Conor Glass captained Derry to a second successive Ulster title earlier this yearDate: Sunday, 2 July Venue: Croke Park, Dublin Throw-in: 13:45 BSTCoverage: Live text commentary followed by report and highlights on the BBC Sport website and app
Conor Glass admits the speed with which Derry have established themselves as one of the best teams in Ireland since he returned from Australia has taken him by surprise.
The Oak Leafers have won two Ulster titles and returned to Division One since Glass joined the panel in 2021 after leaving AFL side Hawthorn.
And after reaching an All-Ireland Club Football Final with Glen earlier this year, Glass is preparing to captain Derry in Sunday’s All-Ireland quarter-final against Cork.
“It’s happening pretty quickly to be honest,” said Glass.
“I didn’t really expect it to happen this quick.”
Last year, Derry ended a 24-year wait for an Ulster title before reaching the All-Ireland semi-finals, where they fell to Galway.
But having earned promotion to Division One before retaining their provincial crown, Derry are one win away from a second successive semi-final after topping their round-robin group allowed them to skip last week’s preliminary quarter-finals.
And while Glass admits he is surprised by the speed of Derry’s rise, he insists he never doubted the county’s ability to reassert themselves as mainstays in the latter stages of major competitions.
“I envisioned it. I knew we had the players,” added the 25-year-old midfielder.
“A lot of the boys I’ve grown up with, whether it’s through club or school football or the county minors, so Derry have always had the players.
“We’ve always had the support in Derry. That’s come to the fore over the last couple of years. We’ve given Derry fans the opportunity to come on this journey together and they’ve definitely supported us.
“As players all we can do is go out and perform and put our best foot forward and hopefully that’s enough this weekend.”
Sunday’s quarter-final at Croke Park is a rerun of the 1993 All-Ireland final when Derry beat Cork 1-14 to 2-8 to clinch the county’s only Sam Maguire Cup.
Victory over the Rebels on Sunday would put Derry in a strong position to reach their first final since that 1993 triumph – and just the third in the county’s history – with two of Tyrone, Kerry, Dublin and Mayo guaranteed to exit the championship this weekend.
And Glass says he “wouldn’t be playing county football” if he didn’t think Derry were good enough to end their long wait for a second All-Ireland title.
“I’ve said that from day dot. I believe in it. The rest of this Derry team believes in it and I’d imagine the seven other teams in the quarter-finals believe they can win it this year as well.
“We’re in a unique position in that a lot of people say there are no real contenders but you have to have internal belief as well and I think we have that.”
Glass has been named to start alongside Brendan Rogers in a familiar-looking Derry midfield against Cork while Chrissy McKaigue – who preceded Glass as captain – is restored to the line-up.
McKaigue missed the final round-robin game against Clare but returns to the full-back line alongside Eoin McEvoy and Conor McCluskey, with Padraig Cassidy dropping to the bench.
Derry vs Cork teams
Derry: Odhran Lynch; Chrissy McKaigue, Eoin McEvoy, Conor McCluskey; Conor Doherty, Gareth McKinless, Padraig McGrogan; Conor Glass, Brendan Rogers; Benny Heron, Paul Cassidy, Ethan Doherty; Ciaran McFaul, Shane McGuigan, Niall Loughlin.
Subs: Thomas Mallon, Declan Cassidy, Niall Toner, Shea Downey, Lachlan Murray, Ben McCarron, Paul McNeill, Padraig Cassidy, Conleth McGuckian, Mark Doherty, Diarmuid Baker.
Cork: Micheal Aodh Martin; Maurice Shanley, Rory Maguire, Tommy Walsh; Kevin O’Donovan, Daniel O’Mahony, Matty Taylor; Colm O’Callaghan, Ian Maguire; Brian O’Driscoll, Ruairi Deane, Killian O’Hanlon; Sean Powter, Steven Sherlock, Eoghan McSweeney.
Subs: Patrick Doyle, Cian Kiely, Tom Clancy, Darragh Cashman, Paul Walsh, Chris Og Jones, Conor Corbett, John O’Rourke, Mark Cronin, Brian Hurley, Fionn Herlihy.