Through his work as an MLA for Newry and Armagh, Justin McNulty is hopeful that a "positive" announcement will happen soon on Casement Park's readiness to host Euro 2028 games, with McNulty himself in contact with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin on the issue.
Speaking in the last couple of days, the newly appointed secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn, said that Casement Park "will be built" but urged people to "bear with" him.
That said the clock is ticking, with UEFA wanting the facility to be ready no later than mid-2027 to allow time for test events before the tournament.
Last month, GAA president Jarlath Burns had admitted Casement is unlikely to be ready to host Euro 2028 matches, describing his outlook as "pessimistic".
McNulty is hoping that Europe's footballing governing body will show some patience, allowing for the prospect that things may now move quicker now following Keir Starmer's election as UK prime minister.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport ahead of Laois' clash with Down in Saturday's Tailteann Cup final, he said: "Listen it's teetering on the edge for sure. I have actually written to the UEFA president myself, asking for flexibility and for flexibility to be shown to Casement Park given the nature of the stadium and what it means to the north and hopefully that will be the case.
"I was hoping with Keir Starmer in Belfast yesterday that the announcement would come then but I don't know what they are waiting for. It has been described as extra-time now now for Casement to be ready for the Euros in 2028 and I think it is a huge opportunity. I just think there needs to be a bit of generosity shown on all sides to see the value of Casement Park, as being a hugely exciting, positive and powerful symbol of reconciliation and hope for the North. That's what it can be."
And McNulty remains that hopeful that good news on the project will be imminent.
"I think it was discussed, discussed at length both by our party and by Sinn Féin during the Starmer visit. It’s the most pressing issue it's been described as by Kier Starmer for the North, that is a solution on Casement. The soundings I think are positive and I’m hopeful a positive announcement will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead."
Life is busy for McNulty, juggling life as an Assembly member in Stormont and managing the Laois footballers. The balancing act garnered headlines back in February when McNulty left the opening sitting of the restored Executive to attend a league match in Wexford. He was subsequently suspended by the SDLP and sat as an Independent Nationalist for a while, before he was welcomed back by the party.
Recalling the events of 3 February, he said: "It was a unique situation. It was a Saturday evening sitting of the Assembly which was just bizarre and I had to be in two places at the one time and the only way to make it work was to do what I had to do.
"It all blew up and it surprised me the level of interest in that dynamic. It was intriguing and fascinating in many ways."
It's the second whirl on the merry-go-round in the midlands for the man who won an All-Ireland medal with his native Armagh in 2002. His first stint in Laois was from 2010 to 2013, where he guided them to Division 1; a decade later, the county came calling again. McNulty was only too happy to accept their offer.
"Ah here, it was a bolt out of the blue, a total bolt out of the blue, but I'm delighted that it happened," he revealed.
"I guess I've missed that dressing-room environment. I love being in a dressing-room with footballers, I love being on the pitch coaching. Gaelic football is something I'm passionate about. Beyond friends and family, nothing defines me more than Gaelic football. So I'm hugely privileged to be in the environment that I'm in, hugely privileged to be working with the Laois players and hugely privileged to be in the Tailteann Cup final."
Much talk of late has centred around the negative aspects of Gaelic football, with the recent Kerry-Derry All-Ireland quarter-final doing little to enhance the finer points of the game. In spite of this, the Mullaghbawn clubman feels much of the commentary is overly negative.
"There's a huge negativity around the sport which is not necessarily merited," he added.
"There are some issues around defensive structures and the game can go into go slow mode and be a bit of a bore-fest for periods and in certain games that can go throughout the whole game. But the score rates are at a different level than they were 20 years ago. So how do you balance those? Everybody is complaining about it being a more defensive game but the scoring rates are rising.
"I guess the game is being played much more efficiently than it was back when I played. But the skill levels are on a different level, the physical conditioning levels, the science around the sport, those are at different levels. I think it is all positive. I do believe that there are opportunities for improvement and Jarlath Burns obviously has started to initiate that task force with Jim Gavin at the head of it and no better man to review the rules of our game and make it a better sport."
So far in 2024, Laois footballers have gained promotion to Division 3 and are now contesting a national final. For McNulty, it's simply a case of building on the work done by previous managers.
"I would say the foundation blocks were already very much in place. Billy Sheehan and Chris Conway were there last year and before that you had the likes of Mike Quirke from Kerry, and John Sugrue, another Kerry man, so the foundations had been built over many years. We're not starting from scratch, we're building on the work that has been done by great coaches and managers who were there before.
"Culture is something you have to look at all the time, it doesn't happen naturally. And if it does, it's maybe not conducive to the high performance environment that you want to create. But you're always trying to build a culture around the team that is conducive to high performance and allowing them to express themselves as footballers and as men."
For McNulty and Laois, there is the prize of the ticket to next year's Sam Maguire if they can beat favourites Down on Saturday afternoon.
Not something that is concentrating the thoughts of the manager it would seem.
"We're not talking about next year, we're looking at Saturday," he said. "That's it. Nothing else matters.
"The situation is that I have a Tailteann Cup Final on Saturday and my laser focus is there to help our team be the best it can be."
Watch the All-Ireland Football Championship semi-finals, Armagh v Kerry (5.30pm on Saturday on RTÉ2) and Donegal v Galway (4pm on Sunday on RTÉ2). Both games available on RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch Down v Laois in the Tailteann Cup final on Saturday from 2.45pm on RTE2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
