Daniel McGeehan's bad luck on missing out on starting place in 1972 Ulster final

Rules were different back in 1972. If you got sent off in a club match, there was no avenue for appeal or the DRA, you had to take your punishment. And for Daniel McGeehan of Glenties, it was a harsh call.

McGeehan had established himself as the No 1 custodian in 1971 and was between the posts as Donegal defeated Down in Ballybofey in 1972 and again when they drew with Cavan in the Ulster semi-final in Irvinestown.

Between that game and the replay a round of the Donegal senior championship took place with Glenties playing Gaoth Dobhair in Magheragallon. While Gaoth Dobhair won the game handily 4-12 to 0-4, a goalmouth melee ended with Daniel McGeehan being sent off. 

Reading the Donegal  Democrat preview for the replay against Cavan, which was fixed for Clones, McGeehan was again selected as 'keeper, but when the referee's report landed by post with the Co. secretary it emerged that the Glenties man stood suspended and lost out with Ballyshannon's Alan Kane taking his place.

Kane would retain the starting place for the final but would then suffer a similar fate in the 1974 Ulster final, losing his place for the final replay to Noel McCole.

Now retired, Daniel McGeehan holds no grudges, saying it was  "just one of those things."

Imagine the outcry there would be today if a senior championship club match was fixed between an Ulster semi-final draw and replay?

The drawn game with Cavan was on Sunday, July 2 with the replay on July 16 and in between was the club championship match on Sunday, July 9. "I was the man in possession but then a certain day in Gaoth Dobhair changed that. The game was lodged between the two county matches. We had to go down to Gaoth Dobhair and at that time Gaoth Dobhair fielded players from Dungloe and we had objected.

"That made it a feisty affair and I was on the receiving end of a dubious sending off. You had no appeals. If you were suspended, you were debarred from all games. There was no separation between club and county. There was a bit of a melee in the goalmouth and it was deemed that I was the offender.

"The late Alan Kane got the jersey and he was a very good goalkeeper and a good friend of mine. It was just one of those things," says McGeehan.

MAC'S VIEW: Sad week in Donegal with death of goalkeeping legend Seamus Hoare

EARLY DAYS

McGeehan was born in Leitirmacaward but the family moved to Glenties when he was just two years of age after the death of his father. "I honestly don't know how we coped but people were remarkable at that time. Glenties has been my club all my life."

He did play one summer with Four Masters in Coventry after finishing college but other than that it has been his home club as well as some soccer with Cockhill Celtic in Buncrana, where he spent 40 years working with Donegal County Council, returning to his native place after retirement in 2009.

His early memories are of playing on the streets of Glenties or in any field that became available. "You had to entertain yourself in places like Glenties or anywhere else. Things are much better organised now," says McGeehan, who points out that he takes his four year old grandson to the pitch for a kick-about.

He played underage for Naomh Conaill and went to St Eunan's as a boarder, doing his Leaving Cert in 1966. "I had the privilege of playing Ranafast and MacRory Cup football, playing senior from third year onwards.

"The big man there was Michael Cullen. He was from a soccer background in Kilmacrennan, but he kept us focussed. As Paddy McDwyer said to me one time, Gaelic football kept us sane in St Eunan's; it was a tough place."

Among those he played with in college were a future Donegal teammate Anthony Gallagher from Letterkenny; Colm Ward, Downings; Sean McNelis, Carrick and Dominic Gildea and Frank McGhee from Ardara."

Daniel made the Donegal minor team in 1965 but were beaten by Derry, the eventual Ulster and All-Ireland champions and he played for the U-21s in 1968 before making his senior debut in 1969.

He was a sub on the senior championship team in 1969 in Casement Park with Seamus Hoare in goals.

"There were lots of rotation around that time and it was 1970/'71 before I pinned a place down. There was a selection committee in place, then they took in a management system which I thought was much better. They would have advisors coming in to help the manager. Before that it was a bit parochial," says McGeehan, who feels that his first time playing football in an organised manner was at St Eunan's College.

McGeehan remembers the famous after-match meeting in the Bush Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon after they were beaten by Leitrim in the league in 1971. "That was us, maybe second from bottom of the table. Anton Carroll and a few senior players, boy did they leave it on the line. It took that kick in the arse and I always remember Anton Carroll; he stood out for me."

He also mentions the famous notifications they would get from then Co Secretary, Hugh Daly, for training and match days. "I remember the minor championship in '65; Gerry Murray from Ballybofey was supposed to be in goal and maybe he was playing soccer. I ended up in goals, getting a letter. Hugh was a very quiet man but did things efficiently, always in the background."

After losing out in 1972, McGeehan's intercounty career faded but he kept playing for his club until the late 1970s. "I was living up in Buncrana at that time and there was very little Gaelic football and you would be travelling to places like Glencolmcille and Bundoran for league matches. Letterkenny would have been my nearest game. It was a big undertaking with a young family. After I hung up the boots, I played a good bit of soccer," says McGeehan, who remembers being involved with Glenties when they almost shocked St Joseph's in 1965.

"I was in college but I played a few matches. Willie McNelis was the regular 'keeper and he got married (and was away on honeymoon). I remember playing against Dungloe in Glenties and beating them and that was a huge shock.

"Willie came back but I was delighted to be part of it. They lost to a brilliant St Joseph's team after a replay by only two points," he says, pointing out that emigration hit the club hard after that and it took 40 years before they got back to a county final.

He is happy to have played his part in the Naomh Conaill revival and says the club's present strength is down to hard work and great commitment from many people. "That senior championship win in 2005, the average was about 22. Basically that came from a U-12 winning team, and some are still playing.

"Eight U-21 finals on the trot and senior championships, it didn't come without an awful lot of work," says McGeehan, who mentions the dedication of the late Jimmy McKelvey and Pat Boyle.

McGeehan has also played his part, serving as chairman and he is still on the club executive. His quiet, affable and calming nature is a major asset. "It has been a brilliant last 20 years and after retiring I had time to get involved. I was secretary back in 1972 and I had no difficulty going back to lend a hand."

St Eunan's and Donegal great Seamus Hoare sadly passes away

Seamus Hoare was from the heart of Letterkenny and kept goal for St Eunan's and Donegal with distinction for the best part of 15 years. Named on the Donegal Team of the Millennium he sadly passed away in Kildare yesterday, Monday

STATURE

Asked about the fact that goalkeepers of the time were not hugely tall in stature, he recalls listening to comments made by former Chelsea netminder Peter Bonetti, who said: "When I was playing the average height of a goalkeeper was 5''9''. If you kept yourself in good shape you could jump and dive."

McGeehan wonders if any of the players from his era would fit into the modern system. And he is not a great admirer of modern goalkeepers coming out the field taking possession. "I would have great respect for Shaun Patton but I despair when I see goalkeepers moving outfield or past where they should be. They will become a cropper."

At around 5'10'', he was once asked when in Scotland: "How the hell can you play Gaelic football!"

The death this week of former Donegal 'keeper, Seamus Hoare, evokes memories for McGeehan, who said Hoare used to come up and train on the St Eunan's College pitch with them and he was one of his heroes.

He says there have been many great 'keepers in his time from Hoare to the present incumbent Patton but if he had to put his head on the block, it would be close between the St Eunan's pair, with sentiment favouring Seamus Hoare.

Among those he felt privileged to play with or against included Frank McFeely, the Donegal captain in 1972, and Down's Sean O'Neill, who blasted two goals past him in double quick time in Newry in 1971.

There were also the great players at St Columb's, Derry such as Tony O'Doherty, the Lagans and Mullins, all brilliant players.

But his abiding memory is of the GAA being the lifeline of every community. "I don't know what we would have done without it in my home town and in St Eunan's College."

He is also delighted to see what is happening in Inishowen presently with the GAA getting stronger and stronger. "I was beside a woman from Buncrana at the Ulster semi-final and she told me she was there because her grandson (Caolan McColgan) was on the Donegal panel.

"It is great to see it happening. Urris started the ball rolling and they now have representatives on all Donegal panels."