Christy Toye
BY CHRIS MCNULTY
CHRISTY Toye, Frank McGlynn, Paddy McGrath and Odhrán MacNiallais will make their first appearances of 2015 on Sunday as Donegal take on Queen’s University, Belfast at Sean MacCumhaill Park (throw-in 2pm).
Toye comes in to make his 136th Donegal appearance, while McGlynn will be in for game number 115.
Following Sunday’s eleven-point defeat to Derry at Owenbeg, new Donegal chief Rory Gallagher has drafted in some of his big guns for Sunday’s game, his first home fixture as the Donegal manager.
McGrath and MacNiallais had been named to start last weekend, but a bout of flu ruled them out of contention.
McGrath trained in Dublin on Tuesday night while MacNiallais took a full part in a session in Gaoth Dobhair with the county squad and both will go straight into the team.
Declan Walsh will start at centre-back, the Malin man having been another victim of flu last weekend, while St Michael’s Daniel McLaughlin makes his Donegal return. McLaughlin’s last appearance for the county was the 2013 All-Ireland qualifier win over Laois in Carrick-on-Shannon, taking it to six the number of changes shown to the starting XV from the 1-16 to 0-8 loss to Derry on Sunday.
A quad muscle injury rules Mark McHugh out of the squad, while a slight back injury means that Eamon Ward is a doubt, although the 33-year-old Glenswilly full-back has been included among the subs.
DONEGAL: Michael Boyle; Conor Parke, Éamonn Doherty, Paddy McGrath; Ciarán McGinley, Declan Walsh, Frank McGlynn; Martin McElhinney, Christy Toye; Cory Gallagher, Odhrán MacNiallais, Eoin McHugh; Daniel McLaughlin, Hugh McFadden, Martin O’Reilly.
Subs: Mark Anthony McGinley, Joe Gibbons, Sean Hensey, Eamon Ward, Eunan Doherty, Ciaran McCaughey, Gary McFadden, Dermot Molloy, Ryan Malley, Malachy McDermott, Willie Gillespie.
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