How young guns of Galway and Donegal turn into old hands

The afterglow of their historic hat-trick of All-Ireland wins between 1964 and 1966 may have been fading, but having contested the 1971 All-Ireland final, they looked on the cusp of another golden era.

In contrast, Donegal were newbies in a way which is difficult to comprehend half a century later.

Brian McEniff was the only Donegal player who had any profile outside the county. He was the only player from the county to feature on Ulster’s Railway Cup winning teams in 1970 and ’71, when the competition enjoyed a high profile every spring.

The first tangible success the county had achieved was an Ulster minor win in 1956 and provincial U-21 wins in ’63, ’64 and ’66. But they hadn’t contested an All-Ireland final in either grade.

In the 1972 All-Ireland semi-final, Donegal lost to defending champions Offaly. The first ever senior championship clash between Donegal and Galway took place two years later — the 1974 semi-final. By then Galway had lost another All-Ireland final (to Cork in 1973). A three-goal salvo was enough to see off Donegal.

Galway’s subsequent loss to Dublin in the All-Ireland decider was their third final loss in four seasons. Almost a quarter of a century would pass before Galway were finally crowned All-Ireland champions again in 1998.

By then Donegal had made the breakthrough to the top table, winning an historic first title in 1992. Almost inevitably, Brian McEniff was in charge. He had experienced his share of disappointment on the journey. In addition to the 1972 and ’74 losses (he was player-manager for both) he was manager when they were beaten in the 1983 and ’90 semi-finals.

On the night Galway beat Donegal in the 1983 semi-final, he didn’t go to bed. Instead he sat on a bench in a Dublin park trying to fathom what happened.

A fortuitous goal from Val Daly (father of current player John) in the 62nd minute gave the Connacht champions a one-point win on the same day that Eamonn Coghlan won the 5,000m at the inaugural World Athletics Championships in Helsinki. Tradition will always favour Galway in any championship clash against Donegal. Still, it is worth noting Donegal have been All-Ireland champions since Galway last claimed the title in 2001, under John O’Mahony.

A fascinating aspect of Donegal’s rise as a football power is that it has been achieved despite the county’s lack of success in colleges and at underage. While St Jarlath’s is no longer the powerhouse of colleges football — their last Hogan Cup was in 2002 — Galway still turn out winning underage teams.

Since the age limits for the U-21 and minor championships were changed by one year in 2018, the link between success at underage and senior has been somewhat diluted.

Still, Galway’s breakthrough at senior has been flagged since they won All-Ireland U-21 titles in 2011 and ’13 and an U-20 success in ’20.

Tyrone, Dublin and Galway are the only counties to have won five U-20/21 titles this century, but the Tribesmen are the odd ones out in terms of winning the Sam Maguire on the back of those successes.

Damien Comer and Shane Walsh played on the 2013 team that beat Cork in the final. But it is graduates from their most recent U-20 winning side who now backbone the senior team.

Due to Covid, the 2020 U-20 All-Ireland final against Dublin was played in a near-empty Croke Park a week before Christmas as a curtain-raiser to the senior final. Tomo Culhane, who made a vital contribution off the bench in Galway’s unexpected quarter-final success over Dublin a fortnight ago, was the hero four years ago, scoring 1-6. The U-20 full-back line of Johnny McGrath, Seán Fitzgerald and Jack Glynn are likely to wear the same jerseys today. Matthew Tierney was also a key figure, while goalkeeper Conor Flaherty is now Galway’s senior reserve ’keeper.

The Tribesmen have consistently produced underage teams good enough to win All-Ireland titles. The last of their seven minor crowns was achieved in 2022, when they beat neighbours Mayo in a first all-Connacht minor decider.

In contrast, Donegal’s underage record is at best patchy. They won All-Ireland U-21 titles in 1982 and ’87 and contested the 2010 final, when Michael Murphy hit an injury-time penalty off the crossbar. It enabled a Dublin team which included future All-Ireland winners James McCarthy, Jonny Cooper, Rory O’Carroll and Dean Rock to win only the county’s second title in the grade.

Donegal have never won an All-Ireland minor title — they were beaten by Kerry in their only final appearance in 2014. Caolan McGonagle and Eoin Bán Gallagher, who featured at midfield in that decider, are now key figures on the senior side, while Stephen McMenamin and Jamie Brennan are also part of the senior squad.

Despite the dearth of silverware, Donegal have carefully nurtured their best players to find a pathway for them to the senior squad. The breakthrough All-Ireland winning team in 1992 featured Matt Gallagher, Anthony Molloy, Donal Reid, Martin McHugh and Joyce McMullan, all of whom had won All-Ireland U-21 medals in 1982. John Joe Doherty, Barry McGowan and Manus Boyle, who featured on the 1987 U-21 winning side, provided the 1992 senior side with its youthful exuberance.

The 2012 All-Ireland winning side had Michael Murphy, Paddy McGrath, Leo McLoone and Mark McHugh from the U-21 side beaten by Dublin in the 2010 final.

Prior to his second stint as Donegal senior boss, during which the team won provincial titles in 2018 and ’19, Declan Bonner was involved in managing underage teams in the county for six years. Even though the players he worked with never won an All-Ireland title, they were serial winners at provincial level.

“In 2012 I got involved at academy level with a bunch of 15-year-old players and I took them through the U-16, minor and U-21 grades,” recalls Bonner. “Later, when I was senior manager, I brought them onto the squad. In total I took a group of 15 or 16 players through their football journey for the best part of 10 years.”

The 2015 minor team which lost to eventual provincial champions Derry featured Michael Langan, Daire Ó Baoill, Jason McGee, Niall O’Donnell and Brendan McCole. And McCole, Ó Baoill, Bán Gallagher, McGee, Langan, Brennan, McGonagle and Niall O’Donnell won Ulster U-21 medals in 2017.

“So the majority of those guys were competing and winning at a high level throughout their underage careers,” adds Bonner, who accepts that over the last seven years Donegal haven’t been as competitive at underage level in Ulster, which is disappointing.

Former Football of the Year Karl Lacey worked with Bonner on the senior squad before taking over the Donegal underage academy. Lacey resigned last February, and a week later the coaching staff all stepped away after a much-publicised row with the county board.

“That was a real positive move having Karl in there,” says Bonner. “Ultimately it fell through and that was disappointing. The structures are not there at the moment to deliver success at underage and that needs to be addressed.”

The success of Jim McGuinness’s second coming has taken the spotlight away from what is happening at underage level. For the fans, the only deal in town is today’s All-Ireland semi-final clash with Galway and Bonner expects thousands of Donegal fans will make the long trek to Croke Park.

“For me, much will depend on the fitness of two players — Galway’s Shane Walsh and our own Jason McGee. Realistically we won’t know whether either is playing until close to match time. Their availability could decide the outcome.”