Rodney McAree admits having 'unbelievable Swifts men' by his side makes Irish Cup glory extra special

While McAree and his outstanding players deservedly stole the headlines after recording a magical first by beating Cliftonville on penalties at Windsor Park, it was undoubtedly a whole club effort which helped put them in that position.

Having grown up watching father Joe hold the same managerial position he currently does and finishing his playing career off at Stangmore Park, Dungannon runs through McAree’s DNA.

Alongside the thousands of Swifts supporters that made an Irish Cup final trip for just the second time in their history, McAree felt every emotion on a rollercoaster afternoon, from the high of taking a lead through John McGovern to the agonising low of watching Shea Kearney equalise for the Reds when Dungannon seemingly had one hand on the trophy.

Reduced to 10 men following Steven Scott’s dismissal, Dungannon showed the characteristics which have helped set them up for a record-breaking campaign in abundance – heart, fight, determination amongst many more.

As McAree sank to his knees after Declan Dunne’s heroic second save in their shootout success, one of the first people there to lift him up was Dixie Robinson, a former Swifts boss who now serves as assistant manager.

The likes of Terry Fitzpatrick, who spent most of his career at Dungannon, was also on hand and McAree says that local connection made the occasion even sweeter.

"Relief, elation - I'm very, very proud,” said McAree when asked to sum up his emotions. “To have the likes of Dixie Robinson, Terry Fitzpatrick, Alan Cooke, Ryan Harpur, Ernie Whittle, Denver Whittle, Ben Hughes sitting beside you, unbelievable Swifts men who have been there a lifetime.

"It's so good to do it when you have boys like that sitting around you.

"I thought we were going to win in 90 minutes, I thought we were going to hold out.

"In 90 minutes I never really felt we were going to concede from a set-piece.

"It was probably going to be a 30-yard strike that has killed us a bit, but it shows the character we have within the dressing room, the fight, togetherness, determination that they wanted to dig in.

"Leo Alves had mentioned in the final minutes of normal time that he was cramping but I didn't hear him and moved on. I thought 'I'm leaving you on, you can have a rest if we win this!'.

"For them to show the character and fight...it was a training ground exercise at the end with 10 v 11, sitting in and not allowing them to score."

Another playing a crucial role behind the scenes at Dungannon is chairman Keith Boyd, who has helped supply a squad capable of competing while also looking at the bigger picture.

Boyd sadly lost his father last month and McAree paid tribute to the continued work which means the club can thrive.

“Keith has had such a tough time,” he added. “Keith lost his father three or four weeks ago and it hit Keith hard.

"This past week we’ve probably seen an improvement in Keith which is great – he’s back in around the group being his usual grumpy self!

"It has been very difficult for him. He puts his heart and soul into the club, he works tirelessly running around getting finances to come in at the end of every month to pay wages and bills.

"He’s complaining flat out when I bring boys off the bench and they need an appearance fee! Keith is a great man, a hard-working chairman.

"He’s probably an old school chairman but he knows how to get things done and people around him working...he has a great support network and he’s such a good guy.”

McAree made a return to his boyhood club ahead of last season after departing Glentoran – a decision which likely left many scratching their chin as he swapped a full-time outfit hoping to compete at the Irish League’s top-end for a club that hadn’t finished in the Premiership’s top-six since 2010, but it’s one that has certainly paid off.

"Some people would have maybe questioned my ambition - my ambition was to come back to Dungannon Swifts and try to steady the ship and win something,” he added. “I didn't think we would have won so soon, I didn't think we'd be sitting fourth in the league so soon, but we are.

"You don't finish fourth by fluke, you don't go 38 games where you're lucky.

"We've good players, we've a good team, we're well organised, boys buy into what you're trying to do and they go out and put a hell of a shift in every week.

"They've been a joy to work with and we now have Europe to look forward to...it's exceptional."

Barely moments after his historic high, McAree was asked to look to the future with Dungannon now back on the European stage for a first time since 2007, banking a minimum of €350,000 for reaching the second round of Conference League qualifying.

Other clubs will also be closely monitoring Dungannon’s star players after a successful season, including goalscorer McGovern, but McAree doesn’t foresee a huge squad overhaul this summer.

"There'll be interest - there's always interest in players from Dungannon Swifts,” he said. “We have a good changing room, a good group of players and Europe maybe gives us the opportunity to hold on.

"If we lose one it'll be the height of it, we'll not be losing any more than that one.

"It was about winning the Irish Cup and European football is an absolute dream on top of that.

"It's going to be something to look forward to and it's something we can embrace."