BY DÁIRE BONNAR
As the Donegal Junior League look to battle towards the latter stages of the Oscar Traynor Cup once again, captain of their sole triumph in the competition, HughIie ‘Rua’ Gallagher spoke of the journey their team took to the final.
A Gweedore Celtic native, Gallagher led his team out on Finn Park that day on 18 April 1983 against a fancied AUL League team from Dublin.
Managed by Richie Kelly, with Ken McCormack and Pat McColgan helping out, they had a couple of battles to come through in the early rounds.
A convincing victory over Inishowen in Swilly Park was the first step before an away win over the Sligo-Leitrim League, despite finishing the game with ten men, saw them reach the final.
Liam McLaughlin from Swilly Rovers scored before half-time to level the game and as AUL went ahead again, John Kelly from Fanad United brought the game to penalties, with the Donegal men winning 4-2 in the shoot out.
“We were probably lucky that we had a home draw and not many people thought we’d win but our management team had full belief that we would win that day,” Gallagher said.
“Richie went to Dublin to watch the AUL the previous two weeks and he had his homework done.
“The AUL were more than confident that they were going to win because the tradition was of Donegal teams not competing at that high a level, it gave them an expectation to win it.
“Richie made me captain but it was an easy team to work and play for, the likes of Patsy McGlanaghy who was from Donegal Town, Phil Durning from Ramelton, Ballybofey’s Bernard Dowds was the goalkeeper so we had quality.
“There was a fair amount of snow and sleet that morning and Finn Park was a heavy pitch at that time.
“We only had a number of training sessions and we never panicked when a goal down.
“It was a hard game, we came back twice before it went to penalties and it was a Gweedore Celtic man Doalty Sweeney who scored the winning penalty.
“It was a great day for the county and those that set up the Donegal League in 1971, the likes of Brendan Duffy, Father Sweeney, Paddy McFadden and Fred Coll, it justified the existence of the league.”
L-R: James Gallagher, Willie Diver, Hughie Gallagher, Donal McGee, Tom Gillespie, Pat McGarvey, and Pat Doohan (RIP).
The team itself was dominated by players from West Donegal and especially Gweedore Celtic as Derry native Kelly assembled a squad that was based around familiarity.
The Donegal Youth League won the Irish title in 1979 with Kelly at the helm.
And with Gallagher as skipper, a backbone of the team came from the side who had won the Premier Division the previous season.
Doalty Sweeney, Gerry Coyle, Pat Doohan, Owen Harkin, Donnachadh McNelis and Donal McGee were all in the squad.
“Richie used a lot of the players from the Donegal Youth team that won the All-Ireland and he was a good coach.
“Liam Sweeney was there from Keadue and Packie Boyle was second choice ‘keeper, Loughlin O’Rourke from Killybegs was probably unlucky not to get more games but he was competing with Doalty Sweeney so we had great talent.
“Ex-Donegal manager Declan Bonner and Declan McAteer were part of the panel as well so at that time soccer was very strong at that time in the county.
“The day of the final, Gweedore Celtic had six players that started the game that day and Richie Kelly put his faith in us. Lots of managers might be criticised for picking so many players from the one club but we were so used to playing together and then he brought in a couple of players from around the county that were capable of winning the Oscar Traynor.
“Gweedore Celtic players may have been the backbone of the team but it was the other players who came in that helped us to push on.”
Gallagher had his first involvement with the Gweedore Celtic first team in 1973 in what was the
second year of the Donegal Junior League.
When Colm McBride took charge, their fortunes increased and Gallagher credited McBride’s faith in youth to bringing them success.
The club had a brief spell in the Ulster Senior League before coming back and while he was in Dublin for some time, Gallagher has always had some sort of role at the club since.
“I’ve had a long association there between playing, coaching and managing.
“We had a golden era between 1979 until about 1986 and it was due to a youth policy introduced by Colm McBride.
“The foot of his work began five years before that and we won our first league in ’79 and from there until ’86 it was a really fruitful time.
“Charlie Doherty took up the mantle and he was successful as well then by the time the Ulster Senior League began our team was coming to the end of its era and we struggled in all honesty.”
The An Screaban men returned to Junior football in 1995 and a rebuild followed by the turn of the millennium.
Himself and Charlie Doherty co-managed the team and it was the philosophy of his former manager that Gallagher introduced that got the team back to the top.
”I was always involved in coaching between underage teams and the senior team and while I was playing I did a few coaching courses and continued on.
“I was interested in it and I enjoyed it, we produced some good players, we tried to copy what Colm did and then the likes of Richie Kelly who did some courses with us, you’re always trying to learn and improve and when the FAI did courses in the county you would always go along to try and better your own team and yourself.”
A couple of successful years followed as, with a backroom team of Paddy Duggan and Donal McGee, Gallagher guided Gweedore Celtic to the Premier Division title in 2011 and the Cup in 2010 and 2011. Recognition of the efforts of the club came with the FAI Club of the Month Award in November 2012.
The victorious Gweedore Celtic team that won the Brian McCormick Cup in 2010 when Gallagher was in charge.
“I had the same idea as Colm’s in that we needed to go back to the youth players and we won the Youth league in 2005.
“That then was the team that carried us through the noughties into ten years ago.
“We won the Premier Division in 2010 and 2011 but we were relegated in 2016 and that was the year I retired from it, once the interest goes then it’s time to go.
“As managers always would say, they’re frustrated players. You can’t beat the enjoyment of playing, the responsibility of management is different to just enjoying yourself being part of a team and that’s what it’s all about.
“I’m still helping Paul ‘Rua’ McBride with the training and coaching at the moment but that’s about it.”
Gallagher also retired in 2016 as principal of Scoil Naomh Duaigh in Annagry , although he has kept busy with his local team and the club are currently in the process of extending their clubhouse.
But there is no official opening on the clubhouse yet, however it should be done in the earlier months of 2025.
“We’ve got two dressing rooms at the back and a viewing area and kitchen area out the front, there’s space for development upstairs but we’re not doing that immediately, we’ll focus on the downstairs of it first.
“The past few weeks have been very busy with plumbing and electricians but hopefully over the next few months we’ll have it near wrapped up.”
The Donegal League prepare for a home second leg against Inishowen next month in the Oscar Traynor and Gallagher feels the talent is back in the county and a second title could come back to the hills.
“It’s a pity the team lost in the semi-final last year but there’s no reason why Eamonn Sheridan and his team can’t get to the final this time and I hope they really do well.
“It was such an achievement for us at the time but with the Ulster Senior League coming into being three years later it took a lot of the better players from the league.
“With the demise of that now there are some fantastic players back in the Donegal League again and there are some very good teams.
“The soccer players are still there and there’s no reason why the soccer can’t get stronger again.
“I honestly believe there is some incredible talent and there’s no reason why they couldn’t win it in the next couple of years.”
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