MAC'S VIEW: Donegal will use recent events as motivation going forward

It has been a busy week with Donegal having two good wins in the Dr McKenna Cup and then all of that was sidetracked by a minor administrative issue which seems to have been dealt with very harshly.

I am convinced that no one in Donegal, either in officialdom or around team management, were aware of  the new rule which left young Finbarr Roarty ineligible to play senior for Donegal. 

This is a pre-season competition and if a rule was broken then any sanction should also relate to that competition. Donegal will have to appeal the severity of the eight week ban on Jim McGuinness. It seems that he has been dealt with very severely. It is like taking a sledge hammer to open a nut. The eight week ban has to be reduced. 

But on the other side of the coin it is better that the anomaly has been found out this early and not during the National League. Losing the points in their big win over Armagh may impact on Donegal getting to the semi-finals of the Dr McKenna Cup (it depends on results from last night’s games) but if this had happened during the National League and losing points there could have been disastrous.

Overall, the penalty was very harsh and I have great sympathy for young Roarty. He has been given a two week ban, which won’t amount to an awful lot, but he is a big strong lad and was well able to play at this level.

No doubt we will hear more about him. But overall it has been a great start to the Dr McKenna Cup and there is a good buzz. And there is no doubt that Jim McGuinness will use what has happened as motivation.

GOOD PREPARATION

Looking back at the opening game on January 3rd, it was unfortunate that Armagh saw fit to send an U-20 team. Kieran McGeeney did not travel and he should have been there. He is a high profile manager and it is learned that they played Dublin in a challenge the night before.

Barry ‘Bumpy’ O’Hagan was with the team. 

There was a great crowd of nearly 4,000 which was great for January and there was a great buzz. However, the challenge was not what we wanted but it was good to get the two points.

Then on Sunday we went to Omagh to play a stronger Tyrone team, but we punched holes in them in the opening half. We should have had at least three goals in that first half.

In hindsight maybe it was a good thing. It made the second half more relevant. Tyrone brought on a couple of subs and for some reason our levels dropped. They got a number of frees and then a goal to go a point ahead.

But they never scored again. We upped the ante and although we only had two points to spare at the end, it was comfortable.

We have used a good number of players now and we are well on target for our first league match at home to Cork, a team that doesn't travel well. Although they did go to Clare in the McGrath Cup and won well. They could also have the Castlehaven players back after they lost the club All-Ireland semi-final.

I heard that Jim McGuinness has a Plan B for some challenge games if they don’t get through to the McKenna Cup semi-final. He said he had been in contact with a few counties.

However, it would be nice to be in the semi-final. There is always a bit of spice in those games and we could be playing the likes of Derry or Monaghan.

Finally, congratulations to Mickey McCann and the Donegal hurlers on defeating Derry and Fermanagh to reach the Conor McGurk Cup final for the third year in-a-row. Good luck to them against Down on Saturday in the final.
https://www.ireland-live.ie/news/inish-live/1392190/donegal-drawn-against-monaghan-in-dr-mckenna-cup-semi-final.html

AMBROSE GIVEN

I was sorry to hear of the death of Ambrose Given of Convoy, who was team manager in Donegal in 1971 when I was captain.

A great GAA man, he had gained experience in Cavan and played with a Cavan junior team that went all the way to an All-Ireland final.

Unfortunately, Donegal were not good in 1971 although we went to Newry and played a good Down team in the championship, and put up a battling performance. However, the league went badly.

However, good things came from it and we went on to win our first Ulster title in 1972.

Ambrose gave it his best shot. He was a very committed football man and was a selector along with Packie Keeney during my reign as team manager. He won an underage competition with Convoy, which was rare.  His brother, Seamus, father of Irish goalkeeper Shay, played minor with me.

He was remembered with a minute’s silence at Donegal’s home match against Armagh last week. I was sorry that I wasn’t able to get to his funeral. My condolences to the entire Given family. May Ambrose rest in peace.

Here in Bundoran we lost Liam Travers this week. Liam’s father, Bilshie, was chairman of the club when St Joseph’s won the All-Ireland club in 1968. Liam’s family all played for Bundoran and we had a guard of honour at his funeral.

Liam had a great love of rugby. He had been struck down by polio when seven months old. He was a very talented musician. I had the honour of being his best man when he married Anna Elliott of Paisley, Scotland in 1970. May his gentle soul rest in peace.

Brian McEniff was in conversation with Peter Campbell