Donegal's All-Ireland winning captain retires from An Garda Síochána

After over 39 years service with An Garda Siochana, Brian Tuohy is now enjoying the fruits of retirement after stepping down from the force last month.
The double All-Ireland winning captain spent almost all of his Garda service in the Sligo/Leitrim Division.
As a sportsman he had a distinguished career, captaining Aodh Ruadh to U-16 and senior titles; De La Salle and Donegal U-21s to Ulster and All-Ireland success. He also has two All-Ireland Masters medals.
Yet despite all his successes, Tuohy's memories are dominated by the ones that got away, and not just during his playing career, but include some Donegal defeats of recent times. And he has great hopes for the county team's chances going forward.
"I would have tossed and turned many a time over tight games being lost, and I would still toss and turn when Donegal lose a match.
"I didn't sleep comfortably for several months after that 2014 All-Ireland. I'm not a betting man, but it was one that got away.
"That group of players gave people from Donegal so much enjoyment. And you see the way those players developed and became exceptional during that run to the 2012 All-Ireland and the years that followed.
"I look at the likes of Frank McGlynn, how he seemed to have been transformed. How he went from being a good player to a fantastic player," says Tuohy, who added that it would have been nice to play with them.
"We were calling Neil McGee, Chiellini, during the championship last year, the Italian, because that's the type of player McGee seems to be. He has stuck at it a long time. Michael Murphy is exceptional and he won't want to be finishing up with the year that has passed.
"Hopefully he will be there for another couple of years at least, but there is probably an over-reliance on him as well. The other players have to step up. Even after they lost Murphy (against Tyrone) the other players weren't too far away from a very good Tyrone team.
"If they get their heads right and go at it again, they won't be far away. It's a big year for Declan (Bonner) and his management team next year," said Tuohy, of the present Donegal team.

Brian Tuohy celebrating with Donegal fans after he helped them getting promotion in 1988

DE LA SALLE
Born in 1962, like most Ballyshannon footballers, Brian Tuohy first encountered Gaelic football at the De La Salle brothers. When the Brothers left around 1973, Jackie McDermott became the father-figure.
"I wasn't really getting a game in 1973, but in 1974 Jackie gave me the opportunity at half-back and I did alright. We went on to win the U-12s that year."
From then on success came easily. The U-13s won the Donegal Community Games title in 1975 and while they missed out at U-14 level, Tuohy would be captain when Aodh Ruadh won the U-16 county title in 1978.
He says his first experience of controversy came in the Community Games at Ulster level in Lisnaskea when they were playing a Monaghan side, Ballybay. "They kicked a wide in a goal attempt. The umpire, from club in Monaghan, kicked it back out through the goals and the referee gave a goal; shocking."
In 1978 Donegal U-16 side was assembled and played Dublin in Letterkenny and then in a return game in Croke Park in October. "We played them in Croke Park a couple of weeks after the All-Ireland final, the one where Eoin Liston scored the three goals. It was Dublin against Kerry in the National League and there was over 30,000 in Croke Park. We beat Dublin and it was a great experience for us," said Tuohy, who said that his father, Tom, Jackie McDermott, Jackie Reilly, Eugene Boyle and Naul McCole were looking after the Donegal side.
"It was the first time we had met players from outside our own club, the likes of Paul Carr, Sean Bonner, Vincent Furey, Seamie Meehan, Padraig McDaid, Jimmy Kennedy, John Farren and Joyce McMullin. There was a good Ballyshannon contingent as well.
"I remember Naul McCole (Minor Board chairman) brought me as captain to the Dublin dressing room and who answered the door but Brian Mullins, and he was in his prime that time. He filled the door."
Aodh Ruadh and Ballyshannon were fortunate that Tom Tuohy, Brian's father, had made Ballyshannon his home. A native of Ballaghadereen, he considered himself a Mayo man. Tom came to work as manager in Stephens in Ballyshannon and made the town his home.
Brian Tuohy's early memories of football are of the likes of Martin Carney training at the same time as the U-12s and taking time out to advise them on the skills of the game. "I will always remember him for that; he was the George Best of the Donegal team. We were in awe of him."
But he says names like Mickey McLoone and Red Jack (Gallagher) were always mentioned. "McLoone had missed out the Donegal successes in 1972 and 1974 through injury. He became a very influential figure for us in our early to mid-20s, when he came back in to coach, and would have had a huge influence on the Aodh Ruadh senior team with PJ Buggy. He was excellent and it was a pity he didn't get to show what he could do at county level."
The other infuences were at schools' level, the De La Salle Brothers, Tom Cullen, Michael McGowan, John Travers was involved, very organised and maintained that interest for all of us.
His football days at schools' level culminated in De La Salle winning the All-Ireland title in 1980 with Tuohy as captain.
"That group would have won two U-15 Ulster titles and U-17 and we won the senior at our third attempt. We were in two finals before that with very good teams, and some of those lads weren't involved then in 1980.
"We played a very good St Eunan's team in 1979 and they beat us by a few points. They went on to win the All-Ireland; we won it the following year.
"Those two groups would have made up a large part of the 1982 Donegal U-21 squad. Then in addition you had the Four Masters lads, who had very good minor teams, the Vocational lads like Sylvester. He missed out on the De La Salle success but Sylvester was a legend in his own right at county vocational level.
"Himself and myself battled together for many a year at midfield with Aodh Ruadh. At that time he was like a greyhound, had a great spring for a ball. We had a good relationship.
"He was easier to carry on my back that time than subsequently," quipped Tuohy. "He's a block of a man and I wouldn't like to be carrying him on my back now."
There are so many memories for Tuohy at U-21 and senior level. There was the near miss for the Donegal U-21s in 1981, having to play without Pat McCrea and Anthony Molloy. Tuohy remembers Red Jim Gallagher being asked in, but it didn't suit him at the time.
"Tom (Conaghan) came in, we didn't know Tom at the time. But we knew him fairly quickly. He was a different character with a different approach. He also had a good backroom team with Donal Monaghan, Mickey Lafferty and John Cassidy."
Tuohy is not sure why he was appointed captain but he thought it might have been because Aodh Ruadh were county champions. But what he does remember from 1982 was again a defeat. "Our first game was a challenge game against Armagh and it was the only game we actually lost that year."
Tuohy was carried off after getting a kick and was nearly gone for the year. "I had to get Kieran McCready to strap me for the first game against Cavan a few weeks later."
He has vivid memories of the campaign and the close results including Eunan McIntyre winning the ball for a free to get a draw against Down in Ballybofey. A two points win over Cavan, two points over Down after replay; three points against Derry; one point against Laois and three points in the final against Roscommon. "Small margins," he says.
He was part of the panel a year later when Donegal won an Ulster senior title and after losing three semi-finals at club level, Aodh Ruadh made the breakthrough at club level in 1986. "I remember in '86 we felt we had to get a little bit more ruthless and harder. I paid the price because I missed the final."
But he was back a year later as captain and lifted the Dr Maguire Cup.
"We really should have won more. We lost a lot of players and more were working away from home, which had a lot to do with it."
At county level his career was punctuated by injury, a hamstring tear picked up in 1984 and later on a pelvic injury. He kept coming back and was in the panel at the start of 1992 before another hamstring tear at county training was the final straw.
"I felt there was no way that I would get back in position to challenge for a place. Little did I know that three months later Donegal would win Sam. If I had known, I would have hung in for the party."
Tuohy would throw his lot in with Sligo and had a couple of enjoyable years, playing championship in Ruislip and a semi-final against Mayo in Markievicz Park, with Jack O'Shea in charge of Mayo. He also played a few years for St Mary's before getting the call from old buddy, Sylvester Maguire, and returned to Aodh Ruadh in 1994.
That relationship with Maguire had come full circle. "He wasn't a man who would go for pints after a game, we would go but Sylvester would have a '99'. We got on well and we would have a good old cut at one another now and again."
As for the toughest opponents he faced, Tuohy mentions Colm O'Rourke, Greg Blaney, Mickey Linden, John Treanor, Tony McManus and Gay McManus at intercounty level while in Donegal, Martin McHugh "was a handful."
He remembers a famous win in a league game against Kerry in Tralee in 1988 when he marked Jack O'Shea, Eoin Bomber Liston and finally John Kennedy, who he said was the toughest of the trio.
It was the best year of his Donegal career as he was centre-back earlier that year when Donegal defeated Laois to get promotion to Division One for the first time.
"It was always a battle going to places like Glencolmcille and Ardara. Molloy was a handful, we had many a battle at club level. We didn't spare each other but there was a healthy respect there as well.
"We would have killed each other at times, not just Ardara.
"I wouldn't have played directly against Martin Shovlin, but he was tough. Barry McGowan, Patrick Gallagher of Ardara, a tidy footballer; Paddy Gavigan. Barry (McGowan) was an exceptional footballer as well as being very well prepared physically. Fintan Lynch of Bundoran was good. I would have played against Neilly Gallagher of Gaoth Dobhair in my first year at senior level."
At Aodh Ruadh level Tuohy mentions Red Jim and Red Sean (Gallagher), who missed out on senior success. He also namechecks Chris McGuinness, Conor Carney, Paddy Kelly, Kieran McGinley, Paul McLoone as well as his brothers Niall and Paul while Teddy Kane was still knocking about. He also mentions Josie Boyle for the big part he played as a player and coach for the club.
"It was an awful pity that we didn't have Martin Carney in our early years. He had gone to Mayo."
As for characters he met during his time, the late Seamus Bonar and Martin Griffin came to mind . "Molloy was a character, still a character," says Tuohy, who also mentions the Dr Austin O'Kennedy, Seamus Reilly and Aodh Ruadh's PJ Ferguson.
In his role as a member of An Garda Siochana, Tuohy has served for a large portion of his 39+ years as Juvenile Liaison Officer and more recently as Garda Welfare Officer.
"It was always something I fancied when I was young. There are so many different facets to the job," said Tuohy, who mentions former Ballyshannon men and also Gardai, Eunan Walsh, Peter Duffy and Seamus McGonigle for their assistance in his garda role.
"The country is a different place today than it was 40 years ago. It has certainly changed a lot in the last five to 10 years.
"Some of the changes are positive, not all positives, but overall the job has been good to me," he says.

A fine action shot of Brian Tuohy in action in the All-Ireland U-21 final against Roscommon in 1982