It's the song of the championship and Rory Gallagher will be back in Ireland to perform it before Donegal's All-Ireland appearance, hopefully with Jimmy from Senegal alongside.

Donegal's march to the All-Ireland SFC final has its own backing track courtesy of Rory and the Island's 'Jimmy's Winning Matches'.

Performed along with Jimmy from Senegal, Rory Gallagher's Donegal GAA anthem is a YouTube sensation having accumulated 210,000 views and has reached the iTunes top 10.


Donegal's most famous son Daniel O'Donnell gave the catchy tune the thumbs up when joining in with the team's supporters for a few verses following last Sunday's semi-final win over Cork.

Now Kilcar native Gallagher - who was the bass player and lead vocalist with Irish group The Revs from 2000 to 2007 - is planning his trip home from his Lanzarote base for the Sam Maguire Cup decider and he's looking forward to performing the track live.

He will be playing the Abbey Hotel, Donegal and the Harcourt in Dublin during the run up to the final and there is another gig he hopes to get booked for.

"I hoping to get on the 'Up for the Match' show the night before and a couple of others gigs around," Gallagher told hoganstand.com.

"I'm meeting Jimmy from Senegal tonight (Wednesday) to try and persuade him to get on a plane. He's a bit nervous about it but I suppose I'd be the same if I was being dragged into the heart of Senegal!" he joked.

Gallagher admits to being surprised to the positive reaction to 'Jimmy's Winning Matches'. "I probably expected about 1,500 to 2,000 views, mainly from friends and family. I never expected something that was recorded on a camcorder to reach the iTunes top 10.

"It was surreal to hear it being played over the PA system in Croke Park after the semi-final win over Cork.

"Obviously I wasn't there but friends were ringing me and holding up their mobile and then Karl Lacey sang it afterwards."

Although Rory chose music over gaelic football, the Gallagher family is steeped in GAA tradition.

His grandfather Frankie Tom Gallagher was the first player to represent Donegal at minor and senior levels in the one year. His great grandfather Tom Gallagher lined out for Donegal in their first All-Ireland final appearance - the 'home' junior decider of 1933.

"There's a big GAA tradition in the family . . . but I don't know where the reggae connection came from," laughed Rory.

Since the success of 'Jimmy's Winning Matches', Rory has been a busy man. Keep an eye on facebook.com/RoryandtheIsland for more info as it happens. Tweet

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