Negativity had an affect but it feels like Donegal have turned a corner - Eoghan Ban

Eoghan Ban Gallagher candidly admits that 2023 has been a turbulent season to date for Donegal and that well documented off field issues did impact upon the county’s senior footballers.

The fact that this young Donegal side got caught up in the middle of all of that and, indirectly became a target for supporters’ frustrations, was probably the most unfair byproduct of that whole sorry mess.

With the findings of a Croke Park review into the affairs of Donegal GAA due to be finalised this week, there is potential for that dust to once again be kicked into the air.

The GAA at central level had a broad remit in investigating what exactly has gone wrong in Donegal in the last year.

Paddy Carr’s ill-fated spell in charge of the senior side ended in disaster, resulting in him departing after just 149 days in charge, quickly following Academy Director Karl Lacey out the door.

The bungled process to appoint Declan Bonner’s successor is also believed to have come under the above microscope.

Some optimism was injected back into matters a fortnight ago when Donegal secured a morale boosting All-Ireland series win away to Clare.

But a much sterner test of what progress Donegal have actually made awaits in the form of Derry in Ballybofey on Sunday.

Gallagher says the dark cloud hanging over Donegal in recent times left it extremely difficult for the players, especially the new faces coming onto the scene, to ignore what had to have been a huge distraction.

“Being honest, obviously the negative publicity has had an effect on us as a squad,” he said. “There is no point lying, it obviously has. The older, more experienced players who have been around the block and were part of those Ulster winning teams in 2018 and 19, it has been a frustrating year for them too.

“But if we can stick together, this year can make us in the coming years and that is not me writing off this year by any means. This year is not over yet and I would be immensely proud of the way the lads have stuck together.

“We are very loyal to each other. That’s very important through the good times and the bad”.

Donegal stuttered through the first-half in Ennis and but for the heroics of Shaun Patton, might well have found themselves even further than 0-6 to 0-3 in arrears by the break. However, they were much improved in the second period and, in the end, ran out comfortable 0-14 to 0-9 winners.

Gallagher says there was a notable change in mood in recent weeks on the training field as a direct result of that much-needed win.

“We have a lot of new players in the panel this year and to get your first championship win, I know that feeling, I know what that is like. It is a brilliant feeling so a lot of boys have that now for the last couple of weeks.

“There has been a big bounce from those boys especially, getting knocked out in the first round of Ulster is not something we have been used to for the last few years so for us older and more experienced players it was nice to get a championship win as well under our belts”.

Regardless of the county’s issues at boardroom level Gallagher says you simply cannot deny that Donegal are in the midst of a real period of transition. For one reason or another, they are shy seven starters from the starting XV just about edged out by Derry in last term’s Ulster SFC final.

And that vulnerability was painfully obvious as Donegal were dumped out of the Ulster reckoning at the very first hurdle by lowly Down.

“When you go into the senior championship it is a cauldron of fire and it can be a very unforgiving place. I was looking at the programme before the Down game and the number of NAs we had beside the debuts was something I had never seen before in my few years here.

“So there has been a big change in terms of the squad from last year. We have a lot of new players playing games. We had five debutants that day so it has been significant in that sense”.

Weighing up just how difficult it has been, or to put it into some perspective, Gallagher was pressed on whether this has been his toughest campaign to date in a senior jersey with Donegal.

“It probably has been,” he agreed. “2017, Rory’s (Gallagher) last year as well was a difficult one. Tyrone beat us in the Ulster semi-final and Galway hammered us in Sligo. It wasn’t a great year but we nearly got into a league final whereas this year we got relegated.

“But it’s how we react to this, that is the most important thing. I thought we got a good reaction down in Clare with the second-half performance especially but for us now, and I know it is a cliche, but we have to keep taking each game at a time.

“We have Derry now next up and it is up to us to put in a performance in that game. We have no right, especially this year, to be looking forward to anything else. Derry are coming as Ulster champions.

“They are coming to Ballybofey and our record there was brilliant up to this year so that is something we want to get back on track”.