MAC'S VIEW: Good level of fitness and sharpness shown by Donegal against Roscommon

Getting to see Donegal play their first game under Jim McGuinness in Fr Tierney Park, Ballyshannon on Sunday was very pleasing and very enjoyable too. I was pleased with the level of fitness and the level of sharpness. They obviously have a good bit of training done.

It was very good for so early in the season. There were some very good performances as well. Peadar Mogan was  going really well and as good as we ever saw him. I have a soft spot for the MacCumhaill’s lad, Oisin Gallen. He was very good in the first half and gave the new Roscommon full-back a difficult time.

Ciaran Moore from St Eunan’s was another that I thought showed up really well. He was someone I hadn’t heard much about.

Then we had some of the very young lads getting a run. We knew about Shane Carr’s son, Seanán and it was good to see him on the pitch. 

It was great to see the Letterkenny lad, Ronan Frain, get the goal at the very end. His heart was in his mouth for a minute as the ball went in off the post with the goalkeeper caught away from his goal.

It was a good result and a good start for Jim McGuinness. I hear he mentioned afterwards that he will have a few extra challenge games as well as the Dr McKenna Cup games before the start of the league season.

The McKenna Cup will be a real challenge as we start off on the first Wednesday of January with Armagh in Ballybofey and then on the Sunday we go to Healy Park in Omagh to play Tyrone. That will be some start for Donegal for 2024.

Looking back on Sunday’s game, I thought Fr Tierney Park was in great shape, especially with the day that was in it. It is a great venue for Donegal as we don’t lose too many games there over a long number of years.

Roscommon were not in bad shape themselves and I like the way they play the game. It was a grand open game of football. They are a strong side, even without the St Brigid’s club players. They looked like a Division 1 side.

But we are shaping well and it is important that we have a good number of young players in the squad. I like that young Caulfield lad from Na Rossa and Jamie Brennan took his goal well and did a lot of ball carrying.

A number of the more experienced players were upstairs in the press room and I was talking briefly to Patrick McBrearty and he looked in good shape.

But overall I was very pleased with the win and winning is a good habit. I’m really looking forward to the new year.

Donegal treasurer confirms JP Manus' €1 million donation has been received

Last week, Limerick businessman McManus donated €1 million to every county board in the country.  And that money is to be evenly divided between GAA, camogie and ladies Gaelic football clubs

JP McMANUS

There was great news for the GAA last week with JP McManus giving €1m to each county. It was a great gesture but there are those who don’t like to see the GAA benefiting in any shape or form. JP has been very good to Limerick.

I met him years ago at a sports function and we had a great chat about Donegal football and Limerick hurling and it was only after the function that I found out who he was.

His donation will be a great lift to all counties and especially to clubs.

Setanta bowed out of the All-Ireland club championship at the weekend and I felt sorry for them.  When you come up against Kilkenny teams, it’s a different ball game down there, at all levels. But I suppose O’Loughlin Gaels were  lucky enough against the Antrim champions, Cushendall.

It was a step too far for Setanta but credit to them for having got there. They will bounce back.

Congratulations to Four Masters minors on reaching the Ulster club final with a magnificent performance against Castleblayney. It was a great result and they are benefiting from the great work that is being done in that area, despite being up against other sports like soccer and rugby.

Themselves and MacCumhaill’s must be close to the breakthrough at senior level and that would be a great help to the county going forward.

I was in Bundoran on Sunday morning for a minor final with Bundoran playing Naomh Columba and I was surprised by how good Naomh Columba were. It was a C final but they could easily have played in the B competition and maybe in the A. Noel Hegarty is involved with them and they had that craft that made the difference. The early goals put paid to Bundoran’s chances. It was nice to see James Keaney and Niall Dunne putting the effort into the Bundoran side.

The only downside was the final was being played in the second half of December and could have been played six weeks ago.

Anyway, I want to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and I’m really looking forward to January with the McKenna Cup and then the visit of Cork to Ballybofey at the end of the month.

Brian McEniff was in conversation with Peter Campbell