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Donegal GAA thread

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Replying To rorysboys:  "Yea around the 3000 mark are the real hard core fans. Hopefully next Sunday we'll get a good travelling support. Probably the game everyone wants to see the two teams who will get promoted. Make no mistake it's a poor division 2. Really looking forward to this game to see how mc Guinness sets up. Watched Armagh yesterday they looked decent but Kildare are awful. No Rian o neill yet for Armagh. Hopefully mc gee might be back I still think we need a ball winning midfielder. Will he play langan there or stick with Thompson. The good thing with this game is that we will be tested in front of a big crowd no better preparation for the Derry game.. roll on Sunday can't wait"
Heading down early on Sunday to Armagh, as expecting this to draw a Championship crowd and parking might be a nightmare. Not sure what to expect from this game, as I think both sides could potentially be facing off again in the Division 2 final on 30th/31st March if the current run continues.

Did Armagh's Andrew Murnin go off injured yesterday against Kildare?

Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1223 - 19/02/2024 13:32:04    2526961

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Fermanagh buckled after half time, div 2 does look very poor alright, Armagh will be a proper test and good prep away from home for the Derry game. Hope there's good support there.

Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3071 - 19/02/2024 14:47:06    2526992

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Replying To heyday:  "Look using these 3 venues is holding back Donegal support,Ballybofey on a Saturday night/sunday afternoon is by far the best location.No offence to Ballyshannon but asking someone from Falcarragh or Carndonagh to go Ballyshannon to a home game is crazy.We should be trying to facilitate supporters not sicken them with crazy journeys.We should be trying to encourage the 2K or 3K supporters back out and make it easy on them.Everyone knows its nuts,the players don't want it I just don't understand why someone doesn't speak up about it."
Letterkenny has nearly 25k population and 3k turned up for the match, there probably wasn't 250 from Letterkenny town at the match including Eunans officials. It just isn't a GAA town. Ballybofey is the venue of choice but Ballyshannon was always used for the tradition and assisting Donegal people who live outside the county. Just wait and see there will be a bigger crowd at the Louth game. The County board just burried their heads in the stand and refused to bring Fermanagh there. There would have been a way bigger gate and that is lost revenue. Another financial mistake. Any idea why Laois support is so poor and you use only one venue with lights and a high level of Leinster council funding.

Ulsterchamps72 (Donegal) - Posts: 100 - 19/02/2024 15:57:34    2527021

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Replying To Ulsterchamps72:  "Letterkenny has nearly 25k population and 3k turned up for the match, there probably wasn't 250 from Letterkenny town at the match including Eunans officials. It just isn't a GAA town. Ballybofey is the venue of choice but Ballyshannon was always used for the tradition and assisting Donegal people who live outside the county. Just wait and see there will be a bigger crowd at the Louth game. The County board just burried their heads in the stand and refused to bring Fermanagh there. There would have been a way bigger gate and that is lost revenue. Another financial mistake. Any idea why Laois support is so poor and you use only one venue with lights and a high level of Leinster council funding."
Look we need to grow football inside Donegal,that means getting kids that play football in donegal getting into the habit of going to games.This craic of assisting Donegal people who live outside Donegal is a bit of a red herring.Have the games in Ballybofey ,simple as and let the Ballyshannon club see the bigger picture and let the fixture go,maybe one to Letterkenny in a 4 home league game scenario,other than that all games in Ballybofey and lets move on and not live in the past.

heyday (Laois) - Posts: 35 - 19/02/2024 16:18:04    2527026

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Replying To Ulsterchamps72:  "Letterkenny has nearly 25k population and 3k turned up for the match, there probably wasn't 250 from Letterkenny town at the match including Eunans officials. It just isn't a GAA town. Ballybofey is the venue of choice but Ballyshannon was always used for the tradition and assisting Donegal people who live outside the county. Just wait and see there will be a bigger crowd at the Louth game. The County board just burried their heads in the stand and refused to bring Fermanagh there. There would have been a way bigger gate and that is lost revenue. Another financial mistake. Any idea why Laois support is so poor and you use only one venue with lights and a high level of Leinster council funding."
Look we need to grow football inside Donegal,that means getting kids that play football in donegal getting into the habit of going to games.This craic of assisting Donegal people who live outside Donegal is a bit of a red herring.Have the games in Ballybofey ,simple as and let the Ballyshannon club see the bigger picture and let the fixture go,maybe one to Letterkenny in a 4 home league game scenario,other than that all games in Ballybofey and lets move on and not live in the past.

heyday (Laois) - Posts: 35 - 19/02/2024 16:20:18    2527028

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A good result at the weekend and another two points on the board. Regardless of how the Armagh game goes you'd have to be pretty confident that we'll be in that top two. The lads look well tuned in and in good nick. It would be my own opinion that it's always nice to beat Armagh no matter what the occasion is, so if we can lay down a marker this weekend all the better.

The squad is getting stronger week by week. Good to see Hugh McFadden back. By my reckoning Eoghan Ban, Niall O'Donnell, Jason McGee, Caolan McColgan and Conor O'Donnell (possibly out longer term though?) are still to come back.
It's great to see a good spread of scorers but would anyone else be a wee bit concerned about our inside forward line? If God forbid Gallen suffered an injury we'd be in a bit of bother.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9548 - 19/02/2024 16:33:06    2527036

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Replying To heyday:  "Look we need to grow football inside Donegal,that means getting kids that play football in donegal getting into the habit of going to games.This craic of assisting Donegal people who live outside Donegal is a bit of a red herring.Have the games in Ballybofey ,simple as and let the Ballyshannon club see the bigger picture and let the fixture go,maybe one to Letterkenny in a 4 home league game scenario,other than that all games in Ballybofey and lets move on and not live in the past."
All games should be in Ballybofey. Why we play in other grounds is beyond me.
Ballyshannon has a great record and players like playing there but I think we make Ballybofey our only home ground and make it a fortress. Everyone I speak to agrees with this but yet nothing changes.

PeterQ92 (Donegal) - Posts: 119 - 19/02/2024 16:46:40    2527041

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Replying To heyday:  "Look we need to grow football inside Donegal,that means getting kids that play football in donegal getting into the habit of going to games.This craic of assisting Donegal people who live outside Donegal is a bit of a red herring.Have the games in Ballybofey ,simple as and let the Ballyshannon club see the bigger picture and let the fixture go,maybe one to Letterkenny in a 4 home league game scenario,other than that all games in Ballybofey and lets move on and not live in the past."
How could you think that, the Diaspora are very important and raise huge amounts of money for their home clubs and the county team and they are as much Donegal as those of us lucky enough to remain here at home. Have you ever been to a Donegal association event outside the county or country? Many people had to leave Donegal for university or work and then settled in other countries due to marriage etc. Just look at Mayo, thousands travel to their games from outside their home county. As you may not be from Donegal you may not understand the pull to home for the thousands of Donegal people that had to leave home. As a Laois native you may not realise the club in Ballyshannon is known as Aodh Ruadh. I note you failed to answer the Laois question, why is your home county is so poorly supported or is it all the Dubs that relocated to Portlaoise, Emo, Portarlington, Abbeyleix etc just travel home to see Dublin playing.

Ulsterchamps72 (Donegal) - Posts: 100 - 19/02/2024 16:48:38    2527044

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Replying To heyday:  "Look we need to grow football inside Donegal,that means getting kids that play football in donegal getting into the habit of going to games.This craic of assisting Donegal people who live outside Donegal is a bit of a red herring.Have the games in Ballybofey ,simple as and let the Ballyshannon club see the bigger picture and let the fixture go,maybe one to Letterkenny in a 4 home league game scenario,other than that all games in Ballybofey and lets move on and not live in the past."
If we want to grow football, that will be done in the clubs. Where the county team play a few league games has nothing to do with growing the game. Clubs are the heartbeat of gaa in every county.

greenfan (Donegal) - Posts: 586 - 19/02/2024 17:20:31    2527058

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Replying To Ulsterchamps72:  "How could you think that, the Diaspora are very important and raise huge amounts of money for their home clubs and the county team and they are as much Donegal as those of us lucky enough to remain here at home. Have you ever been to a Donegal association event outside the county or country? Many people had to leave Donegal for university or work and then settled in other countries due to marriage etc. Just look at Mayo, thousands travel to their games from outside their home county. As you may not be from Donegal you may not understand the pull to home for the thousands of Donegal people that had to leave home. As a Laois native you may not realise the club in Ballyshannon is known as Aodh Ruadh. I note you failed to answer the Laois question, why is your home county is so poorly supported or is it all the Dubs that relocated to Portlaoise, Emo, Portarlington, Abbeyleix etc just travel home to see Dublin playing."
Im not saying Diaspora ,what I am saying is that having a game in Ballyshannon is not helping the Diaspora a great deal.My main point consistently is that Donegal should be playing all their games in Ballybofey to help facilitate supporters and grow a larger and more consistent fan base as its the most central ground in the county and it has a number of roads going to different locations in the county ,which makes supporting the team much easier and much more enjoyable.I hope that clarifies my point.

heyday (Laois) - Posts: 35 - 19/02/2024 17:39:28    2527064

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Replying To heyday:  "Im not saying Diaspora ,what I am saying is that having a game in Ballyshannon is not helping the Diaspora a great deal.My main point consistently is that Donegal should be playing all their games in Ballybofey to help facilitate supporters and grow a larger and more consistent fan base as its the most central ground in the county and it has a number of roads going to different locations in the county ,which makes supporting the team much easier and much more enjoyable.I hope that clarifies my point."
No, you said play the games in Ballybofey but play one in Letterkenny if there are 4 home games. My own personal opinion is play the home league games on a Saturday night in Ballybofey under lights, but if we are to play outside MacCumhail Park we should go to Fr. Tierney Park. You've all the solutions for us, but again ignored the Laois query. Do you go to see your own "Queens county" play?

Ulsterchamps72 (Donegal) - Posts: 100 - 19/02/2024 19:00:27    2527072

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "A good result at the weekend and another two points on the board. Regardless of how the Armagh game goes you'd have to be pretty confident that we'll be in that top two. The lads look well tuned in and in good nick. It would be my own opinion that it's always nice to beat Armagh no matter what the occasion is, so if we can lay down a marker this weekend all the better.

The squad is getting stronger week by week. Good to see Hugh McFadden back. By my reckoning Eoghan Ban, Niall O'Donnell, Jason McGee, Caolan McColgan and Conor O'Donnell (possibly out longer term though?) are still to come back.
It's great to see a good spread of scorers but would anyone else be a wee bit concerned about our inside forward line? If God forbid Gallen suffered an injury we'd be in a bit of bother."
If Paddy and Gallan hit top form I think we're ok. Langan could be pushed further forward too. He'd cause chaos inside but we probably need him out the field. I remember he scored two or three goals v Kilcar in championship with one leg a few years ago standing in Full forward.

TheRock2121 (Donegal) - Posts: 1197 - 19/02/2024 22:21:05    2527097

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "A good result at the weekend and another two points on the board. Regardless of how the Armagh game goes you'd have to be pretty confident that we'll be in that top two. The lads look well tuned in and in good nick. It would be my own opinion that it's always nice to beat Armagh no matter what the occasion is, so if we can lay down a marker this weekend all the better.

The squad is getting stronger week by week. Good to see Hugh McFadden back. By my reckoning Eoghan Ban, Niall O'Donnell, Jason McGee, Caolan McColgan and Conor O'Donnell (possibly out longer term though?) are still to come back.
It's great to see a good spread of scorers but would anyone else be a wee bit concerned about our inside forward line? If God forbid Gallen suffered an injury we'd be in a bit of bother."
Langan seems to go inside every now and then when Gallen drops deep so maybe he would be the other full forward option if Gallen was injured. As long as scores are coming from somewhere that's what matters - plenty of scorers around the team. McBrearty seems to be playing very deep as a playmaker, it's working well but it was great to see him point from play the other day. Good to see Aaron Doherty with a bit of form, maybe he'll start pushing Jamie Brennan for a starting place, which might bring Brennan on a bit too.

High_and_wide (Donegal) - Posts: 84 - 20/02/2024 05:09:32    2527123

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Replying To TheRock2121:  "If Paddy and Gallan hit top form I think we're ok. Langan could be pushed further forward too. He'd cause chaos inside but we probably need him out the field. I remember he scored two or three goals v Kilcar in championship with one leg a few years ago standing in Full forward."
Michael Langan's high fielding ability is what is keeping him playing midfield at the moment, as winning or challenging for kickouts is key to dominating possession. But he does rotate in at times, not inside, but rotates in to CHF position.

I was very impressed with Paddy McBrearty on Saturday, he is getting sharper and was out in front of his man every time and winning ball, I think he scored two from play. We do badly need him, so its important that he continues on this upward trend.

In the Division 2 so far we are averaging 1-16 scores and conceding on average 1-09 (Conceded average of 0-10 in last two games), but that scoring difference will likely reduce significantly against the big teams and we will need a better spread of scorers in every game.

Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1223 - 20/02/2024 08:17:03    2527135

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Yeah I suppose so long as there is a variety to our attack and spread of scorers we will be doing ok. My only worry would be in a tight game, against better teams if Gallen was well shackled, or worse injured/unavailable, do we have another option? Someone who will make the difference and kick 4 or 5 points?

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9548 - 20/02/2024 09:58:35    2527148

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "Yeah I suppose so long as there is a variety to our attack and spread of scorers we will be doing ok. My only worry would be in a tight game, against better teams if Gallen was well shackled, or worse injured/unavailable, do we have another option? Someone who will make the difference and kick 4 or 5 points?"
Aaron Doherty looked lively, Paddy McBrearty seems to be getting sharper and we do have a good range of players between half forward and half back such as Ciaran Thompson, Ryan McHugh, Shane O'Donnell, Michael Langan, Caolan McGonigle, Daire O'Baoill, Eoghan Ban Gallagher, Peadar Mogan, Hugh McFadden etc who can pop over scores.

A team with a large range of scorers spread across the field will always cause problems, as so hard to contain them.

Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1223 - 20/02/2024 11:44:48    2527169

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Aaron Doherty could be the ace in the pack. Anyone who followed under age football had to be impressed with this lad. One of the most talented young players in the county a few years ago. Came on last Saturday and looked extremely lively. I always felt he needed a run of matches to get up to speed. Hopefully he might get it now. He's one thing we don't have plenty of a prolific scorer.

rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2582 - 20/02/2024 12:43:51    2527178

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Replying To rorysboys:  "Aaron Doherty could be the ace in the pack. Anyone who followed under age football had to be impressed with this lad. One of the most talented young players in the county a few years ago. Came on last Saturday and looked extremely lively. I always felt he needed a run of matches to get up to speed. Hopefully he might get it now. He's one thing we don't have plenty of a prolific scorer."
Yeah that's true. He is very highly rated in Glencolmcille where they know a good footballer when they see one.
He's been a bit in-and-out with regard to Donegal. But like you say, it would be interesting to see what level he could get to if he got a sustained run of games. He wouldn't be wild well known outside the county, so if he could catch fire alongside Gallen and McBrearty it could add a great dimension to our attack.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9548 - 20/02/2024 14:01:31    2527195

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Replying To Commodore:  "Kieran Gillespie was an absolute beast of a defender prior to his injuries, looked a like a powerful full back or corner back in the making at that stage. Very sad for young player like him, but sounds like he might be on the road back.

Conor Morrison was another ferocious corner back who got badly injured, seen him in Club Championship in Glenties this year and I thought he looked impressive again, might make it back to County level again soon.

Luke Keaney in 2014 looked like another future Corner back but he also suffered hip issues I think and his career ended, we've definitely missed out on a few top quality defenders due to injury. He definitely had massive potential."
Morrison has gone to work in the Netherlands so that ship has sailed for now I'd say.

peiledoir20 (Donegal) - Posts: 1077 - 20/02/2024 15:35:10    2527215

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Really good second half Saturday and you'd have to be very happy with how things are motoring along. The 3 subs around half time made a big difference especially Mckelvey who really can be a big player if staying injury free. Big performance from Paddy and great to have Langan back. Hopefully Jason comes back soon as I'm sure Jim probably has those two in mind for midfield. In my mind they have the potential to be one of the best units in the country if Jim can add a bit of grit to their game which I'm sure he can. Good to see Hughie back too who gives us more options. I'd agree that the full forward line is a worry with the form of Brennan and an injury away from looking very short.

Unfortunately I couldn't make the game which cannot be helped given I'm on another continent till around Easter. I'd love to be around at the weekend as the Athletic grounds is one of my favourite grounds to go to and has good recent memories between winning the last Ulster under 21 there as well as a McKenna cup. Generally I slog all over the country going to games and look forward to going to Ballyshannon. The members and stewards there are among the friendliest and helpful I encounter every time I go there and it's nice to take an hour off the round trip for me for a home league game. So while I see the point of having all games at Ballybofey for those of us not in the county Ballyshannon is a welcome change.

panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2824 - 20/02/2024 17:39:14    2527243

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