Mac's View: Really enjoyable county final with Dungloe performing admirably

Sunday’s Donegal county final was really enjoyable and even though I felt St Eunan’s would always prevail, Dungloe showed that they were worthy finalists and they left everything on the field.

There was a great level of support there too for both sides, especially for St Eunan’s, who would not normally draw big crowds. But you could see the support they had when the presentation was taking place.

As for Dungloe, it was great to see such colour and they brought something special to the final and were there in big numbers to support their side.

Dungloe had been written off badly before the game and nobody expected them to do what they did on the day. They played a nice composed game and were the better side in the opening half. Indeed, they should have been at least a couple of points ahead at half-time.

What they might have lacked in slickness, they made up for in effort. Their defence in particular was very tight, not giving an inch in the first half and they are very strong at midfield.

Lack of slickness - made up in effort. Defence very tight. Strong midfield.

Indeed, it is this area where you would have a slight worry about St Eunan’s going forward into Ulster where they meet the Tyrone champions, either Errigal Ciaran or Trillick, with that final taking place this Sunday.

Their scoring rate in the first half of four points would not be good enough in Ulster.

But overall I thought St Eunan’s showed their real self when it was put up to them in the last five minutes. They would have felt aggrieved about the penalty decision which got Dungloe back level on the stroke of normal time. I felt Ryan Walsh had a good enough game until the penalty but in the end it didn’t have a say in the outcome.

It was a very enjoyable final, played in the right way, and Dungloe will learn a lot from it. They are a young team and there is no reason why they won’t be back. They only finished midtable in Division 2 but they have created a great buzz now. They can  build on this.

I was a little bit surprised with the man of the match selection, Conor O’Donnell jnr. I felt that Ciaran Moore was outstanding during the final and there is something about him which is very exciting. He has had a very good season for county and club and would be my nominee for Player of the Season.

Shane O’Donnell also had a very good game and Niall O’Donnell came into it in the second half after being well held by the Dungloe full-back, Aaron Ward, initially.

There were a lot of quality performances and I’m sure Jim McGuinness was looking at some of them as regards the county panel.

It was good to see former county players Brendan Devenney and Manus Boyle involved  with the respective sides on Sunday.

Congratulations to Gaoth Dobhair on winning the Reserve championship with the three McGees on board and they made their mark, especially in the second half.

ULSTER DRAW

The draw for the Ulster Championship and our pairing with Derry in the preliminary round is really exciting. The great thing is we are at home in MacCumhaill Park. We were underdogs last year and their goalkeeper had a head stagger. This will be a much different affair. There was talk that Karl Lacey might be the next Derry manager, but he has dismissed that after leading Kilcoo to the Down title on Sunday.

If we can come out of Ballybofey against Derry, we will have a tough game away to Monaghan in Clones. But we have avoided Tyrone and Armagh until the final. There is never anything easy in Ulster and we will need four wins to retain our Ulster title.

TRIALS

This coming weekend should be exciting with the new rules being trialled in the Inter-Pros. It’s on TV on Friday night and Saturday night and I’m really looking forward to it. Of the rules, the new scoring laws and having three men up will make it very difficult for referees.

There was talk maybe 20 years ago about having two referees, but then that would be impossible at club level.

The one on one at the throw-in will make it a good contest and the goalkeeper’s role being curtailed should help flow the game better. Also the solo and go option looks like speeding up the game and there should be more goal chances created.

It will be exciting to watch the best players in the country get to grips with these new rules.

Finally, this week, congratulations to our neighbours here in Bundoran, Melvin Gaels and St Molaise Gaels on their success. Melvin Gaels came from 10 points down with three late goals to defeat Allen Gaels in the Leitrim Intermediate championship and Bundoran man Gary Clancy scored the winning goal while Aiden and Val Murray from Ballyshannon were manager and mentor respectively. St Molaise Gaels from Cliffoney-Grange reached the Sligo final.

And this weekend our neighbours on the other side, Erne Gaels, with Declan Bonner as manager, are wished well in the Fermanagh county final when they face Enniskillen Gaels.

Congratulations to Karl Lacey and Barry Dunnion on Kilcoo’s win in Down and Mark McHugh, who is coach at Moycullen in Galway, who reached the Galway final. Mark is also congratulated on being named coach with Westmeath for the 2025 season alongside Cavan man Dermot McCabe as manager. Mark has a lot of experience now having worked for a few seasons in Roscommon as well where he was well got.

Brian McEniff was in conversation with Peter Campbell