McGeehin: ‘You have to cherish those moments of getting to a county final’

Eoin McGeehin knows what it takes to win a Donegal Senior Football Championship, but the St Eunan’s forward is well aware that there are no guarantees when the Dr Maguire Cup is on the line.

The Letterkenny men are back in the county final after overcoming Gaoth Dobhair in a tense semi-final, setting up another showdown with familiar rivals Naomh Conaill. With two championship medals already in his collection, McGeehin has experienced both the highs and lows of finals day and knows St Eunan’s will have to be at their best for the full 60-plus minutes if they are to add to their recent success.

St Eunan’s got past Gaoth Dobhair in the semi-final by two points, although having built up a 12-point lead before the Magheragallon men got off the mark, it was a nervy ending.

It was a similar scenario in the quarter-final against Dungloe as they went 14 up, but won by a goal in the end, as the Letterkenny men have been starting games very strongly, but the new rules have always kept teams in the game.

“We had a good first day out against Aodh Ruadh, then we were lucky to get away with a draw against MacCumhaills, so we knew we needed to improve on our performances if we had any aspirations of getting back to county finals and we were able to grind out wins.

“The quarter-final and semi-finals were similar enough in how they panned out. We had two strong first-half performances and we started the second half well against Gaoth Dobhair and almost let it slip, but they were both in the last two county finals, so you’re not always going to have it your own way against teams of that quality.

“We had missed chances in both games to seal them and you won’t always get away with that as you may have in the past.

“Gaoth Dobhair got a massive two-pointer in injury time and they won the kick-out, so it could very easily have gone the other way, but getting over the line is what it’s all about and we’ve been lucky to have done that so far this year, but you can’t always just be lucky, you need to put in the performances as well for the full 60 minutes if you want to get the silverware.

“When a team is on the back foot, there is less to lose, and you can maybe just go for it and once the momentum is on your side, it’s easy to keep it going, in my opinion.

“But it could be down to anything in a particular game, but the main thing is you have to expect that in every game you play and keep your head and try to ride out any opposition purple patches.”

Conor O’Donnell Jnr’s return from injury has been a big lift to St Eunan’s this year, while Noah Barrett, Josh Hay, Luke McGuinness and Dylan Doogan have played more prominent roles under Kieran Donnelly in his first year in charge.

“There is a good mix in our squad, we have lads who have been there for seven or eight years, and then there are lads in their first or second year, and that creates a freshness, which is needed for every team.

“Everyone is kept on their toes, and then with the new management there’s always a different perspective and there’s something new you learn, all of that is a big help to keep teams going in the right direction.”

McGeehin works as an Electrical Design Engineer in Belfast, but the option to work from home on certain days is a big help to his commitments for both club and county this year, as he made his Donegal debut in the Dr McKenna Cup, marking it with a goal against Antrim.

He then made his full league debut in the Division 1 draw with Galway in Fr Tierney Park.

“It was a new experience that I really enjoyed. In that setup you’re ramping it up a level or two and you’re trying to take in as much information as you can and see what you can contribute. The facilities we were using are brilliant and the access to different teams and backroom teams really goes towards that extra 1% to help your game.

“It was great to be able to put on the Donegal jersey and you’re playing with fellas you’re used to playing against over the years, so it’s nice to get camaraderie with the lads.

“It was a hybrid situation with work which was a big help to balance both, and it is certainly a big commitment to facilitate both things and thankfully I was able to make it work this year.”

McGeehin has county medals with St Eunan’s from 2021 and 2024, but he’s also lost out in the decider to Naomh Conaill, so he knows what it takes to claim that Dr Maguire Cup.

And against some county teammates on Sunday, it’s another big battle between the two sides who have won the last seven titles between them.

“We won in 2021, but we lost the semi-finals to Naomh Conaill by a point the previous two years, so we weren’t too far off, but we couldn’t get over the line.

“In 2021, it just kind of clicked for us, and in 2022 we were on the other side of it in the county final, and it took us two years to get back to winning ways.

“From my own point of view, the standard has really gone up, and you can’t take any team for granted, especially with the new rules, on any given day.

“You have to cherish those moments of getting to a county final and making sure there are no regrets.

“We haven’t played them in the championship since 2024, but from 2019 on we would have faced them every year, and all of them came down to the wire, except maybe the 2021 final. “There’s never much in it, and when you’ve two teams like that fighting for county finals, there is always going to be a clash here and there, and I’m sure it’ll not be too different again on Sunday.

“There are two sides to them good starts; you have to make sure you’re on it for a full game, especially against Naomh Conaill, who are one of the best teams around in terms of being able to grind out results from the back foot.

“If you’re fortunate enough to get any lead against them, they’ll still be in there until the very end, so we’ll be put to the test for the full 60-plus minutes.”