We did it for John Joe - Kerrykeel ‘71 boss Hughie Walsh

Kerrykeel ‘71 manager Hughie Walsh dedicated their Division 1 success to former manager and club founder John Joe McAteer.

Walsh has been in charge for 15 years after taking over from his father-in-law, John Joe McAteer, who passed away in 2021, but his impact on the club was huge, managing the side for four decades before Walsh took over.

And on Sunday, a 6-3 win over Swilly Rovers ensured the Rabs Park men would win the Division 1 title for the first time in their 55-year history.

“There’d be no club here without John Joe,” Walsh told DonegalLive after the game.

“He was the heart and soul of the club for so long, and I know he would have been watching down as a proud man, and thank god we could do it for him.

“He’s missed every day, and he’s talked about every day, and that one was for him.”

A huge downpour in the first half coincided with the home side going 3-0 down to the already relegated Swilly.

But both Kerrykeel and the weather brightened up in the second half, and after a 6-3 win, the sun was shining as they picked up the title.

A hat-trick from Shaun Kerr, along with an own goal, turned the game around to 4-3 on the hour mark, and further goals from Brandon McClafferty and the impressive James Kerr made sure of the win.

“It was probably nerves at the start of the game, but at 3-0 down, I was just thinking ‘oh my god, what has happened here?’

“We got that goal in the first half, and I said to the boys at half-time not to panic, and we’d score goals, but we just couldn’t concede any more.

“And to be fair to the boys, the two Kerr brothers (Shaun and James) are joint-top goalscorers in the league, and it showed why.

“But all of the boys put in some shift all year, and to win this league is just unbelievable. We couldn’t ask any more of them boys. It’s massive for the club, and when you see the support that came out for this, everyone played their part.

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“To win back-to-back titles is some achievement, but from the start of the season, you never know if you get off to a good start, but the aim was just to stay up, so to win it is unreal.

"It’s the first time to win Division 1, and the first time we’ll be in the Premier Division, which is magic."

It was a must-win game on the final day, with Kerrykeel level on points with Cappry Rovers, boasting a superior goal difference by four.

And while first-half injuries meant the game at Rabs Park was more than ten minutes behind play in Convoy, with the sides still deadlocked, a win of any sort looked like it would be enough as Cappry would have had to score at least five.

But Kerrykeel wasted no time in turning around the deficit and powered on to victory.

“We got the goal to settle ourselves, and we missed a couple of chances too, so it was about not panicking, being patient, and then we got two in the first five minutes of the second half, which brought us around.

“We dealt with them in defence, and we could have scored more, to be honest.

“We knew a win would probably be enough because Convoy are a good side and Cappry weren’t going to score seven down there, and we got the win, so we’ll take a good couple of days now to celebrate.”