Donegal are now four from four in Division 1 and it’s been a super start to the league.
There’s always a great atmosphere in the Athletic Grounds. The pitch is tight and the fans feel like they are on top of you.
There’s been a great rivalry between Donegal and Armagh down through the years.
In the noughties, the Orchard men definitely had the upper hand.
But for most of the last decade, and particularly in the last three seasons, Donegal are the dominant side.
It was the same story last week as Jim McGuinness’s men ran out four-point winners. It was a tough battle and Armagh kicked some good scores in the first half, but Donegal always seemed in control.
They won the midfield battle which was huge. I talked about Hughie McFadden last week and he had another solid seventy minutes and for me, Michael Langan is the most complete midfielder in the game at the moment.
But last Sunday was the Jason McGee show and the big Falcarragh man was outstanding.
I worked with Jason since he was a teenager and the talent was always there but he has had some rotten luck with serious injuries.
I always felt if he could get his body right that he could be as important for Donegal as Brian Fenton was to Dublin.
He hasn’t had the run at it that he would have liked but this season has gone well so far.
I actually met him randomly last week at the petrol station in Laghey and you could tell he was in a good place and couldn’t wait for the match coming at the weekend.
And when Sunday came he delivered one of his best ever displays in the green and gold.
He kicked four points from play and some of his fielding was terrific.
Jim is right – there is more to come from him and if he can stay fit and sharp, it’s going to push Donegal to the next level.
I think Eoghan ‘Ban’ Gallagher is another player that can provide gains from last year.
He didn’t play in Ulster in 2025 and never quite got up to his best but he looks sharp now.
Ban is on the go ten years now at senior level but he still has the pace and he can break tackles.
When you add him to Peadar Mogan, Finnbarr Roarty and Ryan McHugh coming out of defence, you have a lot of dynamic players and then a top marker in Brendan McCole, and Caolan McGonagle keeping the middle solid.
It’s a good back six and you’ll have Caolan McColgan pushing hard as well when he gets back to fitness.
Gavin Mulreany had another good game in Armagh and he is growing into the role all the time.
We will have to wait and see if he can cement the number one shirt ahead of Shaun Patton, who has been so reliable over the last eight years. I don’t think any county has two goalkeepers who can operate to such a high level like Donegal. It will be a brilliant experience for young Padraig Mac Giolla Bhride to be working with the pair of them as well.
Galway are the opponents for Donegal this weekend and they only have three points from four games.
They were 13 points up at one stage against Roscommon last week but let it slip.
Padraic Joyce always sends his team out to win and he won’t be happy if they leave Ballyshannon empty-handed but Donegal have a great record at Fr Tierney Park.
Jim has said there will be changes and it looks like there are a few soft tissue injuries.
Jamie Brennan was back on the bench against Armagh and I’d expect that he will get a good run this week.
Like last year, it looks like Michael Murphy isn’t going to be featuring in the away league games, but he will be in the mix this Sunday.
The Donegal management team will have a plan for Michael to make sure he gets through to the business end of the season in as strong of a position as possible.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Michael starts this week but there won’t be any risks taken.
Some of the younger players could get a chance but even if there are a couple of changes to the starting team, I think Donegal’s core is really strong and I expect a home win in Ballyshannon.
Division 1
It’s definitely been an interesting Division 1 so far and Dublin were well off it against Kerry last week.
The Kingdom could and should have won the game by much more and it’s hard to see where Dublin are going at the minute.
They are under real pressure for relegation and need a win against Roscommon in the Hyde on Sunday.
I think the Rossies will win that match. They could very easily have eight points to their name at this stage.
For me, Roscommon has been under-performing in recent years.
I remember facing them as Donegal manager in a challenge game in 2022 and their forwards were brilliant that day.
They have loads of natural footballing ability but they have lost too many games tamely in recent years.
Mark Dowd seems to be getting a turn from them this year and it will be interesting to see how they go.
A lot of the chat this week is about rising Mayo star Kobe McDonald.
He’s definitely a talent but he’s still very young and has a lot to learn yet.
He was brilliant last week but Monaghan are going badly and the match was wide open. It was a lovely game to make your debut in.
Obviously his father Ciaran was one of the best forwards of his generation, and he could do anything with his left foot.
Kobe is right-footed but unfortunately it looks like he will be heading down under and following the AFL path.
We will get to watch him this summer which will be positive.
Andy Moran will keep a close eye and like our own Conor McCahill, Kobe will be doing his Leaving Cert this year so there’s plenty going on.
Mayo have Armagh this week and it’s a tough one to call. It was tight when they played last year and it could be another draw.
Looking at Division 2, there was a real surprise last week when Louth defeated Tyrone.
It’s hard to put the finger on why it’s not happening for Tyrone. They just don’t look like a cohesive team or a united group at the moment.
I expect them to beat Mickey Harte’s Offaly this week but things don’t seem right and I touched on Darragh Canavan heading away before.
They still have a lot of quality but maybe there are too many similar players.
Losing to Louth and Gavin Devlin won’t have gone down well that’s for sure.
Derry are starting to build up a bit of momentum now. They have won three on the bounce.
Promotion is still a possibility but they’ll have to get a result at home to Cork on Sunday and that won’t be easy.
Congress
The GAA’s annual congress takes place in Croke Park this weekend.
In total, there are 25 motions that counties will vote on.
The big one is motion 14 which will see the All-Ireland Finals pushed back by a couple of weeks into August.
From a Donegal perspective, it wouldn’t make a huge difference.
Our Club Championships don’t start until the middle of August, and the club leagues are usually finished for four or five weeks at that stage.
If you think back to the All-Ireland Final week last year, all the chat really until Wednesday was about the hurling final and the Donegal v Kerry match was barely mentioned in the national media.
To me, it was definitely better when there was a two-week break between the football and hurling finals and they could be reviewed and previewed properly.
I know some managers came out in support of the motion but as the vote edges closer it looks like it won’t pass.
The big dual counties like Galway and Cork are saying they can’t afford to give up the two weeks, and I think most counties will vote to stick with the way it was.
Another motion that I think should be supported is to play the All-Ireland Minor Finals before the Senior Finals once again.
I was fortunate to be on the sideline in 2014 for the Minor Final and it was a brilliant experience.
It’s something that should never have been done away with in my opinion.
Yeah you might get ten thousand to a standalone minor final these days but is that really better than Croke Park an hour or two before the biggest game of the year? For me, it’s not and I really hope it is changed back.
