Letterkenny Gaels and Burt set to battle it out to stay in the Donegal IFC

It will be all hands to the pump on Saturday evening for Burt and Letterkenny Gaels when they go head-to-head in the IFC relegation decider in St Mary’s Convoy. 

In what is the defining game in their respective championship campaigns, the outcome of the clash will determine who slips to Junior A next term.  

For the winners, it will be the Intermediate championship once more and for the losers, it will be Junior championship football in 2025.  

Burt, after a steady league in Division 3, lost all of their four games in the championship, leaving team manager Ronan McLaughlin scratching his head when he reflects on the championship and sees Termon and Naomh Columba looking forward to the intermediate championship final - the two teams his charges ran to a point.   

Termon beat Burt 1-6 to 0-8 at the Burn Road and Naomh Columba escaped from Hibernian Park with a narrow win too as Aaron Doherty and company were 1-8 to 0-10 winners. 

Bundoran were three-point winners in Hibernian Park and Red Hughs had five points to spare at the end of their second-round tie.  

Letterkenny Gaels, Junior championship winners two seasons ago, find themselves locked in a battle for survival after losing three of their games and winning one.  

They suffered big defeats to Buncrana and Naomh Muire while Milford had six points to spare at the end of their meeting in Moyle View Park.  

The win was away in Portsalon when they pulled off a big victory by two points over a fancied Gaeil Fhanada on a 2-8 to 1-9 scoreline.  

And in their first-round play-off, they went down by a point to Na Rossa in a game that was in the balance right up to the final whistle.  

Paul Melaugh’s men led that game by three points at half-time and let Na Rossa back into the second half.   

Conor Walker scored the Gaels goal and also kicked a point with Ronan Frain, Adam Duffy, Liam McAlary, and Brian Diver also kicking points for men from the Glebe.  

The form book says Letterkenny Gaels are the favourites while tradition suggests they have a real fight on their hands.