Summer is over for Ó Baoill - but things are hotting up with Gaoth Dobhair

Gaoth Dobhair provided perhaps the most eyebrow-raising results in the All-County League at St Eunan’s this season - and they’ll be looking for more of the same on Saturday in the Donegal SFC.

The side managed by Ronan MacNiallais and Francie Friel ran into a 1-7 to 0-1 half-time lead at O’Donnell Park in early June, before winning out comfortably on a 1-12 to 1-6 scoreline. 

That was perhaps the result that enabled the team from Magheragallon to make the All-County Football League Division 1 final, where they had their moments early on against Naomh Conaill, only to lose 2-11 to 1-7.

Daire Ó Baoill was on his way to Cork with Donegal’s senior footballers as he checked the scoreline from Gaoth Dobhair’s win in Letterkenny and Jim McGuinness’s side would eventually land in the All-Ireland semi-final, only to be undone by Galway.

Afterwards, Ó Baoill cleared the head spending a couple of weeks hiking the Dolomites in northern Italy, clocking up the miles before getting his teeth back into club football. Last year’s beaten Donegal SFC finalists Gaoth Dobhair suffered a 3-9 to 1-7 defeat at Four Masters on weekend one.

Gaoth Dobhair got back on track on Saturday last, when they beat Glenfin 1-14 to 0-5, turning it on in the second half having led 0-6 to 0-5 when playing against a stiff breeze to begin with.  Ó Baoil scored the only goal of the game, with a flash of quick-thinking which was evident all year with Donegal.

When compared with the over-the-head lobbed goals against Fermanagh in the Allianz League and Derry, twice, in the Ulster SFC, this time it was more of an around-the-corner, with possibly even less to aim at. Seizing a kick-out from Kaine McGlynn into the wind, Ó Baoill saw the gap at the near post as the Glenfin goalkeeper hurtled back and planted the ball just inside the near post with great precision. Gaoth Dobhair, with Ethan Harkin also leading the charge with seven points, hit 1-5 in five minutes to erase any doubt over who would win. 

“We’d an off day and Four Masters beat us in the end,” Ó Baoill said after Glenfin. “We’d a tough few days after that and it carried into Tuesday. The best thing we could do was put it behind us and put the focus on Glenfin. We knew it would be a battle, especially with the wind. There’s been a breeze around the county that hasn’t gone away for the last few weeks.

“We’re well used to it and maybe we won that game in the first half when we went in a point up and we knew we were in a good place. With the breeze at our backs, it enabled us to step out another five or 10 yards and getting the win was good for the younger boys there too. We’ve a young team.

“They won the last two U-21 titles and had a good year in getting to the senior final. A lot of those are stepping up and taking sessions. There’s a lot of emphasis here with underage and keeping boys down here at the pitch. A lot of those lads are in their second or third championship, which can be hard-hitting and they’re learning from it.”

Last autumn, Gaoth Dobhair made it to the Donegal SFC final and would admit themselves, they didn’t do themselves justice in the final against Naomh Conaill, who were seven up after 12 minutes and went onto lift the Dr Maguire following a 1-16 to 1-8 win.

Magheragallon can be a testing spot - even more so in the dark evenings of the early months of the year - and Gaoth Dobhair put their loss behind them to produce a competent league campaign.

A Special Needs Assistant at the local Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair, summer’s out for school this week and Ó Baoill and his Gaoth Dobhair team will learn a lot about themselves this weekend at St Eunan’s.

“It was difficult for a week or two after that final so Ronan and Francie did the right thing in taking them back down here a bit earlier than usual,” Ó Baoill added. “It was a matter of shaking that out of your legs. They did well in the league in getting to the league final so they’ve put last year behind them now and we’ll see what this year brings.”