Cockhill Celtic's national ambition signals a new era for Inishowen football

These are heady times at the Charlie O'Donnell Sportsgrounds in Cockhill.
Cockhill Celtic Youths have already won the Inishowen First Division title and on Sunday the club's first team will clinch the Premier Division if they can beat Carn FC. Gavin Cullen's team have an unblemished 13 wins from 13 league matches this season and as they prepare to move into the new FAI National League in the autumn, they are bidding a fond farewell to the Inishowen league where they've plied their trade since the collapse of the Ulster Senior League three seasons ago. 
We'll have post-match reaction from Cockhill on Sunday, but as a warm up student Danny McGonagle spoke with three men who have been heavily involved in the Inishowen League, both past and present, in the form of former Glengad and Carn manager Shane Byrne, current Greencastle manager Pat McLaughlin and Aileach stalwart Stephen O’Donnell, to get their perspective on the big moves afoot at Cockhill and what that might mean for football in Inishowen in general.

Read more: Youths manager Seamus Donaghey on Cockhill's First Division title triumph

As Cockhill move into the third tier of the League of Ireland and embark on a new journey, the pathway is now in place for them to progress up through the pyramid and push towards full-time professional football. But with a dwindling pool of players available in rural Ireland, is the player base there for an Inishowen club to compete?

Shane Byrne believes the standard of local football has fallen in recent years:

“Inishowen football, with or without Cockhill, has been dragging its heels the last few years,” the former Glengad manager said. “When was the last time we beat Donegal in the Oscar Traynor? I think in general the standard of football has gone down the last few years.”

The Inishowen select team has not got past Donegal in the Oscar Traynor Trophy in recent seasons and were comprehensively beaten in the 2025 edition of the tournament. With Cockhill players unable to represent the Oscar Traynor team in the upcoming year, selectors will have to look to different teams in Inishowen to take on the challenge. Inishowen won the competition in 2015, beating Limerick, but football in Inishowen seems a long way away from the glory days of a decade ago.

Cockhill Celtic are on course to win their second Inishowen Premier Division title in three years since dropping out of the Ulster Senior League. Although they went trophyless last season, losing the league title to Buncrana Hearts and then falling to Clonmany in cup finals on back-to-back weekends, this season they look a different animal. They have won each of their 13 matches, and if they defeat Carn on Sunday they'll wrap up the title with a couple of games to spare.

The gap left when Cockhill leave will make for a more competitive league, according to Aileach stalwart Stephen O’Donnell.

“I’m sure a few clubs will be glad to see the back of them, as they have been excellent this season,” he remarked. The chance to win the Premier Division next season will open up, with a few teams already setting their sights on the opportunity.

As always, recruitment will play a massive part in who wins the Jackie Crossan Premier Division. If Cockhill Celtic decide to let players drop back into the Inishowen League, will those men stay on Cockhill’s books or scatter amongst the competing pack?

Shane Byrne believes many of the players currently at Cockhill may drop down into the Youths:

“The present Cockhill team will not compete in the Third Division with their present squad,” he feels. “Some of the players playing now in the team will drop down to the Youths and then players will trickle down the levels. It’s about how many teams you are allowed in the Inishowen League from a Cockhill perspective.”

Read more: Cockhill beat Buncrana in October to set tone for season ahead

Cockhill Youths secured the First Division title with a win over Dunree last Sunday week. They are a big beneficiary of the first team leaving the Inishowen League – had they remained, the Youths couldn't have taken their promotion and would have been restricted by a ruling preventing a club from having two sides in the same division.

But how will they fare in the Premier?

Current Greencastle manager Pat McLaughlin believes the core of the Youths side is good enough to compete in the top division. “Cockhill Youths will hold their own,” he insists. “They're a good, fit, young team. It depends on how the other teams improve. Greencastle could join them.”

As Cockhill Celtic move into the new National League, will Cockhill Youths be used as a stepping stone towards the senior team, or will they look to genuinely compete and climb the Premier Division table?

Having won 16 out of 16 first division games, the Youths ran away with the league title under the management of Seamus Donaghey and scored 63 goals in the process. But they'll know that there's a significant step up in the standard of opponent they'll face next year.

Cockhill's First Team will be stepping into the unknown when they kick off in the inaugural Third Division with a short season this autumn before the full competition gets under way in the spring of 2027.

They have kept together a solid group for the past couple of years, with a few additions each season to freshen up the squad. However, Shane Byrne believes Cockhill will need to strengthen significantly to compete at the higher grade, needing perhaps “six or seven players” if they're to hold their own.

The squad at their disposal has been too severely tested this season, and as we know from their famous FAI Junior Cup win in 2024 they have a group capable of going on a run and matching any team in junior football. But where will the six or seven players come from to allow them to compete with the very best at intermediate level?

Will they be dipping into the same pool as the likes of Bonagee and Letterkenny Rovers who are also set for the National League, or perhaps look to Inishowen talent currently playing within Northern Ireland football leagues? It'll not be straightforward, but manager Gavin Cullen and his coaches will be relishing the opportunity to build a squad that's capable of meeting the challenges that lie ahead.

Read more: Is the FAI Junior Cup winning Cockhill team Inishowen's best ever side?

Some people within the Inishowen League would argue that this current Cockhill team is the best to come out of the peninsula. However, both Shane and Pat disagree, with each defending their own sides.

Pat believes his Greencastle quadruple-winning team was unmatched in Inishowen:

“We had two players in every position and very few teams can say that. We had Micheal Barr at centre back who was as good as it got in junior football, Dylan Doherty in goals and the Henry brothers. To win everything on offer that year with the competition we had was unbelievable.”

Shane Byrne believes that a Cockhill team from seven or eight years ago, along with his Glengad side, were the best in recent memory:

“I think the Cockhill team of six or seven years ago was better than the current Cockhill team and I would like to think my Glengad team would have been better than Cockhill now.

“The best side Cockhill had was the best part of ten years ago with a young Malachy McDermott, Garbhan Friel and Gerry Gillen. Any time we met them it was a tough physical game, we met four times and it was two wins each.”

Cockhill’s move into the new League of Ireland third tier marks a significant moment for the club and for football in Inishowen. It presents opportunity, but also uncertainty. The coming seasons will reveal whether this step elevates the overall standard in the peninsula, or leaves a void that other clubs must step up to fill.