Éamon McGee thought it was an appropriate saying to capture what he’s doing. There’s still some juice left to squeeze out. And some targets that he didn’t realise were within his reach.
It wasn’t until about halfway through the manager’s speech that McGee sensed an announcement was coming.
“There’s two boys that have made their debuts,” Gaoth Dobhair boss Rónán Mac Niallais said in the dressing room after defeating Naomh Columba in the Donegal senior championship last weekend.
“And there’s also another player on the other side.”
Not only was McGee on the other side, he had just achieved 100 club championship appearances at the age of 42.
He thought he was close to 90 games when he retired after the 2023 county final defeat against Naomh Conaill, but that number wasn’t a consideration when he agreed to come back this year during the league.
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Some players were away on holidays while others were absent through injury. And since McGee grew up playing with the manager, he was happy to plug the gap.
But what started out as a favour to Mac Niallais has amounted to a huge personal milestone. Only one other player has entered the 100 club in Gaoth Dobhair. It’s something of a family matter now between McGee and his brother, Neil, who has the all-time championship record of 102 games.
“It’s just a nice thing to have, that brothers have played the most games for Gaoth Dobhair,” says McGee, who also enjoyed All-Ireland success with Neil in 2012.
“So, if I get up to 102 and maybe even surpass it, it’ll probably be the one time I might be able to get one on him.
“He has more All-Stars, so I’ll definitely take that.”
Brothers Éamon and Neil McGee won an All-Ireland with Donegal in 2012. Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
****
McGee felt 2023 was the right time to step away from playing club football. He had witnessed the development of players like Donegal forward Daire Ó Baoill, and was content to leave the jersey in the capable hands of their new emerging leaders.
Visits to the gym and a few 5km races helped fill the vacuum, but it was in coaching that McGee discovered a new passion. He had already made a start on that by getting involved with the Donegal U20s in 2021. Fellow 2012 All-Ireland winner Leo McLoone was also included in that ticket under manager Gary Duffy.
After retirement, McGee went on to work with the Buncrana footballers for two years and was invited into the Sligo set-up last season by joint-managers Eamonn O’Hara and Dessie Sloyan. He’s still committed to his coaching ambitions, but McGee made another discovery during that appointment.
“I would have dipped into the Sligo trainings at times. That’s maybe where I got these notions that I could be easily persuaded [to play again].”
There was an itch that needed to be scratched, and the invitation from Mac Niallais to revive his playing career came at just the right time.
Those first few training sessions certainly rattled the muscles that had been left in storage for the last three years. Switching from 5km races to the unpredictable running patterns of a football game was not an immediate transition, but the challenge wasn’t insurmountable.
“One of the things about the older lads,” McGee explains, “it’s not like 20 years ago where you stop playing football, and you’re sinking pints and eating rubbish. There’s so much information out there now to stay healthy. You’re going to be in good enough shape.
“I think if the body and your life allows it, we should go out and enjoy it. I thought I would have lost my edge a wee bit in terms of that mentality for winning, but I could still see it. As much as I told myself I wouldn’t be doing it, I’m still in players’ faces.”
McGee spent most of his career in defensive roles, but his current home is at corner-forward. Years spent tracking some of the best shooters in the country has helped reshape his skillset for the job, and he even scored a point to help earn a 1-13 to 0-15 win over St Michael’s in the opening round of the championship.
McGee knows his place has changed in the Gaoth Dobhair dressing room. Some of his clubmates weren’t even born when he made his club championship bow at 17 in 2001. Daire Ó Baoill is their captain as he continues to evolve in that leadership role that McGee identified for him.
But old urges are hard to shake.
“There were times in that first championship game where we were in a hole, [and] maybe five years ago, I would have said to myself, ‘Right, I’m going out to midfield to try and get on the ball and influence the game.’ That’s not an option for me [any more] because I just don’t have it in the engine.
“Gaoth Dobhair’s championship destiny will not be dictated by my form. I’m never going to be a scoring threat. I’m all about the assists.
“There’s very little talking from me. This is their ship now, and I’m in to just help it along. Now, if there’s someone to give out to, I’ll still give out to them.”
****
Éamon McGee in action for Gaoth Dobhair in the 2018 Ulster final against Scotstown. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
Gaoth Dobhair are now two wins from two after that victory over Naomh Columba where McGee hit the century mark. Returning to the county final is the main goal after their extra-time defeat against Naomh Conaill in last year’s decider. The sides have contested four county finals since 2018 where Gaoth Dobhair ended a 12-year wait for the Donegal crown. Naomh Conaill won the other three meetings in 2019, 2023 and 2025.
A third-round clash with the Seán Mac Cumhaill club awaits later as Gaoth Dobhair’s 2026 championship continues to take shape.
The topic of appearance numbers hasn’t come up yet in conversation between the McGee brothers. Éamon is happy to wait until the end of the season when he will know if he has managed to eclipse his brother Neil’s record of 102 championship appearances. That’s when they’ll settle all family business.
“Myself and Neil’s conversations aren’t very in depth. There’ll be a night as a group and I’ll get a wee plug with him now and see if he bites.”
It was good advice not to let the old man in. McGee is finding that there’s still a bit of juice left, and that it is very much worth the squeeze.
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Reaching 100 club championship games at 42, and keeping appearance records in the family
NEVER LET THAT old man in.
Éamon McGee thought it was an appropriate saying to capture what he’s doing. There’s still some juice left to squeeze out. And some targets that he didn’t realise were within his reach.
It wasn’t until about halfway through the manager’s speech that McGee sensed an announcement was coming.
“There’s two boys that have made their debuts,” Gaoth Dobhair boss Rónán Mac Niallais said in the dressing room after defeating Naomh Columba in the Donegal senior championship last weekend.
“And there’s also another player on the other side.”
Not only was McGee on the other side, he had just achieved 100 club championship appearances at the age of 42.
He thought he was close to 90 games when he retired after the 2023 county final defeat against Naomh Conaill, but that number wasn’t a consideration when he agreed to come back this year during the league.
Some players were away on holidays while others were absent through injury. And since McGee grew up playing with the manager, he was happy to plug the gap.
But what started out as a favour to Mac Niallais has amounted to a huge personal milestone. Only one other player has entered the 100 club in Gaoth Dobhair. It’s something of a family matter now between McGee and his brother, Neil, who has the all-time championship record of 102 games.
“It’s just a nice thing to have, that brothers have played the most games for Gaoth Dobhair,” says McGee, who also enjoyed All-Ireland success with Neil in 2012.
“So, if I get up to 102 and maybe even surpass it, it’ll probably be the one time I might be able to get one on him.
“He has more All-Stars, so I’ll definitely take that.”
****
McGee felt 2023 was the right time to step away from playing club football. He had witnessed the development of players like Donegal forward Daire Ó Baoill, and was content to leave the jersey in the capable hands of their new emerging leaders.
Visits to the gym and a few 5km races helped fill the vacuum, but it was in coaching that McGee discovered a new passion. He had already made a start on that by getting involved with the Donegal U20s in 2021. Fellow 2012 All-Ireland winner Leo McLoone was also included in that ticket under manager Gary Duffy.
After retirement, McGee went on to work with the Buncrana footballers for two years and was invited into the Sligo set-up last season by joint-managers Eamonn O’Hara and Dessie Sloyan. He’s still committed to his coaching ambitions, but McGee made another discovery during that appointment.
“I would have dipped into the Sligo trainings at times. That’s maybe where I got these notions that I could be easily persuaded [to play again].”
There was an itch that needed to be scratched, and the invitation from Mac Niallais to revive his playing career came at just the right time.
Those first few training sessions certainly rattled the muscles that had been left in storage for the last three years. Switching from 5km races to the unpredictable running patterns of a football game was not an immediate transition, but the challenge wasn’t insurmountable.
“One of the things about the older lads,” McGee explains, “it’s not like 20 years ago where you stop playing football, and you’re sinking pints and eating rubbish. There’s so much information out there now to stay healthy. You’re going to be in good enough shape.
“I think if the body and your life allows it, we should go out and enjoy it. I thought I would have lost my edge a wee bit in terms of that mentality for winning, but I could still see it. As much as I told myself I wouldn’t be doing it, I’m still in players’ faces.”
McGee spent most of his career in defensive roles, but his current home is at corner-forward. Years spent tracking some of the best shooters in the country has helped reshape his skillset for the job, and he even scored a point to help earn a 1-13 to 0-15 win over St Michael’s in the opening round of the championship.
McGee knows his place has changed in the Gaoth Dobhair dressing room. Some of his clubmates weren’t even born when he made his club championship bow at 17 in 2001. Daire Ó Baoill is their captain as he continues to evolve in that leadership role that McGee identified for him.
But old urges are hard to shake.
“There were times in that first championship game where we were in a hole, [and] maybe five years ago, I would have said to myself, ‘Right, I’m going out to midfield to try and get on the ball and influence the game.’ That’s not an option for me [any more] because I just don’t have it in the engine.
“Gaoth Dobhair’s championship destiny will not be dictated by my form. I’m never going to be a scoring threat. I’m all about the assists.
“There’s very little talking from me. This is their ship now, and I’m in to just help it along. Now, if there’s someone to give out to, I’ll still give out to them.”
****
Gaoth Dobhair are now two wins from two after that victory over Naomh Columba where McGee hit the century mark. Returning to the county final is the main goal after their extra-time defeat against Naomh Conaill in last year’s decider. The sides have contested four county finals since 2018 where Gaoth Dobhair ended a 12-year wait for the Donegal crown. Naomh Conaill won the other three meetings in 2019, 2023 and 2025.
A third-round clash with the Seán Mac Cumhaill club awaits later as Gaoth Dobhair’s 2026 championship continues to take shape.
The topic of appearance numbers hasn’t come up yet in conversation between the McGee brothers. Éamon is happy to wait until the end of the season when he will know if he has managed to eclipse his brother Neil’s record of 102 championship appearances. That’s when they’ll settle all family business.
“Myself and Neil’s conversations aren’t very in depth. There’ll be a night as a group and I’ll get a wee plug with him now and see if he bites.”
It was good advice not to let the old man in. McGee is finding that there’s still a bit of juice left, and that it is very much worth the squeeze.
****
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