The 18-year-old impressed for the Swifts’ reserve side last season, scoring 16 goals in 20 NIFL U20 Premiership Development League matches before joining Premier Intermediate League outfit Dollingstown on loan in January. McNally earned important senior experience at Planters Park, racking up seven third-tier appearances for a side that ultimately finished in fourth. The next chapter of McNally’s journey will see the young striker travel Stateside to Kentucky Wesleyan College, which is based in Owensboro, where he will combine full-time training alongside education. In 2024, Kentucky Wesleyan finished fifth in the G-MAC standings and McNally follows in the footsteps of Swifts team-mates Niall Owens and Brandon Bermingham who also spent time playing in America before returning to the Irish League. McNally received high praise for his performances at Stangmore Park last term and his goalscoring feats are even more impressive when you consider he started out at right-back. "It's a real story with Mattie because he has come from nowhere as a striker,” Dungannon coach Paddy Quinn told the News Letter earlier this year. “He was a right-back up until 12 months ago. "He was playing for the U18s and the striker was out injured so Gary Boyd decided to play Mattie up front and he looked at him like he had seven heads! He went in and straight away he scored eight goals in nine games for the U18s and this season he has kicked on again. "It's great that he's getting the recognition because he's a great kid. Everybody is asking 'where did he come from?' and why he's suddenly appearing at the top of goalscorer lists, but it's been great. "He's such a down to earth kid and a real hard worker. His family really value hard work themselves and that shines through in Mattie because he's a pleasure to coach and every time you give him information he takes it on board and tries to put it into his game the best he can. "Over the years he has been a right-back and has been in and out of the team because that 2006 group at Dungannon had the likes of Sam Anderson, who is now at Luton Town, Ryan Donnelly is at Leicester City and Aidan Hegarty has just went out on loan after being involved with our first team. "I think he really appreciates what is happening for him now he's the focal point of an attack and he's scoring lots of goals. He has been up training with the first team and it's a bit of a fairytale for him."