No one's questioning The Watty Graham's now!

The result confirms to critics a charge long held against the Watty's, that when push comes to shove in championship football, Glen will be found wanting. That Sunday evening just over four years ago, after Ciaran McFaul's injury time point to level was deemed after the final whistle, it seemed that even fate has decided against the club.

The lack of a John McLaughlin Cup in the trophy cabinet was always a convenient stick with which to beat Glen.

Glen were by no means the only club in the county waiting to shake Mr. McLaughlin by the hands under the Celtic Park stand at that time but the fixation on the Watty's was largely due to their remarkable underage production line. The worst kept secret in Derry and beyond in terms of talent, the club had county and provincial champions aplenty within their youth ranks and every pundit in the county was eager to tip each season as the one which would finally see the emergence of a beautiful championship monster.

Turns out 2021 was that year and if the appointment of Malachy O'Rourke and the prodigal return of big Conor Class (not a misprint!) were the final pieces of the jigsaw, every bit as important were those days they fell short. Days like October 20th 2019. Or September 20th, 2020 and a three point quarter-final defeat against Slaughtneil. Or October 7th 2018 and the 2-11 to 1-06 defeat to Lavey.

The list goes on and after every single one of those setbacks (because that's all they were), after every false dawn, Glen's mentality was questioned. Everyone knew the talent was there, so why else would the Maghera club not have translated underage success to senior glory? If only football was that simple.

It was a pressure of expectation unlikely to have been felt by any other club in the country, let alone the county and certainly not by a club still in search of a maiden senior county championship. The irony was those questioning Glen's mentality had missed the point. Where they pointed at weakness, critics should have seen strengthening resolve. How else could you describe the ability to continually take punches but pick yourself off the canvas and return to the fight?

It's an ability, a lesson forged in heartbreak, that served them well on their way to that 2021 Derry victory and each year since. It served them well in their 2022 and 2023 Ulster victories. And it served the Watty's well on Sunday in Croke Park.

A journey like Glen's deserved a dramatic finale and these boys have learned how to deliver.

The irony of Glen saving their worst display of the championship season for Croker won't be lost on Malachy O'Rourke. The Watty's have played some superb stuff over the past three years but Sunday against St. Brigid's was solely about character. Going in as favourites and many suggesting the Derry champions only had to turn up played directly into Roscommon hands with St. Brigid's being criminally under-rated. Remember they had already accounted for Corofin in the Connacht championship and had been All Ireland champions as recently as 2013!

Glen won't have been underestimating them but the billing suited St. Brigid's and meant the pressure was off; the onus would be on the Watty's. That pressure took a toll in the final via misplaced passes and wayward, rushed shooting because for all your meticulous preparation or past experience, you cannot replicate the pressure of watching a first All Ireland title seemingly slip away.

And it was slipping. Jody McDermott's excellent first half goal and the Ethan Doherty point that followed wasn't even Glen's first olive branch - that was probably Tiarnan Flanagan's goal saving block - but they didn't capitalise on either. And in a final of countless potential turning points Brian Derwin's early second half goal for St. Brigid's looked increasingly like a killer blow, especially given Glen's insistence on snap shots from ill advised areas and Connor Carville's black card meaning they would play out most of the final quarter a man short.

You have to wonder did Glen minds wander? They wouldn't be human if they didn't yet despite the doubts, despite the storm swirling around them (literally and metaphorically), despite being a man short, despite the clock running out of time, despite being below their best, they still pushed through. That determination comes from experiencing both sides of the coin.

It was little surprise Glass was the man to kick-start a revival that will be talked about on the barstools of Maghera for the next 100 years, but he didn't do it alone and he would be the first to tell you that. His goal seemed an act of sheer will and lit the blue touch paper but it was Danny Tallon's selfless work to force the turnover from which the chance came. The same Tallon whose head was probably still spinning after putting his body on the line in a challenge with St. Brigid's keeper Cormac Sheehy.

Even when things were going against them, Glen didn't take that as an excuse to give anything other that everything they had. Glass epitomises that mentality but so too does Michael Warnock whose second half point was another two fingers up to the idea Glen would accept their fate. So too does Cathal Mulholland whose superb late block refused to allow St. Brigid's a way back in. So too did every man, woman and child in green and yellow who backed their club over not just this season, but every season when the titles didn't arrive. Sunday was their reward.

Anyone want to question Glen's character now? Didn't think so.