Justin McNulty opens up on the “heightened scrutiny” of MLA and Laois roles

Justin McNulty says his second coming with Laois came as ‘a bolt from the blue’.

But the Armagh great is ‘delighted that it happened’ despite the problems it has caused for him in his day job. McNulty doubles as an MLA in the Northern Ireland Assembly but his party, the SDLP, aren’t keen on him balancing the roles.

Party leader Colum Eastwood said the ‘two positions aren’t compatible’ after McNulty left a weekend Assembly meeting early last February to attend a National League game.

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He was hit with a suspension but has managed to make things work since, leading Laois to Saturday’s Tailteann Cup final and continuing his political role.

Asked about his current situation, McNulty kicked to touch: “The situation is I have a Tailteann Cup final on Saturday and my laser focus is there, to help our team be the best it can.”

But he did say he was surprised by the general reaction. McNulty 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.

“I guess I’m like every other coach and manager in Gaelic football at every level. I have a job outside of my sport, I do my job like everyone else does. That’s it.”

But McNulty acknowledged there can be an extra focus on him as a political and sporting figure.

He said: “I guess there is that heightened scrutiny. I spoke to John O’Mahony at length about it and I spoke to Peter Fitzpatrick about it and they were both hugely supportive of me.

“It’s a balancing act, but life is a balancing act for everybody and you do the best with what you have.”

Former All-Ireland winning Galway manager O’Mahony died last week. McNulty said: “What a man, what a leader of people. It’s a huge loss for us all.”

McNulty could yet become an All-Ireland winning manager of sorts himself, if he leads Laois to beat Down on Saturday. He hadn’t expected to be in this position having ended his first stint as Laois manager after the 2013 Championship.

But Laois officials contacted him a decade later and McNulty signed up for a second stint.

He said: “It was a total bolt out of the blue. But I’m delighted that it happened. 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.”

There could be a double celebration for McNulty on Saturday if his native Armagh beat Kerry after the Tailteann decider.

McNulty was part of the Armagh team that beat Kerry in the 2002 final but they failed to add another title.

McNulty said: “That haunts all of us. You look at the Tyrone team at the time, they won three. We didn’t do ourselves justice.

“There is huge excitement in the county about it, I’m hoping to God they can come out against the odds.

“Armagh have been struck a few hammer blows this year with injuries and setbacks and have still managed to get themselves into this position.

“That’s phenomenal credit to Kieran McGeeney and his coaching team. Geezer has been there 10 years and they have been competitive for each of those 10 years.

“I had a (Laois) team for three years and you reach a plateau period after three years and you wonder how can you go to the next level.

“For Geezer to be there for 10 years in his own county and have that team as competitive as they’ve demonstrated is phenomenal and they will be there or thereabouts.”

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