Mac's View: Sad passing of a great footballer and friend Mickey McLoone

This is a sad week around Ballyshannon with the passing of Mickey McLoone, one of the greatest footballers of any time. He had been in poor health in recent months and I was glad that I got to visit him in the hospital in Ballyshannon in the past few weeks.

I first met Mickey McLoone when he was only 14 or 15 when Bundoran and Ballyshannon amalgamated at minor level in 1960.

I was Co Minor captain and we were playing an Inishowen amalgamation. We were beating them easily and we got a 21 yard free and this wee fella comes up and says ‘I’ll kick that’. I think he scored 2-8 that day. He was cocky and full of confidence, even at that age.

When I came back from Canada he had established himself as an outstanding player with St Joseph’s and Donegal. He was a very, very confident player and he wanted to score goals.

I think in 1966, when he was county captain, he scored more goals in the first six months of that year than any other player did for the full 12 months.

He got a kick on the knee, I think it was in an Ulster club game against Castleblayney and that  was the beginning of the end of his career. He did make several attempts to come back but he couldn’t get over the injury. If he were around today with the medical facilities he would have played into his 30s. He must have been only 24 or 25 when he finished up.

It was a pity he wasn’t around in 1972 when we made the breakthrough to win Ulster. I have no doubt we would have made the All-Ireland final that year if we had Mickey McLoone on board.

He was just a wonderful footballer. I remember one particular day going to Gaoth Dobhair and myself and Mickey were left to pick the team. He put the two of us in at midfield and then said to me before the throw-in, ‘You stay down, I’ll jump and knock it down to you’.

He was just a rare and special talent and he was full of confidence and had great self belief. He was a fine soccer player also and I think he might have played with the Combined Universities team.

He was also a great conversationalist too, like his father Phil. He was very well educated and became a very successful man in his work at different places all over the country but notably as Donegal County Manager here in Donegal.

He has left a great legacy. My sympathies to his wife Imelda, Michael, David and Philip and Caroline. Ar dheis Dé ar a hanam.

ULSTER CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW

The Ulster Championship draw has pitted us against Down next April and I am thankful that it is a home draw. It would not have been that easy to travel to play in Newry, especially as Down are beginning to gain a bit of momentum again. They gave us plenty to think about last year in Clones.

The main thing for us is that we are at home although at the moment we don’t know where the game will be played with MacCumhaill Park seemingly out of the picture. I think Jim has a preference for Ballyshannon at the moment. We have to make home advantage pay.

After that it looks as if we will be taking on the winners of Armagh and Tyrone, who clash in the preliminary round. Whoever wins that will first take on Fermanagh and that is a tough draw for Declan Bonner and Fermanagh. Maybe there will be a shock but on form Armagh or Tyrone look too good. Hopefully Tyrone and Armagh will have knocked lumps out of each other by then.

Before that we have the Dr McKenna Cup and I’m hearing we will have Derry at home on the first Sunday in January. Again we don’t have a venue, but it is something I’m looking forward to and being able to see the new talent coming through in the county.

We had a really great performance from Four Masters in retaining the U-21A title on Sunday last and the Donegal Town club are going to be a serious senior team shortly. That has to be good for Donegal and they have a number of young players joining Jim’s squad.

Four Masters are reaping the rewards of the work they have put in and it is frightening to see how many underage titles they are amassing.

In the Ulster club semi-final Scotstown got through to the final after extra-time and penalties. Their ‘keeper Rory Beggan is worth his weight in gold. St Brigid’s won in Connacht and you can see that the standard in club football is very high at the moment, and that has been helped by the new rules.

Finally, this week, my sympathies to the Greenan family, Cavan, on the death of former Ulster GAA President and well-known referee, Michael Greenan, whose mother was from Donegal.

Brian McEniff was in conversation with Peter Campbell