David Garland: Monaghan footballer, Sigerson Cup star and umpire
Tuesday 9 June 2020 14:14, UK
Fresh from being honoured as the standout player in the 2020 Sigerson Cup, David Garland is keen to take the next step and break into the Monaghan starting team.
While the 21-year-old is widely earmarked as one of the game's hottest prospects, lining out in the forwards is not his sole involvement in Gaelic football.
In recent years, he has also been standing guard beside the goalposts as an umpire. A member of Martin McNally's team of officials, Garland has been aiding the Monaghan whistle-blower while donning the white jacket.
So how did it come about?
"There was a McRory game on in Inniskeen which is only about 10 minutes over the road," explained Garland.
"Martin McNally was refereeing. I was just finished school and bumped into him. He asked, 'What are you at tonight, would you do umpire?' I said I would, it was a school football game so it's nice to go out and see other schools...I enjoyed doing it. It just took off from there.
"I got to travel the length and breadth of the country with him to see some great grounds and great games along the way.
"Umpiring, it can be a challenging game as well but I enjoy doing it, it gets you out of the house for a few hours and it's all experience as well."
As an inside forward himself, he relishes watching other team's marksmen ply their trade while he is umpiring.
"The [2016 Minor] All-Ireland semi-final was Kerry and Kildare, I think David Clifford was playing that day and he scored [0-8]," he recalled.
"You were watching him, he was kicking them from everywhere. His movement inside - you were standing so close it was hard not to notice him. Even watching other great forwards playing from different counties, you'd pick up bits here and there. It's really good to watch them."
Quite the vantage point indeed.
He has a bit more empathy for officials as a result of his role.
Garland said: "Even myself, there's a fair few players that would dog you a couple of times on the posts. They wouldn't hold back and you're just saying to yourself, 'Do I act like that in games?' You'd be sort of thinking to yourself, at the end of the day it's really worth saying nothing to the umpires. Because as every one of them says back to the players, 'I'm not the one that has the whistle' and it's as simple as that.
"I've sent off a few boys before alright, but they're all well justified.
Intercounty breakthrough
Although he has been in and out of the Monaghan set-up since 2018, the DCU star is eager for 2020 to be a year of real progress.
His successful Sigerson Cup campaign could be a launchpad.
"In terms of experience you are playing against intercounty players at Sigerson level," he said. "You're being recognised, you are playing with and against top quality players. You're hoping to bring it on further with you in your career, to be ready to make the breakthrough to the county scene in the next year or two.
"You're going in [to the Monaghan squad] confident, on the back of a high playing Sigerson that you feel you're ready to push on and make a real impact.
"I was back training the Tuesday after the Mayo [game in the National League]. They were playing Donegal the Sunday, that was obviously a bit quick.
"I was eyeing up the Kerry game but the pandemic took that over."
He's eager to impress the new manager Seamus McEnaney, and he's already at an advantage in that regard as he deals with Banty closely.
"I work for him in a pub in Merrion Row," Garland explained. "I'd know him fairly well as a businessman, he's a shrewd operator in business terms. He's a good man to work for.
"We slag off each other the odd time and there's a bit of rivalry between us.
"On the football pitch, I would have only worked with him for a week or two. But he seems to be very good.
"There's a serious management team there at the minute. Monaghan could be a serious threat in the years to come.
"We're now a solid team in there. We face challenges every year that we're going to be relegated but we always come up trumps and stay up."
Winter football
The Farney County are bracing themselves for a different playing-style to a usual championship, given the intercounty season will start in mid-October.
"Winter football this year, it's going to be a completely different inter-county championship," he said.
"Pitches are going to be heavier, it's going to be raining, cold and you'll probably play the majority of games under lights. This championship could be very different and any team could beat anyone on a given day because as anyone knows, winter and summer football are completely different ball-games.
"The ball won't travel as quick through the hands, or you won't be as quick to get up maybe in the winter time as you would the summer. So definitely the mark, if you could get your head up, look inside for a bit of movement, you could really isolate the mark. If you have a target man in there, it could be something teams could work on, and it could be to their advantage.
"Come the winter time, it could be a serious weapon used if teams start depending on it."
That may be something that suits the Ulster side.
"We could always dig out results in the league, we could always start off the league very well. Even the McKenna Cup, we'd always get close to semi-finals or quarter-finals. So we'd see the winter football as a challenge alright, and we'll rise to it. Hopefully on our day, we can produce the performances and hopefully get a few shock results in there."
