Rory Gallagher to return to RTÉ with the song that had Jimmy's 'head melted'

Rory Gallagher will return to RTÉ’s Up for the Match, with the song Donegal manager Jim McGuinness told him “melted” his head.

Thirteen years on from his appearance on the 2012 show, which is aired the night before the All-Ireland final on RTÉ, the Kilcar singer-songwriter will take to the stage again.

At the time, Rory’s catchy Jimmy’s Winning Matches, was the theme tune to Donegal’s All-Ireland success, where they would eventually beat Mayo in the final at Croke Park. Now, Donegal take on Kerry on Sunday week.

“I'm delighted to have been asked by RTE to sing on their Live TV show Up for the Match on Saturday 26th in the build up to Donegal v Kerry in the All Ireland final,” Rory, who is based in Lanzarote, posted.

“I will be performing a surprise mashup of some Donegal classics! It's been 13 years since I appeared on the show, unlucky for some... hopefully Kerry!

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"It's so strange still as I remember all those years ago Jim McGuinness coming up to me , putting his arm around me and whispering gently into my ear: ‘See that song you wrote, it has my head melted!’

“It got even worse for him when RTÉ then made a comedy sketch of him walking around Donnybrook and everyone running up to him shouting Jimmy's Winning Matches as he kept trying to walk away faster !

“But to be honest i think this genuinely stems from his modesty, he always pushes how brilliant the team are and that they do the harder work, and deserve all the credit. This is why in the 2024 revamp version I released I changed the final chorus lyrics to ‘The Team are Winning Matches’.

“However , when we see the effect he has had since his return as Donegal manager this past two years nobody can deny there is something very special about Jim McGuinness, so even if he gets modestly embarrassed by the song ... it’s his own fault... for just constantly winning matches!”.