MAC'S VIEW: So who are Donegal's best three full-backs?

Each week, Brian McEniff picks his best players in each position. Last week, he chose his corner-backs and his selections prompted much reaction from our readers. This week, he turns his attention to the full-back position.

The full-back and No 3 position, like many jerseys in Gaelic football, has had its role changed over the years, especially in more recent years.
Nowadays, you are likely to have a couple of sweepers in front of you. Back in the day, it was always one against one and every man had to fight their own corner.
Consequently, the full-back was normally a big man, with a good pair of hands. His role was to be the custodian of the ‘square’. He was also the protector of the goalkeeper and had to make sure that nobody got inside the ‘parallelogram’, as Micheal O’Hehir, the famous RTÉ commentator, called it.
My earliest memory of a full-back was Paddy Prendergast of Mayo, who I would have heard people talking about. He played for Donegal while stationed here as a Garda.

Colm Toland
My first memory, going back, of a No. 3 for Donegal was Colm Toland from Inishowen. He would have been a doctor in Limerick after that. That would have been in the mid-1950s. Before that Donegal had big Frank O’Donnell from Kilcar, who also played for Sligo while teaching there. He would have come to live in Bundoran and played for Bundoran and Ballyshannon.
I remember he picked me as captain of the Donegal minors in 1960 and that was a proud moment for me, especially as Gaoth Dobhair were the most prominent team around then. Sean Ferriter’s father, Morgan, was also a selector and Tom Farren of Carndonagh, while the County Chairman and secretary, Hugh Daly, would also have been selectors.

SEE ALSO: Mac's best corner backs 

Bernard Brady would have been the next Donegal full-back in the 1960s, from my own town. He was a big, strong man but would have been better suited to centre-half-back or midfield. John Hannigan could play in that position also, but then John could have played in any position on the field.
Then came Pauric McShea, who had played most of his football in his early years at full-forward or centre-half-forward. With Brady gone, we needed a full-back in 1972 and we took McShea back to that position, and that’s where he made his name.

Martin Griffin
McShea was succeeded by big Martin Griffin from MacCumhaills, who came into the Donegal squad in 1983. He was one of four minors that I managed in those years that came through along with Finian Ward, Michael Carr and Michael Lafferty.
Indeed that minor team were very unlucky to lose out to Tyrone in the Ulster championship in Ballyshannon with Frank McGuigan the star for Tyrone, who went on to play in an All-Ireland final.
Martin Griffin was the custodian of the ‘square’ for a long period with Finian Ward and Dermot McGettigan filling in at times.
There were others who played in the position in the late '80s like Brendan Dunleavy and Sean Bonner before Matt Gallagher was pressed into action in 1992 in Breffni Park. And he would go on to win the first All-Star in that position for the county.
John Joe Doherty also filled in at times at full-back before Raymond Sweeney took over the role. Indeed Sweeney won a Railway Cup in that position with me in a final played in Paris.
Then came the present incumbent, Neil McGee, who has been almost ever present in the pivotal position for Donegal for 16 seasons.

SELECTION
While I would give favourable mention to Bernard Brady and big Martin Griffin, the selection of my three best full-backs are Neil McGee, Matt Gallagher and Pauric McShea.

Neil McGee: What can you say? He has three All-Stars to start. When I first saw Neil, he was doing his Leaving Cert. He came to a practice in Omagh and got injured. He came into the squad the following year. He came to prominence under Brian McIver and established himself as a full-back. He is a tough, uncompromising player and reads the game well. He has good pace as well and gets out to a ball quickly. He has been a great servant for club and county.

Matt Gallagher had the name of being a great corner-back. He had played some games at full-back but was pressed into action in the first game of 1992 in Breffni Park. He had played full-back against Dublin the previous year and had done well on Vinnie Murphy, and they were to meet again.
Matt, for his size, was magnificent in the All-Ireland semi-final and final, on two big men, Liam McHale of Mayo and Vinnie Murphy of Dublin. He contained those two men, and he went on to play regularly at full-back for Donegal and Ulster. He had great self-belief, was a good marker and used the ball well. He proved in the All-Ireland final that you can play well without kicking the ball.

Pauric McShea was a great player in his early days in forward line, playing there at minor and U-21 level and also at senior level up until 1972. He was a good all-round footballer, a good kicker of the ball off the ground and was a safe pair of hands. I always enjoyed playing outside him. In the modern game he would probably be better out the field as he had two good feet. But back then full-back was a vital position and you didn't move much past the 21 yard line.
Pauric had some great tussles with the likes of Sean O'Neill of Down. He was a replacement All-Star and one of the best games I saw him play was with the All-Stars playing against Cork in 1973. He was up against Ray Cummins and he contained him. People at home wouldn't have seen that.

Outside Donegal
Outside of Donegal I can recall a number of very good full-backs. Among my list would include Leo Murphy of Down, who was part of the great Down team of the 1960s; Barry Owens of Fermanagh; Gerry McCarville of Monaghan and Damien O'Reilly of Cavan (who nearly ended Donegal's All-Ireland at the first hurdle in Breffni Park in 1992, when his fly-kick went just over Gary Walsh’s crossbar).

John O’Keefe - a Kerry legend  

Cormac McAnallen was pushed back to full-back for Tyrone to win their first All-Ireland in 2003 and, who knows, if he hadn't been taken so early, he could have become a legendary full-back.Others that come to mind include Nace O’Dowd of Sligo, Noel Tierney of Galway, Mick Lyons of Meath, Sean Doherty of Dublin and John O'Keeffe of Kerry. If pushed I would go for John O'Keeffe, Noel Tierney and Leo Murphy with honourable mention for Gerry McCarville and Sean Doherty.

TAKE CARE

In these unique times I would call on all of you to keep an eye out for your neighbour, call to their houses or phone them to see how they are keeping.
Some will be like myself, cocooned, and not allowed out of the house.
They may need some groceries, etc., delivered.
But in urging you all to help out, please adhere to the guidelines regarding washing your hands, keeping your distance, etc.