Half a century of service: Eugene Gallagher’s unwavering dedication to MacCumhaill’s

There are men in every club who simply are the club.  

They don’t chase headlines or pose for many pictures, but without them, the place would crumble.   

For half a century, Eugene Gallagher was one of those men for Seán MacCumhaill’s GAA Club.  

He stood down as treasurer in December, a position he held for 50 years since first taking it up in 1975. To put that in context, when he started, an All-Ireland final ticket set you back £2.50 and the total income for MacCumhaill’s that year was £4,500. That figure is laughable now when you consider the six-figure sums needed to keep the place afloat today.  

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“I was secretary for about two years and then I became treasurer,” Eugene recalls. “It was easy in those days, but as the years went on, it got very difficult. Now you could be trying to look after up to 30 teams.”  

Eugene has seen it all. A county championship winner with the club in 1971, his playing days were cut short by a knee injury in 1973.   

Back then, sports science wasn’t what it is now. There were no tailored rehab plans, no strength and conditioning coaches. If a bad knee went, it stayed gone. He tried comebacks, but it wasn’t to be.  

“I tried so many times to come back, but in those days, we probably didn’t do the right training to get fit again, so I retired from playing and that’s how I really fell into the administration side of the club,” he says.  

And what a shift he put in. In the decades since, he has kept the books, ran the fundraisers, and been the steadying hand as the club evolved from a local outfit to a county-level institution. He’s had a front-row seat — though rarely sitting down — for some of the biggest days in MacCumhaill Park.  

“I’ve been in the ground for some great games, but to be fair when there’s a match in Ballybofey, I don’t really get to see it because I’m either working at the gate, working at the shop, walking around doing the lotto, selling tickets, things like that, so I very seldom see the match but I hear the roars,” Eugene adds  

The finances of running a club have transformed beyond recognition during his tenure.  

“When I first got involved, you would be running functions, the car drive, all those things, but it didn’t take a lot of money to run the club back then. Maybe £3,000 or £4,000 would be enough to run a club, but it can be through the wall now.”  

Insurance alone, a thing barely considered in the ‘70s, now eats into club budgets to the tune of five figures a year. Throw in travel, maintenance, and development costs, and the figures begin to climb rapidly.  

Yet, through it all, Eugene never shirked. He was always there, keys in hand, ready to open gates, set up for events, or handle whatever needed doing.  

“I’m usually the man they call up if they want to get into the ground for various reasons, mainly because they know I have all the keys. My wife would be giving out to me saying would I not leave that job to someone else instead of running about all the time, but I’m nearby, I’m retired from working, and I like giving my time to it.”  

And therein lies the secret to a life spent in MacCumhaill’s — he simply loved it. It was never about recognition, though the Donegal Sports Star Awards did see fit to honour him with an Appreciation Award last month.  

“I suppose the great thing about the GAA is that you make great friends. You might have the odd argument too to keep you on your toes, but there have been more good nights than bad nights.”  

The end of an era is a phrase thrown around too easily, but in this case, it feels apt. Eugene has stepped away, hanging up the books like he hung up the boots years ago. But he won’t be far away. Not really.   

The club is in his blood, in his bones. It always has been.