Three operations later and Uibh Laoire's Cathal Vaughan is still there – chasing the winning feeling

Three ankle operations would test anyone’s patience, but Uibh Laoire’s Cathal Vaughan sees it as part of the journey. What began with a cartilage tear in a challenge game turned into years of rehab, setbacks, and self-management — but it never dulled the want.

Now, with Uibh Laoire back in a county semi-final, the 31-year-old’s reward is not just the fitness, but fulfilment too.

“I just went up for ball and twisted it,” Vaughan recalls of the 2019 injury. “Trying to get back then, we were junior at that time, trying to get back to the stages of the county and I was playing on it.

“That made it worse, so I had to get an operation. Then, I came back the following year and did it again, so I had to get two more ankle operations. It took a good while to get right, even in that year we won the junior county.

“It wasn't really right at that time. But thankfully, it's kind of right now, and I just manage it as best I can.” Managing it has been a success. Vaughan is still playing, still thriving, even with the occasional stiffness and bumps in the surface that come with wear and tear.

“It feels fine now,” Vaughan explains. “Sometimes in the summer, when you're playing on the hard ground, if you're training, Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday, Sunday, maybe after that week, it could be could be quite stiff. This year it's been fine.” 

The repeated injury ended his time with the small ball. Not worth the risk, he decided, and with the split season offering breathing space between fixtures, it made sense to give everything to football.

“I used to play hurling, I suppose, up until maybe 2019, 2020. Like if you play football and hurling, you could be out nearly 13 weeks in a row with the league. 

So I kind of said I’d take that weekend break and just focus on being right for the football.” 

That focus has paid off. Vaughan has hit 1-10 across the three group games for a side that have earned back-to-back league promotions and will play their football in Division 2 next season, all while pushing for that breakthrough to Senior A.

But that’s what drives him – the sense of purpose, the shared pursuit, the moments that make the slog worthwhile.

INVOLVED

“Just the competitive nature of it,” he says. “Being involved with a team. Just trying to achieve something good with people you grow up with.

“It’s just something that I always enjoyed, playing football with my friends in school when I was growing up. That feeling of satisfaction after you win a game, it's hard to get that feeling anywhere else.

That couple of seconds, or that couple of minutes after a win it's hard to match that. 

"So you're nearly always trying to chase that feeling again.” 

They will do battle with Aghada in Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday. A county final spot up for grabs. Vaughan and Uibh Laoire will chase that feeling of a win once more.

But they will do so, as they have done, without any pressure.

“We wouldn't really put ourselves under any pressure or anything.

“We put a focus on the league, just putting in performances. If you’re putting in good performances, or as best as you can each week, you see where that takes you.

“We got promoted this year in the league, which was great, but we didn't really set out an objective at the start to the year to be getting promoted or anything like that.

“Getting into the championship then is just about getting the bodies right, focussing on each game as it comes, and just trying to get the win.”