Donegal U-20 treatment absolutely scandalous - Gary McDaid

Gary McDaid admits that he’s still seething in regards to the manner in which Donegal U-20s were treated last Saturday in their reshuffled Ulster championship loss at the hands of Derry. 

The fixture was originally down to be played on the evening of Wednesday, April 12. But with Derry seniors taking on Fermanagh at Brewster Park in an Ulster SFC quarter-final on April 15, that meant that the five Derry players who are involved at senior and U20 level would have had to choose between the two games.

But McDaid says that wasn’t Donegal’s problem and that the powers that be within the county should have stubbornly dragged their heels on the matter. It seems like they didn’t and McDaid, a former U-20 boss, says Leo McLoone and his players were completely let down as a result. 

“The U-20 thing is just the latest in a long line of wrongs,” he said. “What happened to them should never have been allowed to happen. To leave training on a Monday night planning for a game ten days later to suddenly be told on the Tuesday morning that you are now out on Saturday; I’m sorry but that is just scandalous. It’s unforgivable what happened. 

“And it should not have happened. Donegal could have taken a leaf out of Kildare’s book. Remember ‘Newbridge or nowhere’? That’s the stand we should have taken. Fair play to Rory Gallagher - he looked out for his county U-20s.

“In my experience, it’s a long time since the senior football team manager here in Donegal looked out for the U-20s. Rory had nothing to gain from that. In fact, if he wanted to be selfish he would have turned a blind eye.  

“But Derry’s county board, their Ulster delegates as Leo said, they had their ducks in a row. They were on the phone, politicking and making sure the vote went their way on the Tuesday morning”.  

He added: “Those meetings are usually Tuesday night. But it was suddenly switched to the morning to fall in line with the four-day rule? We’re not stupid, surely someone smelt a rat. I just feel so bad for the U-20 players, the management and the parents of those players. 

“The simple truth is that was one of the biggest games many of those lads will ever play. Because many of them will drop off that radar now and go back to their clubs. Again, we all have to shoulder some of this blame because, ultimately, we’re the ones putting trust in certain people in positions that we believe are going to bat for us with everything they’ve got in those kind of situations. 

“But evidently, that’s not happening right now. Rolling over in this kinda situation - it nearly sums up just where we currently are, at executive level, right now”.   

The Glenswilly man says if Donegal supporters and their clubs want to instigate change, the avenues are there for that to happen. But, by not using that power, those same individuals criticising are indirectly complicit in creating many of the problems currently engulfing Donegal GAA. 

“The U-20 thing, it sends home that message about blame,” McDaid explained. “We all probably need to look at ourselves a little here as well. First and foremost, we’re all GAA club members. Ultimately, we are the ones with the power to instigate change. 

“We all have the power to have an impact at club level and at county board level. Are we as club people, as clubs, putting the best people forward to represent us as delegates? Are those people then asking enough questions and are they asking the right questions? 

“Are individuals at board and executive level being challenged enough on certain decisions? Right now you’d have to say the simple answer is no. County Committee meetings have become a sort of ‘ticking the box’ exercise. Go to the meeting and get out of there as quickly as possible”.