All-Ireland quarter-final will be Eoghan Bán Gallagher's 100th Donegal appearance

Eoghan Bán Gallagher freely admitted he wasn’t aware that Donegal’s upcoming All-Ireland SFC quarter-final clash will be his 100th intercounty appearance.

Instead, the Killybegs defender was content with his side’s progression by virtue of their 2-23 to 0-5 win over Clare in Castlebar on Saturday. This result, combined with Tyrone’s 1-17 to 0-16 success over Cork meant direct passage for the team managed by Jim McGuinness.

“It was important to get the win,” Gallagher said in the MacHale Park tunnel. “That was the main thing and Tyrone did us a favour then so it means we can look forward to an All-Ireland quarter-final.”

The victory came following a 3-9 to 0-16 loss in Cork two weeks’ beforehand, Donegal’s first loss in league and championship all season.

“We needed a bit of a reaction after Cork,” Gallagher continued. “We put our best foot forward and thankfully we managed to still top the group. We tried to take whatever positives from Cork and now it’s knock-out football and we’re where we want to be.”

Donegal conceded the first point against Clare and then turned on the style to score 2-13 in succession - 2-11 of that in the first half alone - to run in their biggest win ever in championship football. Conor O’Donnell came off the bench to score two points following a year on the sidelines, Gallagher’s clubmate at Fintra, Hugh McFadden, and Stephen McMenamin all saw championship football for the first time in 2024.

“We managed to put a better look on the scoreboard to set up a good lead at half-time but we weren’t sure how the other game was going so it was a matter of keep going. We just had to worry about ourselves and keep the scoring going. Getting straight into the quarter-final is big but it's only as big as we make it. We’ve two weeks now and will focus on the knock-out. The extra weekend off is important. The one-week turnaround is not an excuse for performance in Cork.

“A strong panel is very important and seeing Conor O’Donnell there coming back after what has been a year out - he has worked so hard to get to that point. It’s great to see him back. Big Hughie is back as well. We’re getting stronger and everyone is putting their hands up. All we can do is take it week by week and game by game.”

Right on full-time in Castlebar, Seán O'Gallchóir, the Donegal GAA Historial, sent on details of Gallagher’s upcoming milestone of 100 appearances, having made his senior bow in 2016 against Down in the Dr McKenna Cup and first playing championship football that summer in the Ulster SFC draw with Monaghan at Breffni Park. In that time, he scored 2-21 and captained the team in 2023.

“I didn’t know,” he said with a smile afterwards. “I haven’t a clue! It’s nice to get a milestone like that but getting the result the next day is more important.”

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