Whatever we call them, Strandhill is no stranger to rising tides

And after over-indulging in lavishing lazy stereotypes into one paragraph, on to the important business.

Locally, the first Sligo team to make an All-Ireland club semi-final in 31 seasons are never referred to as 'Strandhill'. They are rarely referred to as 'Coolera/Strandhill'. Strandhill is the surfing and socialising arm of the club that many will have spent a weekend break visiting. They are, to every Sligo football person, 'Coolera'.

How have Coolera ended up as Connacht club football champions? In the main, through a nice blend of some old, new, and borrowed. Let’s reverse through the blend.

The borrowed: Not many rural Ireland clubs get the gift of fully fit All-Ireland winner leaving D4 to join them. Ross O’Carroll has won a club All Ireland with Kilmacud Crokes. Plenty of rural clubs hope for an occasional local marriage to bring in some new footballing talent to bolster their ranks. Johnathan Cassidy (who has won senior championships with St. Mary’s Carrick in Leitrim) and Hugh Rooney, a former Roscommon hurler, have moved to the area after exchanging vows with locals.

Cassidy married the daughter of Mick Laffey, who was on the last Sligo team, St. Mary’s, to win a Connacht championship in 1983. Sean Taylor is another to have come in at an older age to add to an already well stocked panel, making his move from Ballyshannon in Donegal. The borrowed lads are well immersed in the club - O’Carroll, Cassidy and Rooney’s wives (Edwenia, Laura Ann and Ruth) were all part of the Coolera ladies panel which were defeated in this year's All Ireland semi-final after a Connacht win and a quarter final win over Paris-Bordeaux in Maastricht.

The new: A recent influx of young talent to the senior team reflects some solid underage work in the last decade. The youthful faces have been big players at big moments in the season. Adam Higgins has had such impacts off the bench that it is now hard to start him. Ross Doherty and Mark McDaniel were important parts of breakthrough wins for Sligo underage teams, they are now replicating the medal collecting at club level. Goalkeeper Keelan Harte has shown enough to be part of the Sligo senior panel, in scoring points and saving shootout penalties he is a very 2020’s goalkeeper. Adding to the new youthful energy, Leo Doherty and Oran Harte, brothers of Leo and Keelan respectively, have kicked mature scores at key times on this year’s run.

The old: None of the individuals mentioned here should be insulted to be included in this bracket. The maturity and solidity of Coolera’s experienced cohort is what has separated them from a pack of pretenders aspiring to win the Sligo championship after seven years of Tourlestrane dominance. The aforementioned borrowed quartet bring a lot of calm that only experience can bestow (Cassidy is over 40, O’Carroll is 37, jaysus). Keelan Cawley springs about the pitch in a way a man with 15 seasons of inter county action shouldn’t and hits tackles like a 5ft-odd man shouldn’t. Luke Bree will have spent the last few months dividing his time between Coolera training and his coaching role alongside Mickey Harte in Offaly. This Offaly role follows previous coaching stints with Andy Moran in Leitrim and Davy Burke, these roles will no doubt have added something to Bree’s own playing aptitude. He can also add the experience of winning a club All Ireland with St Vincent’s in 2014.

A formidable blend of old, new, and borrowed.

Underneath the blend, no breakthrough team was built without solid foundations. Conor McDonagh, Sean Murphy, Kevin Banks and Aaron O’Boyle are everything any club would want in solidity. Always there, remarkable for their consistency.

Peter Laffey is a hardy boyo, multiple cruciate tears and a return to action a better player after each one. Peter and his dad Mick have Connacht medals, unique enough. More unique still that Mick won his with the neighbours and rivals St. Mary’s. Jonathan Cassidy would need all his experience to settle the Mary’s v Coolera debates between his father-in-law and brother-in-law.

Barry O’Mahony is a creative forward with some LOI soccer experience, he broke Galway United manager Tommy Dunne’s heart in 2014 when he chose GAA training over a trip south to sign a contract at Eamon Deacy Park. Niall Murphy is one of the best forwards in the country, he will score with any freedom, but concentrate too hard on nullifying him and the space opens for the others.

Coolera have an unnecessary oddness about being tagged defensive by some pundits new to their games. I would not label them defensive, I would give them credit for very regularly coming out the right side of low-scoring games. Common sense football is doing everything thing you can when you do not have the ball to stop your opponents scoring and, when you have the ball doing everything you can to score yourself. Coolera will have a carefully considered and thoroughly rehearsed plan to maximise their chances of being ahead of Cuala on the scoreboard at the final whistle.

Is this Coolera progress good for Sligo football? Yes. It has shattered another, self-imposed and very unnecessary, glass ceiling on the expectations of those in Sligo football. After recent breakthrough wins at intercounty minor and U20 level this should help even more broaden their ambitions. St. Molaise Gaels were beaten by a point in the replay of a county final, Shamrock Geals beat Coolera earlier in the championship.

Strandhill is no stranger to rising tides, the hope will be that the success of its GAA club can lift all boats in Sligo. In a winter of storms, Coolera will need the perfect one to defeat Cuala.