BY THE TIME Naomh Conaill finally won their first Dr Maguire Cup in Donegal, Gaoth Dobhair were so far ahead, they weren’t even on their radar.
By 2005, Gaoth Dobhair already had a Baker’s Dozen of county titles amassed when Naomh Conaill got off the mark with victory over St Eunan’s.
And that situation has remained, with further titles coming in 2006 and 2018, but there is a case to be made that few were expecting Gaoth Dobhair to fetch up in a county final this year. Most wouldn’t have included them in their top four prospects.
Yet, here we are. With a McGee brother up top, and one at the back. Neil is now 37 and poised to join the Donegal backroom team, while Eamonn is 39 and enjoying his reinvention as an inside forward.
Emigration is a tale as old as time around Gaoth Dobhair, but from the team that won the Ulster club in 2018, they have lost six players due to emigration, while Kevin Cassidy – reluctantly and eventually – retired well into his 40s.
This year they are managed by Ronan MacNiallais, who has coaxed some wonderful football out of his younger brother, the enigmatic Odhran. In a recent game against Dungloe in Cloghaneely, he showed all of his old sparkle and the undoubted skills to go with the grace.
They also have Daire ÓBaoill around and Michael Carroll has settled after a period of travelling.
Other mainstays still remaining include Niall Friel, Neasan MacGiolla Bride and Donal MacGiolla Bride, while Ethan Harkin is a prominent attacker.
One key man they will be missing is Odhran McFadden-Ferry. He had travelled to Western Australia to work on the mines, but during a game this summer for St Finbarr’s in Perth, tore his cruciate ligament.
In any event, few give them a chance. The local GAA weekly bible, the Donegal Democrat, asked twelve prominent figures for their prediction this week. Eleven returned verdicts in favour of the men from Glenties, rather than the Ghaeltacht.
That’s understandable. You cannot look past the vast experience of Glenties. This is their seventh final in a row and they were champions in 2019, 2020 and 2022.
The 2019 season lives long in the collective memory. Gaoth Dobhair were county and Ulster champions but across three epic tussles, eventually Glenties squeezed through. They’ve kept Gaoth Dobhair down ever since.
Martin Regan is the manager but they pull in help from wherever they can get it.
Last year during the team celebrations, Regan made mention of the huge help that their own clubman Jim McGuinness had provided in the lead-in.
They are a gnarly outfit too; the names of Leo McLoone and Anthony Thompson will be familiar from Donegal’s All-Ireland triumph in 2012. Beyond that, Marty Boyle, Eoin Waide and Brendan McDyer are key components that will all see game time.
Ethan O’Donnell is emerging as a real prospect with significant poise and elegance, while Charles McGuinness is an effective target man at the edge of the square and will occupy Neil McGee.
Regan is a sharp manager but he is also a smart delegator. Every season he brings in a new voice in the dressing room. Right now the fresh perspective is coming from Gary Boyle, who was coaching Donegal under Declan Bonner.
What they seek to do is to limit any weapons belonging to the opposition.
When other clubs push up on St Eunan’s to see if they can trouble Shaun Patton in goals, Glenties drop everyone back into their own 45 and invite them to come through the staggered roadblocks, shipping punishment all along.
The odds are stacked in Naomh Conaill’s favour; 8/15. And yet for all their domestic dominance, they have yet to make a meaningful impact on Ulster. They reached the final in 2010, but have struggled since.
This being Donegal however, even the Blue Ribband Day will carry some controversy.
The Donegal Chairman, Fergus McGee, announced earlier this week that he was stepping down from his position in time for county convention. He will have served the minimum, and most unusual, term of one year.
He is reported to have conveyed his disappointment with fellow members of the county board at the meeting on Monday night, and how he believes he does not have their support.
It would appear that the difficulties in Donegal GAA haven’t been rooted out after the independent report conducted into their governance earlier this year.
Those seeking to implement changes have been met with resistance.
The news of Jim McGuinness’ return has been welcome for Donegal fans, but has led to the oddly bizarre situation whereby he is taking the senior panel away for a warm-weather training camp from December 2nd for a week, without disclosing the location. It is believed to be Tenerife. The cost will amount to €80,000 and is already raised.
A few posts around the senior team remain to be filled, including that of the liaison officer.
This being Donegal, nothing is ever simple. As McGuinness turns his eyes to a wet sodden Ballybofey field on Sunday, his mind will be whirring and painting pictures of Tenerife in December.