Donnellan John
August 14, 1992
NAME: John Donnellan
DATE OF BIRTH: 1/12/67
HEIGHT: 5ft 10"
WEIGHT: 11st 5lbs
CLUB: Bailieboro Shamrocks
COUNTY: Cavan
HONOURS: Sigerson Cup 1992; All-Ireland Under 21 runner up 1988; Ulster Under 21 Championship 1988; Cavan Under 21 Championship 1988. Cavan Intermediate Championship 1989; Div 2 League 1987; 2 Minor Leagues 1983 and 1985; 2 Under 14 Roinn As 1980 and 1981
INTER-COUNTY DEBUT: Division 1 League match versus Leitrim 1990
PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Student at UCG
TOUGHEST OPPONENT: James McCartan
FAVOURITE GROUNDS: Breffni Park, Cavan and of course, Croke Park where I hope to play in the near future
FAVOURITE POSITION: Right half back or left half back
SPORTING AMBITION: To win an All-Ireland with Cavan. To win a senior championship with Bailieboro
DO YOU PLAY ANY OTHER SPORTS? Handball
BOYHOOD HEROES: Paudie O'Shea and Colm O'Rourke
FAVOURITE PLAYERS: Martin O'Connell
BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON CAREER: Tony Regan, UCG, Pat Clarke, Donal Kelly, Enda Sheridan, who were all mentors at underage level and of course, my parents
WAYS OF IMPROVING THE GAME: Defining the tackle more clearly and also improving refereeing standards
BEST GAME SEEN: The Al-Ireland Final of 1986 between Kerry and Tyrone
PLAYERS WITH A PROMISING FUTURE: Aidan Connolly - Bailieboro and Joseph McCarthy - Kingscourt
HOPES FOR 1992: To win a senior championship with my club. To retain my place on the county team and see a revival in the fortunes of the team
YOU WERE ON THIS YEAR'S UCG TEAM WHICH WON THE SIGERSON CUP: Yes, it was a wonderful experience to fulfil the ambition of every third level college footballer. The victory was all the more sweet as we beat a highly fancied Queen's team in front of a home crowd at Pearse Stadium, Galway. The team had performed poorly in the Higher Education League but we trained hard under Tony Regan and on the weekend everything came together beautifully for us
THOSE SIGERSON GAMES BROUGHT YOU TO THE ATTENTION OF THE CAVAN SENIOR SELECTORS: That's true. Eamonn Curley called me into the team for the game against Tyrone in the semi-final of the McKenna Cup. The fitness and confidence I had gained from winning the Sigerson Cup with UCG helped me play well and eventually win a place on the team for the championship game against Donegal
BUT YOU HAD PLAYED SENIOR FOR CAVAN PREVIOUSLY: Yes. In 1988 due to the success of the Under 21s in winning the Ulster Championship Eugene McGee, then the senior manager, called me into the panel. Unfortunately, we were knocked out in the first round by Monaghan. In 1989 and 1990 due to work commitments, I hadn't much time for training and lost my place on the panel. In 1990 I went to UCG to study Arts and got recalled to the Cavan panel for the league. I played poorly because I think I was trying to hard to prove myself and was again dropped from the panel. This year the success of winning the Sigerson Cup gave me the confidence to make the breakthrough to senior level again.
YOUR CLUB HAD A BIG WIN AGAINST FANCIED GOWNA IN THE QUARTER FINALS OF THE CAVAN CHAMPIONSHIP LAST WEEK: We beat them by seven points. The difference between the two teams was, I think, the ability of our forwards and in particular Francis Clarke to take scoring opportunities when they came. To be honest, we really only played to our true potential in the second half and Gowna, who won the senior championship in 1988 were very disappointed with their performance
TELL US A BIT ABOUT BAILIEBORO: It is a club with a strong tradition in Cavan GAA. Unfortunately in recent years, it's success rate at senior level has been very poor. When Bailieboro last appeared in the final of the senior championship in 1982, they were beaten by Laragh Utd. In fact, we haven't won a senior championship since 1964. At underage level, however, over the last 10-15 years Bailieboro have had much success. This is due greatly to the coaching carried out by former playing stars of the club from the 50s and 60s. Hopefully their work will bring success at senior level in the near future
YOU HAVE A VERY YOUNG SENIOR XV: Yes. Nine of the team are under 21 this year. Our panel comprises mainly of players from the successful minor championship team of 1990 and the under 21 championship winning team of 1988. We have, however, some experienced players such as Hughie Brady and Philip Dunne, who give great leadership to the younger players
YOUR FATHER IS CHAIRMAN OF THE CLUB: Yes. This is his first year in the position and I have to say he is doing quite a good job. He never played football himself, but since I started playing at under 14 level, he has become more and more involved in both following of gaelic football in general and running the local club. He is a man of great optimism and determination and these qualities will help the Bailieboro club greatly, I think
VERY FEW BAILIEBORO PLAYERS HAVE DONNED THE CAVAN SENIOR JERSEY IN RECENT YEARS. WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS SO? I suppose, the most obvious reason has been the club's lack of success at senior championship level. The trend in Cavan over the years has been to pick the county team mainly from the successful senior clubs. The last Bailieboro player to play for Cavan was Peter Pritchard back in the 1960s
YOU GOT THE HARDEST DRAW, 3 IN A ROW CHAMPIONS KINGSCOURT, IN THE SEMI-FINALS. CAN YOU BEAT YOUR NEIGHBOURS? Yes, I think we can beat Kingscourt. However, to do so we will have to have much more belief in ourselves as a team and play to the best of our ability for the whole duration of the game. Kingscourt are a team of vast experience and indeed have been unlucky not to win an Ulster Club Championship in the last three years. The Bailieboro team will look forward to another tilt at the reigning champions and a chance to take their crown
CAVAN FOOTBALL IS GOING THROUGH A BAD SPELL AT THE MOMENT. IS THERE AN Y IMMEDIATE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL? Yes, I think there is. Cavan has gained promotion in the league this year after being relegated the year before. I feel that we had Donegal on the rack in Breffni Park this year and with a bit of luck could have beaten them. I don't think the margin of our defeat in Ballybofey should be taken as an indication of the team's worth. We won an under 21 championship in 1988 and have quite a few quality players in the county
WOULD CAVAN BE BETTER OFF GOING OUTSIDE THE COUNTY AND GET A BIG NAME IN AS MANAGER? To be honest I can't really answer that question. Eugene McGee managed the team from 1985 to 1988 and had limited success. He did however, bring Cavan football into the modern age as regards fitness levels and commitment and I think could have achieved success had he remained at the helm for another year or two. At the moment there doesn't seem to be a manager of his calibre available to come in from outside the county
MANAGER EAMONN CURLEY HAS STEPPED DOWN. HE ALSO PLAYED FOR BAILIEBORO SHAMROCKS. YOUR VIEW ON THE FORMER ROSCOMMON PLAYER: As a player I'm told he was a powerful centre half forward with great drive and plenty of skill. Eamonn had put a tremendous amount of work and energy into the Cavan team over the last two years and I think had decided that this would be his last year whatever the result. Despite our defeat by Donegal in Ballybofey I don't think l his effort has been totally in vain. Cavan's display in the drawn game at Breffni Park epitomised the game plan of Eamonn Curley. Hopefully we can build on that performance for next year's championship
YOU COULD EASILY HAVE BEATEN DONEGAL ON THE FIRST DAY AT BREFFNI PARK! NEXT SUNDAY THEY ARE PLAYING IN THE ALL-IRELAND SEMI FINAL. DOES IT MAY THE MIND WONDER? It certainly does. I would dearly love if Cavan were in the same position. But I don't think there's much point in dreaming of what might have been. We will just have to improve for next year
YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF DONEGAL: I think they are a very good team and have been one of the top teams in the country over the last few years. They showed their experience when under pressure in Breffni Park and again when down to fourteen players against favourites Derry in the Ulster Final
THEY HAVE SOME VERY GOOD FORWARDS, POSSIBLY THE BEST ATTACK LEFT IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP: They have extremely fast and elusive forwards in the McHugh brothers and Joyce McMullen. Tony Boyle is an excellent target man at full forward and Tommy Ryan is having a great championship. Declan Bonner on his day is dangerous. With the exception of Boyle and Ryan, the Donegal forwards are light but with the proper type of ball from midfield and their half backs, they are very effective
DO YOU SEE THEM BEATING MAYO? Yes, I do. I think Donegal will be determined to improve their record in Croke Park. Mayo looked impressive in their victory over Roscommon and are particularly strong at midfield. If Donegal can win the midfield battle and give a good supply of ball to their forwards, they will open up the Mayo defence and as they have been doing all year, take most of the scoring opportunities they get
Taken from Hogan Stand magazine
14th August 1992
Vol 2 No 68
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