The general feeling about the town was that our youngsters' pedigree alone would be enough to cow them into submission.

Loup teams didn't beat Dungiven then, it just wasn't part of life. By the final whistle Loup had amassed 1-17. Dungiven, meanwhile, managed a single point, from a free. Indeed, when the referee awarded it as an act of compassion just before the final whistle, an ironic cheer went up from the south Derry folk.

When Ronan Rocks, Johnny McBride and Paul McFlynn were washed up on the loughshore sometime in the mid-70's, the Loup's fortunes were changed forever.

I was asked to speak at their recent centenary celebrations and throughout the evening the large screens on the walls flashed images of that trio, fresh faced and smiling, as they celebrated one trophy after another. It was like one of those nostalgic ads for Persil automatic, Ronan ligging about while the other two tried to keep serious faces.
In 1991, it was the under-16 final. Once again, their opponents were Dungiven, still smarting from the one point humiliation two years earlier. This time, the St. Canice's plan was to start fast, get out of the blocks quickly. "Don't leave it behind you lads! Get yourselves into the game quickly! Put your bodies on the line! Hit somebody, foul somebody! Remember what happened two years ago. Don't let it happen today. Now go out and win it for Dungiven!"

The young magpies tore out onto the field, roaring the conventional battlecries. The charge of the light brigade was a tactical triumph compared to what happened thereafter.

Over 60 minutes – it seemed like hours – we didn't raise a single flag. The Loup had three sectors. The defence was Johnny McBride. The midfield Ronan Rocks, the forward line Paul McFlynn. The others just fanned about. Johnny snuffed out every attack and delivered it to Ronan. He either scored himself or set up Paul for a score. For the sadists amongst you, the final score was 2-9 to 0-0.

In 1993, they surged to a county minor title. This time we counted our young men fortunate to have been beaten in the semi-final. Loup went on to win the coveted Ulster Minor title. Senior football was harder, but in 2003, they finally got there, beating Ballinderry in the final, before driving on with grim resolve to an Ulster title. The key that year was their four man formation across the midfield.

Ronan Rocks came out from number 12. John O'Kane partnered Johnny McBride at midfield. Paul came out from corner forward to play as a fourth midfielder. In the All-Ireland semi-final, they were pipped by an opportunist Michael Meehan goal against the run of play. Afterwards, the question on everyone's lips was " How did they do it?" Which is precisely the question on everyone's lips this year.

2003 was their first Championship for over 60 years. If it was a bit unlikely, at least it had been coming. This year, there was no warning at all. From nowhere, they were the county champions. From nowhere, they are in the Ulster final.

Footballing Intelligence?
The essence of their astounding success has been the footballing intelligence of their two remaining veterans, coaxing their team time and again to smart victories. They know when to slow the game down. They know when to speed it up. Johnny bursts through the middle to set up a crucial score. Paul McFlynn soloes through the defence with a minute to go, then wins the dodgy free. I thought I was good at it.
Paul is the undisputed underarm arm-trap master. There is nothing glamorous about their method. In fact, the Derry final was one of the ugliest in living memory. But they are winners.

"They're the worst team in Derry," a Ballinascreen man said to me after the county final.

"Would you swap with them?" I asked.

"Bloody right I would." In the background, the Loup boys were in the middle of their warm down, the cup lying casually amongst them.
There is no question they have come through the easy side of the draw. Their confidence and pedigree seemed to overwhelm the Derrygonnelly men in the first round before a ball was kicked. Once, when Adrian McGucken's Maghera McRory teams were in their pomp, they met a very highly rated St. Michael's Enniskillen team in a quarter–final. During the warm-up, Adrian said to his troops: "Look over at them lads, take a good look. They couldn't beat us in a quiz!"

In the semi-final, they met a Kilcoo team for whom this had come too early. Winning the Down Championship was their All-Ireland. Even so, Kilcoo nearly got over the line, in spite of the fact they were a man down for three quarters of the game. But, this is an old story for Loup, opponents that nearly got over the line.

On Sunday they will find themselves at a different level altogether. The worry is that they might be badly beaten up. St. Galls are, after all, a far superior team on paper.

In 2005, when they lost the All-Ireland final after missing a succession of straightforward frees, nearly all of them were in their late teens and early 20's. Since then, they have remained just outside the top table. County titles have been garnered in armfuls. They have won All-Ireland 'Sevens.' They have made it to Ulster finals. But they have underachieved.

Now the age profile is perfect. As part of the normalisation process, the Crossmaglen roadblock has been removed, at least temporarily. Now St. Galls must put their money where their mouth is. Against Crossmaglen two years ago they quit soon after half-time. You could see it in their slumping body language. The shame was that they had put themselves into a winning position after Gallagher's goal.

The weather promises to be atrocious, which will be music to the ears of John Brennan. Loup don't want to play nice football. They want to win. St. Galls, meanwhile, have prodigiously talented players and an excellent team system.

Since 2001, their one problem has been forwards who cannot penetrate. Their big hope in this regard is the hugely gifted but thus far underachieving Kevin Niblock. Loup must hope that he doesn't finally tap into his peerless Derry heritage on Sunday.

In the end, it will be about steel and application to the cause. If St Galls for once put their bodies on the line, they will win comfortably. If not, we will be waking up on Monday morning, pinching ourselves and asking " How did Loup do it?"