championship. It's been one of the toughest campaigns anyone could ask for as they had to defeat the 1991 All-Ireland champions, the 1992 winners and also last year's runners-ups on their way. "I think Derry definitely had the hardest passage to the final. It's been a good Championship, very hard and tough with plenty of good football." Derry overcame Down by a surprisingly high margin in the first round in Newry and then proved too strong in the finish for a committed Monaghan side, winning by eight points. Their next game was the infamous Ulster final encounter with Donegal on the rain-sodden Clones pitch. For this game Gary was back at corner back and showed by his performance that he has the physical presence as well as the speed and skill to match anyone. "That Donegal game was very hard weather-wise and Donegal are a good team, but you have to beat the best if you want to be the best!" This was Derry's first Ulster final victory since 1987, the year that they were well beaten by Meath in the All-Ireland semi-final when they probably lacked the experience and cutting thrust the current team has. That was in the days before the Colemans arrived on the scene and this year Derry were well prepared for their clash with Dublin in Croke Park and beat them in a classic match by fifteen points to fourteen. They had to show great courage to come back from a half time deficit of five points and overthrow the Dubs with a powerful second half display. "That was hard when our backs were against the wall. It was the never-say-die spirit which won it for us and it has been with us all year. I thought myself that I could have played better against Dublin, but I suppose winning was the main thing." The cheer which greeted the Derry team when they ran onto the pitch that day was said, by many, to be one of the loudest heard in Croke Park for years, on a par with that which the Antrim hurlers got before their All-Ireland final in 1989. "The cheer we got when we came on would lift any team, but at the same time it wouldn't win the match for you." Of course, the Rebel County laying waiting to ambush the men from the Foyle on Sunday and most commentators around the country are stumped when it comes to predicting the outcome of this particular clash. Derry have obviously shown what they're made off, dismissing such tough opponents throughout the season, but Cork's true potential remains a bit of a mystery as they didn't have any really tough matches yet. "I've just seen bits and pieces of them from the Munster Championship and the All-Ireland semi-final. It's not Cork's fault if the opposition is poor. They've handled the teams they've come up against. If they had struggled to beat them then you might question their form but they haven't." Cork should prove to be a tougher proposition for Derry than Dublin did, especially up front where the Munster champions possess some of the highest scoring forwards in the country this year. "They will be as hard as anyone to beat. You couldn't really single out any of them but I suppose O'Driscoll and Corkery will really have to be watched because they've scored plenty." If Derry and Cork had met at this stage five years ago, Cork would undoubtedly have been the hottest of hot favourites as Ulster teams were always the automatic underdogs when playing their counterparts from Leinster or Munster. But Down and Donegal have liberated the Ulster teams from their mantle as also-rans with their glorious victories in the last two years. "It gives you a lift knowing that Ulster teams are on top and can win the All-Ireland in Croke Park. The Ulster Championship is the best Championship with the best football." Although this will be Gary's first Senior final, the Magherafelt man is certainly no stranger to the Croke Park turf having played at Minor level there as well as in this year's semi-final. After playing with the club Minor team at the tender age of fourteen, he was just sixteen when called up for Minor inter-county duty in 1988. That year they were beaten by Down in the Ulster Championship but the following Summer was more successful as Gary captained a powerful Northern combination to the All- Ireland title, overcoming Offaly in the final. "You always dream about captaining a team at any level. It was definitely one of the highlights of my career." Gary was again captain in 1990 when they lost to Meath in the All-Ireland semi-final. That year he made the breakthrough onto the Senior team in a League game shortly after the dad had taken over as manager. He came on against Cavan to do a marking job on Ronan Carolan in midfield. "I was just eighteen. It might have been a bit early but it was good to get the experience." Gary Coleman's club is Magherafelt O'Donovan Rossas who are going through a bit of a bad patch at the moment, having been knocked out of this year's Senior Championship in the preliminary round. "It's a young team and it's always hard to predict the future with a town team but you never know." As well as an uncle of his, Kevin Teague, was on the Minor team of 1965 and the Under 21 team of '68. Gary's grandfather, Charlie Teague, is one of his greatest supporters. Originally from Tyrone, the 84 year old man is now a firm Derry fan and although he doesn't get out to the matches like he used to, he makes sure to watch on television. He will certainly be watching the Derry men on Sunday as they bid for their first ever All-Ireland title, which would be the realisation of Gary's main footballing ambition. "My main aim is to win an All-Ireland. You always dream about reaching the final and it's just great to be there now." Written by The Hogan Stand Magazine 17th Sept. 1993 Tweet

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