With the Dr Maguire Cup now safely residing in Gaoth Dobhair, Ryan Ferry took the time to dish out his end-of-championship awards.

Team of the Championship:

Gaoth Dobhair were head and shoulders above the other teams in the championship. Their first game against St Eunan’s was an arm wrestle, but it was a big achievement to get a result in O’Donnell Park. They never looked back after that and played some cracking football on their way to collecting the Dr Maguire Cup. They will be intent on defending their crown next year, but might not have it all their own way when Patrick McBrearty and Ryan McHugh return to Kilcar’s colours.

Upset of the Championship:

Few pundits would have picked Sean MacCumhaill’s to qualify for the semi-finals of the championship, but the Twin Towns men were good value for their spot in the last four. They did well to come out of their group along with Kilcar, but weren’t fancied against St Michael’s. However, Bernard McGeehan’s men had other ideas and they produced a brilliant performance to defeat the Cressough/Dunfanaghy representatives.

Bad Timing of the Championship:

Bundoran goalkeeper Ashley Mulhern booked a holiday to Las Vegas for the week after the group stages, without realising that there would be no break before the quarter-finals. However, when Gaoth Dobhair struck for eight goals against his team, he may have been happy enough to be in the US.

Row of the Championship:

There was huge anticipation ahead of the meeting of St Eunan’s and Gaoth Dobhair in the first group game, and the teams clashed before the game even started in the warm-up. There are a couple of different variations of how the row started, but by all accounts it wasn’t pretty, and dominated the GAA chat in the county for the following week.

Game of the Championship:

The meeting of Ardara and Bundoran in Kentucky on the final day of the group stages proved to be a cracker. With both teams vying for a spot in the quarter-final, Ardara took charge in the first half and led by six at the break. Bundoran powered ahead in the second half but goals from Shane O’Donnell and Paddy McGrath put the home side back in the driving seat. However, there was still time for one more twist and Tommy Hourihane netted in the 66th minute as the Seasiders prevailed by 2-12 to 4-3. Bundoran were thrilled for about half-an-hour before they heard that they were drawn against Gaoth Dobhair in the quarter-final.

Cursed Luck of the Championship:

Poor Dungloe. You couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Rosses men when they were put in the ‘Group of Death’ along with Gaoth Dobhair, St Eunan’s, and Naomh Conaill, and they realistically had no hope of qualifying. It couldn’t have been easy to motivate their players, but they did manage to stay up and will be hoping for an easier quartet in 2019.

Moan of the Championship:

Glenswilly manager Brendan Walsh was annoyed that he wasn’t able to go and see the other game (Bundoran and Burt) in his group on the first weekend, as it clashed with his own team’s match with Ardara, He had a point, and the group games on the first two weekends should be on separate days for players and supporters who might want to take in both matches.

Capitulation of the Championship:

Termon need a big victory in their final group game with Four Masters to qualify for the knock-out stages and everything seemed to be going to plan when they led by 3-7 to 0-2 in the second half of the encounter and their opponents had a player sent off. However, they subsequently collapsed and only ended up winning by a point. That left them in the Relegation Play-Off and to conclude a dramatic evening in the Burn Road, the players then ousted their manager Shaun Paul Barrett.

Cute Hoor of the Championship:

Kevin Cassidy’s Gaelic Life column made for some interesting reading in recent weeks, as he gave it his all to play down his club’s chances of winning their games. We were told that Sean MacCumhaill’s were the best team in the championship on form before the semi-final meeting, and then he made Naomh Conaill ‘overwhelming favourites’ to win the decider, despite the fact that the bookmakers disagreed significantly with his outlook. As it turns out, Kevin is more than a decent full-forward, but we’re not convinced he’s cut out for the life of a bookie.

Fair Dues of the Championship:

The Donegal CCC decided to complete the league before the start of the championship, and then run it off in a seven-week spell. Division 3 has been a bit of a disaster, but it’s not easy when there are teams from Senior, Intermediate, and Junior all competing in it. However by and large, the Donegal SFC ran very smoothly, and all the teams were able to commit to it fully without meaningless club games thrown in the between.

Performance of the Championship:

Classically-trained singer Joseph Deery delivered one of the most rousing renditions of Amhrán na bhFiann that is ever likely to grace a Donegal SFC game before Malin and Termon went to battle in Connolly Park.