The inside story of a red card that changed the course of Donegal GAA

About 15 minutes to three on October 15, 2022, Aaron Deeney kicked a point for St Eunan’s in the Donegal SFC final against Naomh Conaill.

Few knew it at the time but it was perhaps the first punctuation point in what has evolved into a spiralling series of events that has since bookmarked one of the most harrowing years in Donegal’s football history.

The point put the defending champions from Letterkenny into a 1-3 to 0-4 lead. St Eunan’s had won the previous year’s final against the same opposition comfortably, 1-11 to 0-4, but this was much more of a tangle.

The showpiece of Donegal football had been pushed back six days following a tragic explosion that had claimed the lives of 10 people in Creeslough.

Following a minute’s silence beforehand, there was a strange type of atmosphere lingering in the autumnal surrounds of MacCumhaill Park. The game itself, though, was coming to life. St Eunan’s had the wind and had struggled but, entering first-half injury time, were producing their best spell of the match.

Naomh Conaill, by their own admission, had hardly laid a glove on St Eunan’s in the 2021 final, but this time they had a considerable bite in their play, winning turnovers and gobbling up loose balls.

On the day, they didn’t revolutionise themselves. They just did what they frequently do, only better. Jim McGuinness - Donegal’s 2012 All-Ireland winning manager and a proud son of Glenties - had been welcomed to help out manager Martin Regan and his panel in the closing stages of the club championship.

Stephen McGrath, the Naomh Conaill goalkeeper, got two hands on Deeney’s effort and helped it over the crossbar. Sean McGettigan, the St Eunan’s midfielder, gave a scream in the direction of McGrath and was promptly grounded by a shoulder by Ciaran Thompson. What followed wouldn’t have been called a melee - players from both sides came in although nothing was overly sinister. Jeaic Mac Ceallabhuí went to ground, having been pushed by Shane O’Donnell.

Referee Mark Dorrian, who had been marking the Deeney score into his notebook, surveyed the scene and took advice from linesman Val Murray, who had moved in from the terrace side. Murray had initially tried to communicate with Dorrian over the radio, although it was too noisy to hear.

Dorrian asked for clarification twice: “Are you saying it’s a red card?”. Murray, who was insistent, nodded in approval. The referee, who had also spoken to both umpires behind the goal, summoned Thompson and O’Donnell in. The Naomh Conaill midfielder was yellow-carded and having not flashed the same card in the direction of O’Donnell, St Eunan’s began to fear the worst. The red followed and O’Donnell trudged off in disbelief.

On the St Eunan’s bench just at half-time, a couple of phones pinged. “A joke,” read one of the texts, with TG4 footage of the incident already doing the rounds. St Eunan’s learned the sending-off was for “a strike on the grounded Naomh Conaill player.”

The footage showed the initial push by O’Donnell, who then pushed Mac Ceallabhuí again whilst he was on the ground.

With Rory Kavanagh and his number two David O’Herlihy frantically pondering how to address their numerical disadvantage, the St Eunan’s manager asked O’Donnell whether there was a strike. “No, I came in and pushed him,” was the reply. O’Donnell was said to be inconsolable in the dressing room.

Having reviewed the footage going through the tunnel and out the back of the main stand, St Eunan’s selector Kieran Sharkey was the one to approach the officials for clarity on O’Donnell’s red card. He knocked on the officials’ door.

St Eunan’s, rightly or wrongly, firmly believed video evidence would exonerate O’Donnell, hurriedly running through what they believed may be precedents.

In the All-Ireland semi-final three months beforehand, Galway had been awarded a point before the second half started after a Shane Walsh 45 in the first was initially deemed wide following a Hawkeye malfunction at Croke Park.

In the 2019 Donegal SFC second replay, Gaoth Dobhair’s Eamon McGee had been sent off by referee Seamus McGonagle against Naomh Conaill before the ball was thrown in at the start of the second half following an incident that took place when the teams left the field at half-time.

Also, a Naomh Columba player had been cautioned at the start of the second half of the 2022 Donegal IFC semi-final, by Murray, who was the referee, following a complaint made to the officials at the interval by Gaeil Fhánada’s management team.

Sharkey, though, was refused permission to speak with the officials. Before the St Eunan’s side had made it back onto the pitch, backroom team members claim to have shown Marc Brown, the other linesman, the footage, to which he shrugged his shoulders. Dorrian knew he had a second half to officiate on and, not getting drawn in, wanted to keep his focus. Pat Walsh, the referees’ administrator, was to be heard saying the red card was dead right.

Naomh Conaill had kept out of things and in the second half, did enough to come through and win on a 1-9 to 2-5 scoreline, with Charlie McGuinness’s goal and four points from Thompson proving vital against the 14 men. For those in blue and white, it was a celebration of their sixth senior crown, certainly one to remember having been written off by many beforehand.

Afterwards, Regan spoke poignantly about the tragic events in Creeslough and admitted to not having witnessed how the red card was drawn.

“I did not see the incident, but the fact that it was Shane O'Donnell who was sent off meant it made a big impact,” Regan said. “Of course, Eunan's were going to miss him as he is one of their main men in the forward line. But you will have sending-offs and we had two men (Eunan Doherty and Charlie McGuinness) sent off in last year's final. It happens and it depends on how you respond and we did not respond last year.”

Meanwhile, Kavanagh said his side was nowhere near the heights they had shown in 2021, but said the red card was a massive factor in the one-point loss.

“I watched it back and to be honest there was absolutely nothing in it,” he said in his postmatch interview. “Shane comes in and he pushes somebody and goes to ground. We heard it was for a secondary action, that Shane allegedly struck the Glenties player on the ground - but there was no strike. We are disappointed with the sending off and you want clarification. Shane is a key man and a county player and when he goes the momentum shifts. You want clarification from the officials. I don't know what they were seeing.”

While Naomh Conaill celebrated their victory in Glenties, Kavanagh was at home in Letterkenny that evening. He, at the time, was the frontrunner for the vacant position of Donegal senior team manager.

Declan Bonner’s last act as boss was a defeat to Armagh in the All-Ireland qualifiers in June and having stepped aside the following month, the filling of the role had turned into a saga. Kavanagh had met with Karl Lacey, a friend for many years he trucked along with to win Sam Maguire with Donegal, in Snugborough in Letterkenny in July.

They spoke mainly about the Donegal GAA Academy, which Lacey was running - and about the various underage teams. Throughout the summer, Donegal’s three-man selection committee - which was supposed to remain anonymous but widely understood to be made up of county chairman Mick McGrath, coaching officer Michael McGeehin and lecturer Dr Ken van Someren - had struggled to find a replacement for Bonner.

Kavanagh and Lacey met again in September and by then, Jim McGuinness had shown a willingness to get involved. Talks were ongoing, although the deeper into the club championship things got, red flags were rising in Kavanagh’s head when he was getting asked by reporters in post-match interviews about taking the Donegal job, all this in a process which he was told would be utterly confidential. Some friends and family warned him to be wary of any potential involvement as the club championship reached the business end.

With the dissatisfaction with how the final went, Kavanagh, who was due to be interviewed for the position of Donegal senior team manager that following Wednesday, had weighed up his options.

With four young children, aged from 13 months to eight years also to consider, he decided it wasn’t for him and shot McGrath - with whom he had never met throughout the managerial hunt - a text to say he was out.

Twenty-four hours after the final, a number flashed up on Kavanagh’s phone that he didn’t recognise. He answered to hear the voice of Dorrian, the match referee, who had text the night before. Dorrian had first of all wanted to review all footage before sitting down to write his match report, and, having done so, admitted the sending-off was not warranted.

Dorrian said that he also spoke to his umpires Declan Coyle and Hughie Shiels, who did not see a strike - only pushing - and recommended a yellow card for Thompson for coming in on McGettigan. Kavanagh accepted Dorrian’s apology and appreciated his reaching out, although did remind him that ultimately, it was he who sent O’Donnell off.

Dorrian, again apologetic, said he acted on the advice given by his linesman, who was adamant there was a strike on the ground.

When Dorrian submitted his match report, he stressed it was a mistake to send off O’Donnell: “Having taken the time after the game to go home and to review the television coverage of the game, it is my view that what I was told by Val Murray during our consultation did not occur.

“The television coverage clearly shows that no strike by No. 11 Naomh Adhamhnäin (Shane O' Donnell) occurred. I firmly believe that the action taken on the day to issue Shane O'Donnell with a red card was wrong and it should not have been issued.”

Kavanagh, the Tuesday after the county final, let Lacey know of his decision to remove himself from the running for the Donegal job and, instead, was more than content to continue at the helm with St Eunan’s.

Aside from the fallout from the final, privately Kavanagh told friends that it was always his opinion that if someone were to take a position of such magnitude as a senior inter-county manager, it would be better to first gain the necessary experience going through the ranks.

In some ways, jumping from being a club manager to being favourite for the Donegal job had even caught him by surprise. The well seemed to be running dry for those involved in the process of appointing a manager, so Kavanagh’s name had surged from the pack.

A schoolteacher at Scoil Chomlcille in Letterkenny, he had given plenty to Donegal football down the years and felt it unfair to add to the sacrifices those at home were making throughout. In the end, Paddy Carr was roped in, lasted six league games and was relegated from Division 1 before being replaced by Aidan O’Rourke, who in turn stepped down following Donegal’s loss to Tyrone in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final.

A messy year in Donegal saw the Academy collapse following a walkout of coaches saying they had “lost all confidence in the governance of Donegal GAA” after Lacey had quit, was followed by a Croke Park review. It found that Donegal’s talent academy, finance and governance structures had 14 “high-risk” findings.

Fergus McGee, only one year in as chairperson, opted to not put his name forward, with a lack of support from the certain elements of the executive understood to be a major factor in his decision. Only the return of McGuinness, nine years on, did anything to lift the gloom.

With Dorrian having held his hands up on the error, it was learned that pressure was being put on him almost immediately after the final whistle in Ballybofey, being advised that “O’Donnell could be done for a third man infraction.”

Then, whilst in the car with his wife later that evening, he got a phone call, again suggesting he consider how to implicate O’Donnell - who was due to face the CCC (Competitions Control Committee) following his sending off - in some sort of wrongdoing. The recently married Garda Dorrian point-blank refused.

The following Friday, at the official opening of the Donegal GAA Centre in Convoy with media in attendance, there were overheard whispers from officials saying that Dorrian wouldn’t budge.

O’Donnell, in turn, was then told there was no need to join the online disciplinary meeting that evening, as he had no case to answer, due to Dorrian believing honesty was the best policy, sticking to his guns that the red card was wrong.

Dorrian wasn’t aware of it at the time, but his match report would soon be leaked from the CCC secretary Ed Byrne to a fraction of the local media, who had not requested it in any shape or form and, on consideration, opted not to report on it.

The theory from within one media group was that they were being used ‘to stir things up’ so opted to take a step back in the knowledge that should anyone involved seek the referee’s report, there were channels they could undertake themselves.

St Eunan’s, meanwhile, still felt there was an accountability issue. They were unsure as to who had made the appointments for the 2022 final, despite asking.

Dorrian had held his hands up, O’Donnell had been cleared, yet nobody else seemed to want to take responsibility for the events off the field both before and after the final was played.

Kavanagh used examples of Premier League officials being demoted for serious officiating errors, and made his feelings known to the CCC, who assured him they “would sort the matter, but only after county convention”. This, Kavanagh believed at the time, was suggesting a promise to remove Murray from officiating.

Kavanagh refused to speak publicly on the matter, wanting not to sound as if it was sour grapes or begrudging of Naomh Conaill following their victory.

The pressure that had been put on Dorrian annoyed the referee, particularly after feeling he was so badly misadvised in the final itself. By the time the new year rolled around, he wanted the matter clarified, or at least put on record, as to why he was asked to change his match report.

His request was minuted, but feedback was minimal, so had to battle his way to find the truth. Wondering what would happen to his saying an official wanted the match report changed, the Gaeil Fhánada club man would learn that what he had told the Referee Review Committee was heavily doctored.

Dorrian found himself getting fewer fixtures locally despite the fact he’s since been promoted to the National Panel of Referees, O’Donnell hasn’t played for Donegal since and Kavanagh’s St Eunan’s battle to regain the Dr Maguire in 2023 ended in disappointment. Again, his side lost out to Naomh Conaill, this time at the semi-final stage on a 0-11 to 0-9 scoreline.

Kavanagh, in what turned out to be his last match in charge of St Eunan’s, commended Naomh Conaill on their 2023 victory saying: “There’s no better team when they get a lead on you.”

With the CCC due to get a new look at next week’s convention, on Tuesday last, The Donegal Democrat/ DonegalLive requested clarity into the handling of the referee’s report following that final.

Ahead of last Wednesday’s meeting of county management, an email was sent to leading county board officials.

It read: “We write regarding some queries we have relating to the official match report of the 2022 Donegal Senior Football Championship final and would appreciate it if you could respond to these by Friday, December 8, 2023, at 12 noon.”

A replay was received, nine minutes before noon on Friday, to the series of questions, listed below with the CCC’s responses, which will follow the opening reply from secretary Declan Martin.

“In reply to your query on the 2022 County Senior Football Final,” Martin wrote. “The matter was dealt with through the proper committees of Donegal GAA.

“I am not aware of presenting any minutes from the CCC or the Hearings Committee to County Committee, and as far as I recall the details of the matter were never discussed at Management nor County Committee. Please see additional replies from the CCC.”

DD/DL Query: “We are of the understanding that after issuing his report, the matchday referee was asked to substantially change the evidence in his report after the 2022 Donegal SFC final. Is this true?”

CCC response: “The matchday referee gave varying and conflicting accounts regarding whether he was asked to change the report. That being the case and given that the report had not been altered and that the disciplinary process was at an end. We considered the matter closed.”

DD/DL: “When the referee queried the request, his request was minuted, as it rightly should have been. However, we understand that this was omitted from minutes provided to County Committee. Who removed the entry from the minutes and why was this removed?

CCC response: “I can confirm no queries regarding any request made to matchday referee were ever included in the CCC minutes because no such query was ever made at a CCC meeting. It follows that nothing was omitted from CCC minutes to County Committee.

DD/DL Query: “Why was this match report sent out to a member of the local media by the CCC secretary?”

CCC response: “It was sent to yourself Alan [Foley, Donegal Democrat/DonegalLive editor], at your request and I am surprised that you don't recall this even 15 months after the events.”

DD/DL Query: “Did the referee receive a request and, subsequently, give permission for this report to be shared with the local media? Is this common practice by the secretary of the CCC?”

CCC response: “No, permission was not sought as the report is classed as an official Gaa document and therefore permission was not required. It was an unusual period and quite outlandish claims were being propagated by the media and others that the referees had been altered which was considered damaging both to the referee in question and Donegal GAA in general. On balance, it was considered, to be beneficial to both the referee and the association reputations, to refute the scurrilous rumours by countering with the unvarnished facts i.e. the referee's report.”

Transparency, or the lack of it, still looms large in Donegal. Maybe 2024 will bring an end to that.