Mac's View: Gaoth Dobhair's win in O'Donnell Park was the surprise of weekend

The weather was not kind at the weekend but still we got seven of the eight senior championship games played and the big shock was Gaoth Dobhair’s win against St Eunan’s, especially in O’Donnell Park. But fair play to Gaoth Dobhair, it opens up the championship.

Michael Murphy was too much for Four Masters on Saturday in Tirconaill Park but then Murphy is Murphy. I was talking to a few people who were at the game and they were pleased with the way Four Masters played but they had no answer for Murphy. The Donegal Town men should be pleased though to have two wins out of three and they will only get better.

In the other games at the weekend Kilcar were, as expected, too strong for Glenfin while MacCumhaill’s, without their two top forwards, were no match for Naomh Conaill. It’s hard to know about MacCumhaill’s now and what the outcome will be.

Aodh Ruadh leaked two bad goals against Ardara and conceded four in all and you don’t win matches conceding four goals. Cloughaneely are struggling without Jason McGege while Dungloe ran St Michael’s close. It took a spectacular late point from Michael Langan to decide it. Dungloe are a well-improved side and it’s good to see them at that level, a level they should be playing at.

The other game between St Naul’s and Killybegs fell foul of the weather and is on this Saturday.

In the Intermediate Championship, Termon are the form side with Buncrana and Milford drawing on Sunday to also be close to the top.

Letterkenny Gaels and Burt are at the bottom. Backlog games in the Reserve are being played this weekend so the final round will be the following weekend, to see who the top eight are for the quarter-finals.

Good luck to the six hurling teams taking part in the finals this Saturday in O’Donnell Park. It is good for them to have their day in the sun.

But now that we are at the end of August, it’s sad to think that we have nothing at intercounty level as we always had the All-Ireland finals in September. I know it has been talked about a lot but I still think they need to think long and hard about the overall fixture plan.

NOREEN DOHERTY

This week marks Noreen Doherty’s last week involved as GAA Administrator with Donegal and I want to wish her and Aidan every good wish in retirement. She has been a great ambassador for Donegal GAA.

I first met Noreen back in 1974 when the MacCumhaill’s Social Centre was up and running. The county team used  to go up the town for sandwiches after training and Noreen and her twin sister Mary were working in the Social Centre providing that service, so we began going there.

At the time St Joseph’s were great rivals with MacCumhaill’s and I remember at the time myself and Pauric McShea ribbing the two girls. They probably thought we were two smart alecs, and we were. PJ, their brother, was on the county squad at the time. I had PJ on Co minor squads in 1969 and 1970 and when I went off injured in the 1974 All-Ireland semi-final, PJ replaced me and converted a ‘50’ almost immediately.

That was my early recollection of Noreen and you know the history of her coming up through the ranks. She became the Co Secretary and what a Co Secretary. The only one you could compare her with was the great Frank Murphy of Cork. She worked under five or six county chairmen.

She did it by the book and she didn’t bend the rules. She asked me to chair a couple of committees, one of which was finding a Centre of Excellence ground, which is now Convoy.

I dealt with her as county team manager for a good number of years and then went back later and she was still the efficient Noreen that you knew.  She would travel on the bus with us from time to time and you would get to speak to her on a one-to-one basis.

She was a very accomplished lady and a very committed Gael, but that came from the family really.

I persuaded her to stand for Central Council when I stood down, and then she went into administration.

She would have been the person I would go to, even at club football, when I was club chairman. She was always more than helped, the height of efficiency. She was a special lady and will be quite a loss to the Association.

Brian McEniff was in conversation with Peter Campbell