Michael cut his teeth in the national game at a young age and first came to prominence when helping his native Ballyshannon to county m inor championship successes in 1961 and '63. He played his senior club football with the Ballyshannon-Bundoran amalgam of St. Josephs, garnering four Donegal SFCs and two Ulster club championships. He starred on the team that reached the first - but unofficial - All-Ireland club final; that was against Dunmore McHales in 1968. He also had the distinction of winning three Lagan Cup (a competition which was a national league qualifier of sorts, contested by Ulster teams) medals with the county in 1965, '66 and '67. A regular on the county team 1963-69, usually in the right half forward berth, Michael was captain of his county in 1966 (at the age of 21). That was an historic year for the western county as they reached the Ulster final for only the second time but were defeated by Down . . . themselves winners of three All-Irelands during the course of the 'swinging' decade! Winner also of three McKenna Cup souvenirs and two Ulster minor leagues, Michael helped himself to three Ulster club medals in '66, '67 and '70. Indeed, it was around the time of Michael's involvement with the county team that Donegal football first began to take shape, that the earliest seeds were sown for '92. That Donegal contested four league semi-finals during McLoone's stay on the team proved in no uncertain manner that they were a coming team. They went on - without the services of Michael McLoone - to win their very first Ulster senior title in 1972. Michael, of course, would have been involved but for the fact that his playing career was all but ended by a terrible ligament and cartilage knee injury in 1969, when he was still only 25. He did play subsequently in the 1970 Ulster club final against Bellaghy but never recovered anything close to full fitness or top form. So, just how good a footballer was Michael McLoone? Well, in 1965 the small and speedy attacker helped himself to a massive tally of 10-50 in all competitions! Obviously, he wasn't too bad. Ah, but for that injury . . . However, rather than reflecting ruefully, Michael opts to look ahead with optimism. "There are a lot of very promising young players in Donegal at the moment," he enthuses. "Arguably, they should have done better in 1998. It was a very disappointing Ulster final where a lot of players didn't do themselves justice. This year, I am hopeful - even a little confident - that we will win the Ulster championship." After his injury, Michael remained involved at committee level with his club for a while but he found less time for football as, at the time, he was concentrating on a career which took him to different parts of the country. He returned to the scene in a big way, however, in the mid eighties when, as a selector working alongside PJ Buggy, he helped Aodh Ruadh to successive county titles in 1986 and '87. Taken from Hogan Stand magazine March 1999 Tweet

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