BY RYAN FERRY
THERE were many great stories during the 2023 Donegal Club Championships, but few captured the local interest quite like Downings claiming the Intermediate title.
Only two years earlier they had won the Junior ‘A’ title, and they managed to keep their momentum going by reaching Division 1.
They stayed in the top flight of the All-County League in 2023, and while that was no mean feat, it is over-shadowed by earning the Cathal McLaughlin Cup.
It was the club’s first final at Intermediate level in thirty years, and the Mevagh men held their nerve to win by 0-11 to 0-9.
Johnny McGroddy was central to their triumph, and his fine point-taking saw him earn the Man-of-the-Match award.
A few months have passed since then, but McGroddy is still enthused when he recalls their run to glory.
“It was class. A great feeling,” said McGroddy this week, when he was presented with the Donegal News Sports Personality of the Month award in conjunction with Brian McCormick Sports & Leisure.
“I think it was thirty years from when we last won it so it was just great to get over the line.
“It was a long, hard year and there was a lot of training but it makes it all worth it at the end when you pick up silverware.”
The Intermediate is always a hard competition to call and while Downings would have been considered one of the contenders, they weren’t necessarily the favourites.
Their credentials were then questioned when they lost by 2-7 to 1-3 against Termon in the group stages.
“Nothing went right that day. It was up in the Burn Road and they don’t have dressing rooms at the minute so we were in portacabins.
“We weren’t even able to do a proper team talk but it was probably the best thing to happen us to be honest.
“When you get beat like that, you start to think are we good enough or are we not.
“The next day we had a meeting and we talked about it and what we needed to do and what we could do better.
“It all came together and we pushed on but it wasn’t easy. We had Fanad up next and if we didn’t win that we would have had to go to Glen in our last game needing to win to get out of the group.
“Obviously Fanad had beaten us the year before and it’s never easy when you play your rivals. It was a tough battle and it would have been interesting if we played them again in the final.
“There wasn’t the same pressure on going to Glen then as we both had the cushion of being through but looking back, winning that game was one of the big wins as it gave us a lot of belief. We won by a point in the last minute when Ronan Gallagher scored and that spurred us on as well.”
Red Hugh’s were defeated in the quarter-final and then Downings exacted revenge on Termon with a semi-final victory after extra-time.
That sent them through to the Intermediate final against a Malin side who had impressed on their route through to the final.
McGroddy said there was plenty of excitement but Kevin ‘Cookie’ Gallagher and his management team were able to keep the players focussed on the task at hand.
Johnny McGroddy on the ball in the Intermediate final.
“The build-up to the final was good but we didn’t want to buy-in too much to the noise.
“My uncles and other boys were saying it’s thirty years since we did it, and we tried to make sure we didn’t put extra pressure on ourselves.
“We just went out with a game plan that ‘Cookie’ and Anthony (Boyle) and SP (Barrett) gave us.
“We knew if we worked hard that we had the quality to get over the line.
“I thought we defended very well in that game. People say we have good forwards and we do but our defence really showed well.
“We kept them out and the only time they had a goal chance was right at the end.
“I’m not going to say we marked out their best players but we worked very hard in defence, and that really showed on the day.”
There were huge celebrations as the Downings team made their way back to their home parish, and the players were able to relax and bask in a super triumph.
McGroddy said: “It went on for a couple of days. It was great craic. That’s memories we have now forever.
“It was a long season. We were in the gym for a full year, and it was great to have something to celebrate after it.
“But we want to drive it on now. You have to keep going when you are on a high.
“We were down at the low levels before and it’s not easy to get out. When you’re doing well, you have to try and stay at that standard and keep bringing young boys through.”
Gallagher has now stepped away and Downings are yet to appoint a new management team but they do know that key forward Lorcan Connor is moving to Australia in the coming weeks.
McGroddy says there is an eagerness among the players to make sure they make an impact in the Senior Championship in 2024.
“We have a good record at home in the last couple of years and you need that in Donegal.
“We could have the top teams coming down to Downings and that brings out big crowds and everyone is on a buzz now.
“We are on the hunt for a new manager and it’s up to the players to push things on until we get sorted.
“Lorcan is a massive loss because he has been one of our main players for ten years, and we have to get on with things until he is back, and try and fill his gap.”
It will be a busy start to the year for McGroddy as he is involved with DCU in the Sigerson Cup and is keen to make an impact over the next couple of weeks.
“I’m in the Sigerson squad for DCU and I’m hoping to get a few minutes.
“After that it will be in to pre-season.
“The Sigerson is a great competition. I got a few minutes last year and I would like to get more this year.
“We have a very good panel, and there’s a lot of competition for places.”
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