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Interesting all right, but it could do without this kind of bollocks:

"Moynihan lives in a part of the world where deep thinking comes with the landscape..."

Does anyone know if the airport in Dongeal is near the ground or easy to get too ,i dont fancy that 3.5 hour drive up and back from dublin

Donegal v Dublin fixtures are generally in Ballyshannon. You'll make that in 3 hours or even less from Blanchardstown fairly easily.

If flying, go by Sligo. Ballyshannon is no more than half an hour's drive from Sligo Airport.

If the match is in Ballybofey, forget flying, unless Derry is a possibility. Carrickfin is at least an hour over shite roads from there.



Division 1A looks very tough!

Could be yet another relegation on the cards for our boys this year! There will probably be three or four teams at risk going into the last day though.

Are they mutually exclusive?

Each on its own will only get you so far.

How would you be able to identify a game or decision as a turning point without the benefit of hindsight? Lots of decisions and changes are made through the course of a season - the very influential ones only become clear once they've unleashed whatever chain of events follows on from them. Kerry's decision to move Donaghy in to full forward was certainly a huge turning point this season. If O'Connor had resisted the calls for the move, would they have won the All Ireland? Similarly, Donegal would not have won an All Ireland in 1992 if the players, with the experience of the three previous seasons to inform them, hadn't made the collective decision to go all out with the training in the run-up to and aftermath of the Ulster final. That decision did not guarantee anything, but without that change in attitude and preparation, they probably would not have beaten Derry and would not have been in a position to beat Mayo and Dublin. And no one is saying that luck or circumstance plays no part!

f**k it, everyone else is doing it!

Best Donegal players of the past twenty years?

I've no idea how to do a poll, so I'll just list some possibilities. McHugh is obviously the standout, but no harm looking at some of the others.



Martin McHugh - far and away the most skillful and intelligent Donegal player, probably ever!

Manus Boyle - the ultimate big game player, who, scoring-wise, almost single-handedly won Senior and U-21 All Irelands for Donegal.

Tony Boyle - one of the best full forwards of the 90s. How great could he have been if not for the succession of injuries?

Anthony Molloy - We're still struggling to replace him in the middle of the field!

Adrian Sweeney - Seriously on the wane by now, but one of the top forwards in Ireland in the early years of this decade.

Kevin Cassidy - still early days for him, but he's been one of the best half-backs in the game since he announced his arrival against Cavan in '02 with that unbelievable point from way out on the wing with the outside of his boot.

Brendan Devenney - An extremely gifted if extremely frustrating player. Unmarkable on his good days (remember what he did to All Star Brian Lacey in Newbridge in '01?), but seems to have lost a bit of pace and confidence in recent years.

Barry McGowan - Classy and extremely composed forward who was converted into one of the best corner backs in the game. Tight marker, very good on the ball (Karl Lacey reminds me a bit of him). Strangely underrated outside of Donegal.

Martin Shovlin - Legend in the county. Tragically ruled out of the All Ireland final in 1992 just before the game with a neck injury.

Noel Hegarty - Very versatile strong player. Tight marker, great on the ball. Used to bomb up the field to get the odd vital score.



Others such as John Gildea, Damien Diver, Jim McGuinness (never the same player after the tragic car crash in 1998), Matt Gallagher and Declan Bonner probably all deserve a mention. No doubt I've overlooked some!

The Donegal players, led by Martin McHugh, agreeing, in a post-match clear-the-air meeting, that McEniff and his staff had to seriously increase the intensity of Donegal's preparations in the aftermath of what was a fairly pedestrian Donegal performance against Fermanagh in the Ulster semi-final in 1992. They hammered Fermanagh off the pitch in the end, but only after a very poor Fermanagh side had stayed with them and been arguably the better team for 40 minutes. The nervous display, as favourites, in the first 50 minutes of the AI semi against Mayo notwithstanding, it was a far different team in the subsequent matches, particularly against Derry and Dublin.

The return of Manus Boyle was also vital that season, although it was hard on Tommy Ryan, who lost his place for the AI Final after being the best player in the Ulster Championship.

Whatever about Dooher ( ), Donegal will miss the services of Damien Diver. One of the most consistent Donegal players over the past ten years, and capable of playing just about anywhere on the team.

Legend!

Delighted for Karl Lacey. Richly deserved award, as he was superb all season (and last year, in what was a poor season for the team), even popping up from corner back to get two points against Derry.

I'll have to see if I can find it, but O'Mhuireartaigh (sp???) did one on Noel Hegarty in the middle of a game, telling how he was up in Falcarragh during the week selling sheep or something!

The newer ones are fine. Anyone who's gone to UCD will be aware of how bad they can be with the sandy one they had beside the national hockey pitch, but you don't get too many of those types any more. I left before Brian Mullins installed the new five-a-side pitches behind the sports centre. Anyone played on them?

In fairness to Bellion, I don't think United paid very much for him.

Another club in Down deserving praise for suceeding despite the odds is St Paul's.  In the not too distant past they had to operate on a 'keep-your-heads-down-and-hope-the loyalist-hoods don't notice-us basis.  Having their pitch 'glassed' and posts cut down was a regular occurance.  Their recruitment rate was badly affected by this eventhough they are located in perhaps the heaviest populated region.  This in turn lead to weak teams that invariably suffered plenty hammerings.  Despite all this, today this year they won promotion and the furure looks good.

That's a type of story that we from the south don't always appreciate. I'm sure its been repeated all over the north.

Overall, would have to be Canavan. Doesn't mean the likes of Blaney and McHugh weren't tremendously gifted players though, or that Canavan didn't practice relentlessly to sharpen and improve his skills (I'm assuming he did - maybe he didn't need to!).

JHE, I'd assumed you were a Eunan's man, given your name! Laghey area or Ballintra? I wore the St Naul's colours in my long-lost teenage years, so I came up against your boys a few times! Fair play to youse! Can't be easy sitting right between Aodh Rua and Four Masters! The Donegal Town boys certainly don't let us forget our relative lack of success!

Refereeing mistake:

2003 All Ireland semi final - the referee's inexplicable failure to send off John McEntee for his forearm smash on Barry Monaghan with less than ten minutes to go, the game on a knife edge and the ref standing a couple of feet away. McEntee contributed to Armagh's two injury-time scores that won the game. In the same match, Ray Sweeney was sent off early in the second half, while Kieran McGeeney stayed on despite persistant fouling.

Don't worry J70 - the persistant fouling was well highlighted in the post match analysis, to the extent that at the handshake in Armagh's next match, the first words by Brian to Geezer were, "You watch the fouling'. It seemed to play on Brian's mind in the first half of that game! 

You have me at a bit of a loss here: I don't remember the details of Brian McGuigan's performance against McGeeney in the final!

Or are we talking about some other "Brian"?  Did Brian White ref the final?