On Stephen's Day 2020, the rain poured down incessantly as Sligo and Roscommon faced off in the Connacht minor final at the GAA Centre of Excellence in Bekan, Co Mayo.
Storm Bella was at its peak by the time the game started and it took Sligo 55 minutes to register their first score. They finished strongly, but it wasn't enough to deny the Rossies, who prevailed by three points.
Another provincial final loss for the Yeats County in the underage grades, following defeats to Galway at minor and Under-21 in 2015 and 2017 respectively.
Yet, something was stirring in The Land of Heart's Desire.
When Sligo is brought up in a sporting context, Sligo Rovers is the team that often comes to mind. Of course we should also mention Mona McSharry's exploits in the swimming pool and Derek Fox winning another Aintree Grand National as examples of others doing the county proud.
"Sligo is a great football town", we are told. And that is true, with the Bit O' Red attracting much support beyond the county borders.
The late Johnny Chadda, who served as Rovers president and did so much to keep the club afloat in tough times, famously said:
Even if the wind stops to blow
Even if the sea ceases to flow
Even if the sun ceases to rise
The name of Sligo Rovers will shine.
And shine forever like the morning star
Glittering in the sky
The club have had a few days where they did shine on the field of play. FAI Cups and a league title success have come Sligo's way in recent times. And then last summer at a heaving Showgrounds, the victory over Motherwell in the Europa Conference League was another occasion to savour.
It's not a case that the GAA fraternity are looking on with any jealousy, success for either code is welcomed and the 'well done' post on Twitter will be sent out. Such congratulations is now coming more often from the Rovers.
We said things were stirring on the GAA front. Months after that biblical night in Bekan, Sligo got their hands on the Connacht minor trophy, this time edging out Roscommon at the Hyde. A first win in the grade since 1968, with people joking on social media that Neil Armstrong had set foot on the moon since Sligo last prevailed.
In May 2022, a maiden provincial title at U20 level was won when a late goal at Markievicz Park saw the team in black prevail over Mayo.
And then just a few weeks ago, the sight of Dillon Walsh darting up the field to fist over the winning point, that came off the crossbar for good measure, was the highlight as the U-20 title was retained after a Tuam thriller against Galway.
It got better for Paul Henry's side as another footballing heavyweight - Kerry - were defeated in the All-Ireland semi-final - a day out from Sligo seniors facing Galway in the provincial showdown at MacHale Park.
Heady days indeed for followers of Sligo GAA.
For 17 years, Mark Breheny donned the colours of Sligo and was on the side that won the county's third provincial title in 2007. Earlier this year he guided Summerhill College to a Hogan Cup final appearance, a further indication of a county going in the right direction. We should also mention St Attracta's of Tubbercurry claiming a Connacht schools Senior B title.
Breheny praised the work of all the stakeholders in the revival of Sligo's fortunes.
"A lot of good people are involved at the moment," he told RTÉ Sport. "A lot of good work has gone on in schools, clubs, development squads.
"Players are putting in what's required at the Centre Of Excellence in Scarden on the Strandhill Road - and that's going back about 10 years.
"St Attracta's and Summerhill, both of them catchment areas for their respective clubs, are really helping to drive things.
"In Summerhill when they come into first year, you're trying to do a lot of things with them, get them to develop good habits and then help them to progress through the different competitions that are available at school level.
"But overall it's an accumulation of many things and the emergence of young lads that are keen to learn and develop."
Many of Sligo's young stars have been coached by Breheny in Summerhill, a source of much satisfaction then for the man who now also manages his club, St Mary's.
"Dillon Walsh was the guy who came off the bench and fisted over that point against Galway; he's been used as a supersub. He's a very energetic guy when opponents are getting tired. He has unbelievable pace. He's been a real catalyst for Summerhill since I had him in first year.
"Ronan Niland, a clubmate of mine, is also centre-forward for Summerhill and centre-forward for Sligo. James Donlon, our captain with Summerhill, he's injured at the moment. Canice Mulligan [U20 captain] left Summerhill last year and he had that great line after the Connacht final.
"We have a number of guys playing minor at the moment, so it's been busy for all after that hectic schools campaign. And then you have the Leaving Cert to come in a few weeks' time. Before that there is the opportunity for the U20s to win an All-Ireland. It's been a great journey so far.
"You had to go away to Roscommon and win, then go to a Mayo venue and win, and then go to a real, traditional ground like Tuam and beat Galway on their home patch. If somebody said at the start of the year this is what Sligo have to do, well the odds of them winning would have been very long. They beat teams who have been in the mix for minor and U20 All-Irelands in recent years.
"I've seen familiar traits, good traits, in each match. It was no fluke to go and win the competition this year. There is an air of confidence amongst them, which is fantastic. Summerhill beat St Brendan's [Killarney] in an All-Ireland semi, now we're across Kerry opponents again. Our guys won't be in fear of them; I don't expect them to be, but if Kerry click they will be very formidable.
"You go back to the 90s and Westmeath were winning underage titles. And then Laois did something similar. Roscommon won an All-Ireland minor in '06 and some of that team went on to beat us in the 2010 Connacht final.
"This is Sligo's turn to hopefully push on."
Focusing on the senior side, Breheny feels there is now a good blend of youth and experience, with some of those players who got to underage provincial deciders in the last decade now the mainstay of the squad.
"Sligo at the moment have a mid-20s-range age group," he said.
"That's going back to a minor team of 2015 and the U21 team of '17 that lost to Galway after extra-time. Galway had Seán Kelly, Robert Finnerty and Peter Cooke involved back then.
"The following year they changed the grade to U20, so a lot of our lads lost out. They then came into a Sligo senior panel that was lopsided. You had guys in their post-30s and there wasn't enough guys in their mid-20s to help the younger lads.
"They've had to learn very quickly on the job and it was difficult for them. The team now has a very good age profile. You have decent minors and that U20 group coming through. In the next few years you hope we can get closer to the likes of Galway, Mayo and Roscommon in Connacht.
"For now Tony [McEntee] is doing a great job with them."
It was November 2020 when the Armagh All-Ireland winner took on the Yeats County post. A few weeks earlier, because of Covid cases in the camp, the team did not fulfill its Connacht semi-final clash with Galway. In 2019, Sligo failed to win a competitive match across league and championship.
The mood music in the county is a lot different now. However, McEntee's first season at the helm was far from plain sailing, with Breheny part of the management team for the 2021 season.
"He asked me in as a selector but it was a particularly difficult year," recalled Breheny.
"You were trying to get lads together on zoom calls and trying to do tactical stuff via laptops. It was extremely hard, even though I know it was the same for every county.
"Tony has a pedigree; the lads respect him as a coach"
"When you're new into a group, you love to stamp your authority on that group, on the football field, and see them up close and personal. We only had three games in the league and then lost to Mayo in the championship."
Since then Sligo have contested a Tailteann Cup semi-final at Croke Park and this spring saw them emerge from Division 4 of the league. When the draw was made for the Connacht championship, they were fancied to emerge from the 'kinder' half. That they did after comfortable wins over London and New York.
McEntee's making progress alright.
So what's the Crossmaglen native like?
"He's a very thorough guy, very organised, and tactically astute," was Breheny's initial response.
"He has a head coach with him in Joe Keane. Joe had prior knowledge of the Sligo players, he was with Paul Taylor. Tony had worked with Joe under Stephen Rochford [in Mayo], and it's fair to say the two lads bounce a lot of each other.
"Paul Durcan (former Donegal keeper) came in as a selector.
"Tony has a pedigree; the lads respect him as a coach. He gained that respect immediately but that only lasts for a certain amount of time. He's a straight talker; if you're not putting in a shift you won't be playing. If you're injured or carrying knocks he will look at players that can train and play. He has laid down the law regarding that.
"He got us out of Division 4, which is extremely difficult. We've been trying for a few years so it's great to get out."
And now comes a date with last year's All-Ireland finalists. It's a big test for this Sligo side. Playing and defeating Division 4 teams is one thing and Sligo have been going along nicely since their only loss so far this year to Laois at the end of January, but a huge step-up awaits in Castlebar on Sunday.
A good portion of Breheny's career saw him play on Sligo teams that were dining close to the top table. The first year of the All-Ireland qualifiers in 2001 had them in the last 12. Breheny faced the then All-Ireland champions Galway in a Connacht final a year later, before then running Armagh, who would go on to lift Sam, close in the All-Ireland quarter-final, after a replay.
In 2007 there was that Connacht final triumph and other appearances in the provincial decider followed in 2010, '12 and '15.
Breheny wants his county to be competitive again.
"We have a goal to get the ball moving again, to compete with the top teams". That's his hope.
"Are Sligo ready to take on that big challenge that is Galway? It will be interesting to see but I think our lads are ready; I hope they are. Even if it doesn't go well you still have the three games in the Sam Maguire.
"You have to try and play against the better players; try and improve yourself. If you're stuck in Division 4, stuck in the Tailteann, psychologically you think you belong there. That's not jumping ahead of ourselves; hopefully we can give a good account of ourselves in that Connacht final.
"Sligo had availed of the restructuring of the leagues in the late 90s; we were playing against top-tier teams and were ready for certain matches.
"In Division 4 you're not getting that exposure. The best teams keep playing the best teams in the league and the weaker teams play each other all the time. How then are you expected to catch up? We need to play the likes of Galway more often".
It was Sligo's showing against Cavan in that Tailteann semi-final that we first saw glimpses of their progress under Tony McEntee.
Nathan Mullen and Evan Lyons looked assured at the back, while Seán Carrabine, Patrick O'Connor, Pat Spillane and Niall Murphy eventually warmed to their task in attack.
They all will need to be on their game against Padraic Joyce's side. That's the barameter of where they want to be. We'll know a lot more about Sligo and where they are going, not only after the Connacht final, but also following the rarified atmosphere of the All-Ireland round-robin series.
After the win over New York, Tony McEntee was, nevertheless, excited about the challenges ahead when he spoke to RTÉ Sport.
"We believe we're in reasonable condition and we've good pace within the team, we believe we've a number of qualities Division 1 teams have, but we'll test it out and we'll see.
"We won't be anxious going into these games. We'll try our best and do what we have to do and we'll prepare properly for it and look forward to the games.
"We'll not be worried and wondering are we inferior to everybody else. That's not the mindset we'll have."
Things will well and truly be put to the test in the coming weeks.
Watch the Connacht and Munster Football Championships finals, Galway v Sligo and Kerry v Clare, from 1.15pm on Sunday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on the RTÉ News app or RTÉ.ie/Sport or listen to live commentary on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
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