John McGovern has several honours to his name as a talented GAA star with Down, and winning the Irish Cup with Dungannon Swifts would be right up there for the 22-year-old. The Ballyholland clubman won the Ulster U20 title in 2023 before adding the Tailteann Cup with the Mourne county last summer. Now McGovern is determined to do all he can to lead the Swifts to Irish Cup glory and create a little bit of history. “I’ve won trophies in GAA but to win an Irish Cup with Dungannon would be unbelievable as we would be in the history books," said McGovern. “It’s a big achievement to reach the top six and make an Irish Cup Final – hopefully we can bring the trophy home." McGovern hasn't closed the doors on a return to GAA but for now his main focus is on football as he explained: "I loved both sports but sticking to football is my priority. “It was a tough decision. I’ve played Gaelic all my life and I’ve played soccer all my life too, but it sort of came to the stage where, whenever you’re playing them both at a senior level, the demands of both, they clash too much with each other. “I would never ever close the door on going back with Down because I’ve loved it. I’ve played in underage development squads, I’ve won underage titles, so just at this moment in time, I think, for myself, sticking to soccer is my priority.” McGovern is clearly thriving under Swifts boss Rodney McAree following his move from Newry City, but it could have been different if McAree had managed to snap the player up a couple of seasons ago. “Rodney had interest in me at Glentoran, and it was a no-brainer move to the Swifts," said the frontman. “I knew by talking to him he was a good people's person. “I have done okay so far this season, I wanted to come to Dungannon and push them on by scoring goals. Thankfully, I have done that for most of the season and stayed injury free. “What makes this group special is we have a mix of a good manager, a people's person who understands the players and young players like myself, Adam Glenny, Stevie Scott and Tomas Galvin, then you have experience like Gaël Bigirimana, Kealan Dillon, James Knowles, Leo Alves to name a few. “We have done really well in the League and Rodney said if you win five games, you win an Irish Cup. That has been in our mind every game. We have taken four steps with one more to go." Someone else that McGovern looks to in the Irish League could be lining up against him on Saturday afternoon. Joe Gormley has been there and done it and the Dungannon striker is quick to praise the Cliftonville record goal scorer for everything he has achieved in the game. "Joe's unbelievable and is a renowned goalscorer," he said. "As you can see this season and throughout his whole career really...he's done so well and he is someone you look towards when you're a forward in this league. "To be such a goalscorer at this level for so many years is unbelievable - so full credit to him." Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox