THE MARK OF THE MAN

Coyle pays tribute to mentor Horgan for helping him on journey from Donegal to the continent

- BY MARK MCCADDEN

IT'S a little over seven years since Ollie Horgan “forgave” Mark Coyle for his decision to swap Finn Harps for a spell in the Ulster Senior League and a return to Gaelic football.

Horgan, who passed away in August, steered the versatile star on a course that, this evening, sees him in Europa Conference League action in the 33,000-capacity Toše Proeski Arena in Skopje.

Shelbourne are looking to build on the positive start to their campaign - a scoreless draw at home to Swedish side Hacken - and Coyle will be key to that.

A midfielder who has proven himself equally adept in defence, he took a moment on the eve of the Reds’ game against Shkendija to reflect on his move away from and then back to the 11-aside game.

Having struggled to break into the first-team at Harps, he spent 2017 at Cockhill Celtic and combined that with a return to Gaelic football.

“My priority was Gaelic football,” he said yesterday.

“I don't know what happened, really. I got [back] into Harps and it was just a mindset change. What am I doing? I'm either picking one or the other and I'm going to go at it. And since then, I really have.