Dessie Gallagher: Youthful Dungloe want senior return

Dessie Gallagher watched from the stand at O’Donnell Park and could feel the hurt.

It was September 2020 and Milford’s win over Dungloe in the Donegal SFC relegation play-off was a jolt for the Rosses men.

They’d been in the senior championship since winning the IFC in 1986 and the defeat bit hard.

Gallagher took over as Dungloe manager in 2021 and they almost made an instant return, only to lose a replay against Cloughaneely in the IFC final.

“They want to get back to the senior championship,” Gallagher told Donegal Live after a 1-12 to 0-10 loss to Sean MacCumhaills in Division 2 on Sunday.

“The boys were hurt from that defeat to Milford. You could see them coming off the field that they were hurt.

Bradley-Walsh turns the tide for MacCumhaills against Dungloe

Joel Bradley-Walsh came off the bench to help MacCumhaills overcome Dungloe in Division 2

“We have a few young fellas who have come up from minor and we’re trying to blood them in. We have young boys in the early 20s really pushing now and they’re helping those other young lads. We’re very young, that’s the biggest thing. There are days we’ll win and days we won’t.

“We have to start again and go again.”

Ryan Connors has gone to the United States and his return date in late summer is as yet unknown while Noel McBride is absent because of an injury.

They were two key cogs in 2021. McBride is on the recovery road, but Gallagher is unsure as to Connors’ plans.

He said: "He is a massive loss. He was playing very well last year and was able to control games. He was a big help.

“We’ll see what the Championship brings.”

Dungloe posted a win over St Naul’s on the opening day before losing narrowly to Milford. They seemed to be in control against MacCumhaills on Sunday in Ballybofey when leading 0-5 to 0-1 but, inspired by Joel Bradley-Walsh’s introduction, the Twin Towns men flipped the game on its head.

“The boys were flying at the start, but we just stopped doing what we were doing well,” Gallagher said.

“We started taking the ball into the strong men in the middle and started losing it. They came back in fairness and kicked 1-5 without us scoring.

We never got that back. We finished strong, but that middle part of the game was where we lost our way.

“The boys were moving well, but started making those runs down the middle instead of moving the ball quickly. That suited MacCumhaills and it took to the middle of the second half when we started to come again. It was just a bit too late at that stage.”