WHILE NOBODY OUTSIDE of dweebs would spend their time studying the National League roll of honour, whenever our tribe do, certain elements leap off the Wiki page.
Donegal have won just one Division 1 league title in 100 years of trying.
That came in 2007, a few seasons after Jim McGuinness had finished up playing, while his playing career coincided with league final losses in 1993, ‘95 and ’96.
Sure, he might not be ‘bothered’ about getting to the final this time – his first as manager – but that it is Kerry in the decider represents a danger that we will revisit.
First though, it does seem a small bit odd that Donegal have won just one league; odder still that Tyrone have just two, from 2002 and 2003.
Reaching for some strains of logic, you don’t take long to cook up a few excuses. Donegal players have the option of college in Sligo, but a large portion head to Dublin for their studying. That trek is not simple for training nights. On the other hand, market leaders Kerry tend to have students studying in Cork, and Dublin players have it all on their doorstep.
Then, Donegal have a long-standing tradition of sharing league games around the various locations in the county: Ballybofey, Ballyshannon and Letterkenny. It’s difficult to establish a fortress when you are on the move so much.
To keep throwing stuff against the wall here, there is also their geographic location, making away trips difficult, something that was cited even mid-championship last summer by Jim McGuinness. The logic to that one falls apart as soon as you look at Kerry, though.
“When it came to us, there was a feeling that if we won our home games, we would be OK,” says Brendan Devenney, who was part of manager Brian McIver’s successful team of 2007.
“I don’t think there was enough effort put into it always. I remember going away to games sometimes and I don’t think we had the belief to win the league. We were just picking off the games we thought we could win and that would be good enough to stay up.
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“There was never a huge emphasis placed on going down to beat Kerry or Cork in their own ground. Or Dublin. There wasn’t that purpose behind it.”
Brendan Devenney after Donegal's only league final win. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
As effective as Donegal have been in championship throughout the McGuinness years, this is the first time they have made a league final. Is it really wise that they should turn their nose up at the chance of a fourth national title?
But then, you have to be performing over a sustained period of years before you become a serious league team. It may come as a surprise that, since their sole All-Ireland success in 1993, Derry are third (five league titles, with three runners-up) in the league roll of honour, behind Kerry and Dublin.
Their detractors from that time would say that Derry were a ‘good league team’. If that sounds like an insult, then they knew what they were doing.
“It’s always been a thing that the league finalists are generally among the top two teams in Ireland. You don’t get long shots in the league final,” says Devenney.
“But in our time, winning the league was never a priority. Even if you dropped down to Division 2, it was no big deal.”
He says that, but at the same time, he wouldn’t have wanted to lose out on 2007, so much so that he played the semi-final win over Kildare with a torn stomach muscle and lasted just 20 minutes. He munched down on a heap of painkillers and declared himself fit for the final. He stuck the pain for 30 minutes and had to come off.
“It was crazy,” he says now.
“It was a great thing for us to win. Massive for us to take that title because we hadn’t won anything.
“But we put more into the league than we realised we had, as big a thing as it was for us.”
To win the league is to draw a target on your back. That year, Donegal had Armagh coming to Ballybofey for the Ulster championship. They won it with a fortunate goal when a Devenney shot dropped short and Armagh goalkeeper Paul Hearty was unsighted by an airborne Kevin Cassidy coming in towards him and the ball finished in the net.
Three weeks passed until the semi-final against Tyrone in Clones and they were eaten alive, 2-15 to 1-7.
“We lost the buzz of it, even by the time of that Armagh game,” says Devenney.
“We hit the season very hard at the start, looking back at it. A great story that year was we were playing Armagh in the Dr McKenna Cup and we made such a big thing about not being able to beat Armagh, which should have been addressed years previously.
“But in January we were going out to play them and all guns blazing.”
As they tried to get their balance back after the Tyrone loss, things were about to get complicated. The county board immediately fixed two rounds of club championship games before they would play a round 2 qualifier away to Westmeath.
They emerged from that game barely intact. Another round of club championship then, making it five championship games in five weekends before they faced a ravenous and fresh Monaghan.
“When we played Monaghan in Healy Park, there was hardly a whimper out of us heading out the door. The energy in the group had completely dropped.
“There we were in January, taking the doors off the hinges to play Armagh, and then come to the championship, and a win would have put us into an All-Ireland quarter-final against Kerry in Croke Park, we were dead on our feet.”
There is little chance of Donegal being dead on their feet for this one.
After being outplayed, outfought and out-thought in the All-Ireland final last year, can they really ship the psychological damage of being well-beaten in another Croke Park final by Kerry, especially one that will hardly include Shane Ryan, Gavin White, Diarmuid O’Connor and Paudie Clifford?
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Kerry celebrate the All-Ireland final win over Donegal. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
“There’s very little winning in this for Donegal,” says Devenney.
“They could beat Kerry and everyone will point out that Kerry were missing so many.”
That’s all true, but doesn’t take into account the frontline injuries Donegal carry too with Shaun Patton, Ciaran Thompson, Oisin Gallen, Ciaran Moore and Daire Ó Baoill.
But within the group, a title at the expense of Kerry would be made go a long, long way.
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'Winning the league was never a priority': Donegal look to add to their one league title
WHILE NOBODY OUTSIDE of dweebs would spend their time studying the National League roll of honour, whenever our tribe do, certain elements leap off the Wiki page.
Donegal have won just one Division 1 league title in 100 years of trying.
That came in 2007, a few seasons after Jim McGuinness had finished up playing, while his playing career coincided with league final losses in 1993, ‘95 and ’96.
Sure, he might not be ‘bothered’ about getting to the final this time – his first as manager – but that it is Kerry in the decider represents a danger that we will revisit.
First though, it does seem a small bit odd that Donegal have won just one league; odder still that Tyrone have just two, from 2002 and 2003.
Reaching for some strains of logic, you don’t take long to cook up a few excuses. Donegal players have the option of college in Sligo, but a large portion head to Dublin for their studying. That trek is not simple for training nights. On the other hand, market leaders Kerry tend to have students studying in Cork, and Dublin players have it all on their doorstep.
Then, Donegal have a long-standing tradition of sharing league games around the various locations in the county: Ballybofey, Ballyshannon and Letterkenny. It’s difficult to establish a fortress when you are on the move so much.
To keep throwing stuff against the wall here, there is also their geographic location, making away trips difficult, something that was cited even mid-championship last summer by Jim McGuinness. The logic to that one falls apart as soon as you look at Kerry, though.
“I don’t think there was enough effort put into it always. I remember going away to games sometimes and I don’t think we had the belief to win the league. We were just picking off the games we thought we could win and that would be good enough to stay up.
“There was never a huge emphasis placed on going down to beat Kerry or Cork in their own ground. Or Dublin. There wasn’t that purpose behind it.”
As effective as Donegal have been in championship throughout the McGuinness years, this is the first time they have made a league final. Is it really wise that they should turn their nose up at the chance of a fourth national title?
But then, you have to be performing over a sustained period of years before you become a serious league team. It may come as a surprise that, since their sole All-Ireland success in 1993, Derry are third (five league titles, with three runners-up) in the league roll of honour, behind Kerry and Dublin.
Their detractors from that time would say that Derry were a ‘good league team’. If that sounds like an insult, then they knew what they were doing.
“It’s always been a thing that the league finalists are generally among the top two teams in Ireland. You don’t get long shots in the league final,” says Devenney.
“But in our time, winning the league was never a priority. Even if you dropped down to Division 2, it was no big deal.”
He says that, but at the same time, he wouldn’t have wanted to lose out on 2007, so much so that he played the semi-final win over Kildare with a torn stomach muscle and lasted just 20 minutes. He munched down on a heap of painkillers and declared himself fit for the final. He stuck the pain for 30 minutes and had to come off.
“It was crazy,” he says now.
“It was a great thing for us to win. Massive for us to take that title because we hadn’t won anything.
“But we put more into the league than we realised we had, as big a thing as it was for us.”
To win the league is to draw a target on your back. That year, Donegal had Armagh coming to Ballybofey for the Ulster championship. They won it with a fortunate goal when a Devenney shot dropped short and Armagh goalkeeper Paul Hearty was unsighted by an airborne Kevin Cassidy coming in towards him and the ball finished in the net.
Three weeks passed until the semi-final against Tyrone in Clones and they were eaten alive, 2-15 to 1-7.
“We lost the buzz of it, even by the time of that Armagh game,” says Devenney.
“We hit the season very hard at the start, looking back at it. A great story that year was we were playing Armagh in the Dr McKenna Cup and we made such a big thing about not being able to beat Armagh, which should have been addressed years previously.
“But in January we were going out to play them and all guns blazing.”
As they tried to get their balance back after the Tyrone loss, things were about to get complicated. The county board immediately fixed two rounds of club championship games before they would play a round 2 qualifier away to Westmeath.
They emerged from that game barely intact. Another round of club championship then, making it five championship games in five weekends before they faced a ravenous and fresh Monaghan.
“When we played Monaghan in Healy Park, there was hardly a whimper out of us heading out the door. The energy in the group had completely dropped.
“There we were in January, taking the doors off the hinges to play Armagh, and then come to the championship, and a win would have put us into an All-Ireland quarter-final against Kerry in Croke Park, we were dead on our feet.”
There is little chance of Donegal being dead on their feet for this one.
After being outplayed, outfought and out-thought in the All-Ireland final last year, can they really ship the psychological damage of being well-beaten in another Croke Park final by Kerry, especially one that will hardly include Shane Ryan, Gavin White, Diarmuid O’Connor and Paudie Clifford?
“There’s very little winning in this for Donegal,” says Devenney.
“They could beat Kerry and everyone will point out that Kerry were missing so many.”
That’s all true, but doesn’t take into account the frontline injuries Donegal carry too with Shaun Patton, Ciaran Thompson, Oisin Gallen, Ciaran Moore and Daire Ó Baoill.
But within the group, a title at the expense of Kerry would be made go a long, long way.
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