When Aodh Ruadh and Bundoran were the one - the story of St Joseph's

Aodh Ruadh and Bundoran clash in senior championship football for the first time in 38 years on Sunday when they meet in the first round of the Michael Murphy Sports & Leisure Senior Championship in Munday's Field, Ballyshannon.

That last senior championship meeting was in Centenary Year, 1984, with Aodh Ruadh coming out on top. It was their fifth meeting from 1978 to 1984 with both sides winning two and the other game was drawn.

Prior to that the sides had formed a partnership which ruled the roost of county football for much of the 1960s and 1970s.
It was the biggest domination of football in Donegal in living memory. You would have to go back to the dominant Gaoth Dobhair team of the 1940s for any comparison. The St Joseph's team from 1963 to 1977 won seven Dr Maguire Cups; four Democrat Cups; three Ulster Club championships (two unofficial) and an unofficial All-Ireland Club championship.

The amalgamation of Bundoran and Ballyshannon to form St Joseph's was not universally welcomed by either club but it was probably a factor in raising the standard of Gaelic football in the county which led to Donegal winning their first Ulster titles in 1972 and 1974.

It took a motion at the 1978 January annual Convention in Letterkenny to signal the end. Three young clubs - Glenfin, Dunkineely and Na Rossa - proposed that no amalgamations be allowed in club championships. The motion was carried and so ended all amalgamations - which had been a feature of Donegal GAA for much of its history. It coincided also with Bundoran winning the Intermediate Championship in 1977, which would qualified them for senior championship.

Many of amalgamations prior to the motion came about through necessity with clubs not having the numbers to enter teams. The partnership between Bundoran and Ballyshannon came about for different reasons. There had been an amalgamation between the clubs which resulted in county minor titles in 1961 and 1963 and this success along with the fact that many of the players had played together on De La Salle teams, was the motivating factor.

It was to prove highly successful with St Joseph's winning their first county final in 1965, albeit rather luckily after a replay with Glenties.

They would go on to have some great battles with St Eunan's of Letterkenny and Sean MacCumhaill's. There were plenty of controversies as well with the 1966 final between St Joseph's and MacCumhaill's never played. Both argued about the date and venue for the decider and failed to come to an agreement.

St Joseph's won their second championship in 1968 and third in 1970 before doing a four in-a-row from 1973 to 1976. They were the first Donegal team to win an Ulster club title when they defeated Castleblayney Faughs of Monaghan in the final but they were beaten by Roscommon Gaels in the All-Ireland final.

Before the arrival of the official provincial and All-Ireland club championships, St Joseph's won Ulster titles in 1966 and 1967 while they were runners-up in 1968.

The team was laden with county players who would grace the fields of Ulster in three Ulster finals - 1966, 1972 and 1974. Mickey McLoone was the Donegal captain in 1966 when Donegal lost out narrowly to Down while Pauric McShea was captain in 1974 when Donegal won their second Ulster title.

Of the 1972 panel there were six starters and four subs from St Joseph's involved while in 1974 four of the starting team were St Joseph's players and one sub.

The seven winning Donegal senior championship captains were:
1965: Bernard Brady
1968: Brian McEniff
1970: Seamie Granaghan
1973: Alan Kane
1974: Declan O'Carroll
1975: Teddy Kane
1976: Brian McEniff

The end came in 1978 when St Joseph's were beaten by eventual champions MacCumhaill's in the quarter-final by 3-3 to 1-5.
Fr Seán Ó Gallchoir captured the finale best in his book on the Donegal Senior Championship.

"All changed, changed utterly. At the Convention in Letterkenny in January 1978. Glenfinn and Na Rossa and Dunkineely proposed that no amalgamations be allowed in Championship football. The motion was carried. It was the end of St Joseph's, the end of one of the greatest teams in the history of the Championship."

It was not the end of football in the neighbouring towns and they were in direct opposition in their first year out on their own - 1978. Ballyshannon had a bye in the first round while Bundoran overcame Four Masters, winning both home and away. In the quarter-finals they met with Ballyshannon coming out on top by 2-4 to 1-6.

A year later Bundoran would get their revenge, winning a county semi-final against their neighbours by 1-13 to 3-4 before going on to take the county title against MacCumhaill's, 0-9 to 1-5. They would meet in the first round in 1982 with Bundoran winning the first leg by 1-9 to 2-5. By this time Ballyshannon were known as Aodh Ruadh. The second leg was drawn, 2-6 each which saw Bundoran go through but they lost out to Four Masters in the semi-final after a replay.

The last meeting at senior level between the two sides took place in 1984 when Aodh Ruadh were on the rise and they inflicted a heavy 3-15 to 0-10 defeat on the Bundoran men in the quarter-final. Aodh Ruadh would go on to win senior titles in 1986, 1987, 1994, 1997 and 1998 but they then suffered a period in the doldrums.

The last meeting between the clubs in championship came at Intermediate level in 2015 in Tirconaill Park, Donegal Town where a late Jamie Brennan point saw Bundoran prevail on a scoreline of 1-11 to 2-7.