Noel Cole's unforgettable Donegal debut Championship debuts can be torrid affairs for young players. Thrown into the action with the intense glare of the media and the maddening crowds, a debutantes confidence needs to be unflinching, his attitude spot on. Every move is closely watched, every mistake cruelly punished. Normally a young player will make his first championship outing in the early rounds, gradually adapting to the special demands required of him as the competition progresses. For Donegal's Noel McCole, however, it was a case of straight into the action without the luxury of a 'settling in' period. McCole was selected for the Donegal seniors in 1974 as reserve goalkeeper. He was on the bench for the early rounds of the championship but then suddenly he was thrust into action - in the Ulster Final. And what a debut it proved to be. "We were playing Down in the final. The first game had ended in a draw but just before the replay our regular goalkeeper, Alan Kane, was injured. I think it was on the morning of the replay he missed a fitness test and the selectors came up to me and told me I was playing. I wasn't nervous because I didn't have time to be nervous. If I was told a week beforehand I may have been a little edgy. I had played once in the Dr. McKenna Cup but the Ulster Final was my first championship game." Unaffected by the hype and the big crowds, Noel went on to help Donegal to a famous 3-9 to 1-12 victory, only the second time the men from the north east won an Ulster title (the first was in '72). "The game itself went by very fast, I don't remember much about it. Down had some great players that day, Sean O'Neill, Colm McAlarney and Peter McGrath were on that team. Sean O'Neill sent in a shot early in the game, it was a real tester but I was fortunate to get in the way." The young Donegal goalkeeper\s composure and agility clearly impressed the selectors because he held his place for the All-Ireland semi final joust against Galway. "I will never forget the occasion, there was great excitement throughout the county before the game. We togged out under the Cusack Stand in those days and I remember running out to the roar of the crowd. I was a bit nervous but as soon as the game started I settled down." Unfortunately for the Ulster champions events turned against them almost from the start. "We conceded early goals that really set us back. It was a bad start and Johnny Tobin went on to destroy us. Himself and Liam Salmon had a great game." Despite the defeat it was the start of a long stretch between the Donegal posts for McCole. "I played for the county team for just over ten years and I was lucky enough not to miss too many games. I was delighted the selectors held faith with me for so long." Noel McCole's earliest footballing experience was gained with his native Dungloe. He helped the local club to an under 14 championship before progressing onto the minor team and eventually securing a place on the senior side. "I won a minor and intermediate championship with the club which changed its name to Rosses Rovers in the late sixties. In 1970 we got to a senior county final but were beaten by St. Josephs, who had a fine team including Brian McEniff. We got to the final that year but we also had a few lean spells." Now working as manager of the Swords branch of the National Irish Bank, Noel can look back on a football career that has seen him play for a number of clubs in Donegal and Dublin (where he now lives in Castleknock). "In 1976 I was transferred by the bank to Dublin and I became involved with the Civil Service club with whom I stayed for two and a half years. Then I was transferred back to Donegal where I started playing with Letterkenny's St. Eunans. We won everything, the Shield competition, the league and the championship. It was a great spell for me and the club but a few year later I went back to Dublin again where I re-established my links with Civil Service, with whom I have been ever since." At forty two, Noel is as enthusiastic as ever about his football and he eagerly looks forward to every game, although he admits the day could be fast approaching when he may have to hang up his boots and his gloves. "I picked up a calf injury recently that forced me to miss the first club game for a couple of years but I think I am getting to the stage now where my career is starting to wind down. I suppose as a goalkeeper I could go on another while but with the job, family and so on, it is getting harder to get the time and you have to think of the young lads coming up and giving them a chance. But I will stay involved, keep training with them and if they need me I will step in. I will keep on helping Civil Service in whatever way I can." Apart from a short spell at underage level McCole has spent all his career as a goalkeeper. It was a position he instinctively took to - and excelled in. His early performances for the club colours attracted the attentions of the county selectors and he made his way onto the Donegal minor and under 21 teams before progressing into the senior ranks, acting as reserve goalkeeper until fate launched him into his Ulster final debut. As it turned out '74 was not the only chance for Noel to fulfil his cherished ambition of playing in an All-Ireland final. In 1983 the Donegal man once again emerged as provincial champions, beating Cavan 1-14 to 1-11 in the Ulster final. "After '74 Donegal football was in the doldrums for a few years, we had very little success to boast about but we came back well in '83. We defeated Cavan before going on to play Galway again in the All-Ireland semi final. Unfortunately Galway seemed to be our bogey team and they beat us that day by a point. I remember Val Daly got a goal in that match when he kicked the ball over his shoulder. I didn't see it until very late. I got a finger to it but it still ended up in the back of the net. It was a real body blow for us to lose that game, we just didn't do ourselves justice. Switches were needed and if they had taken place we could have won it." Despite the defeat, Noel was given a special award by the Donegal County Board. As it turned out this was to be Noel McCole's last appearance in an All-Ireland semi final. He continued to hold the goalkeepers position for Donegal for another three years, playing his last game for the county in a challenge game against Meath in '86. "We faced Meath shortly before we were due to play a championship match against Armagh. I was injured a week before we played Armagh but I had proved my fitness before the match started and I was told by a selector that I would be in the team, but when it was announced I wasn't on it. I was very disappointed because I was looking forward to playing. I travelled as a sub despite everything but I think that hastened my departure from the inter county scene. The game against Meath was my last one for the county, even though I didn't know it at the time." As a top class inter county goalkeeper, Noel knows what it takes to survive in the no 1 shirt. "It's important not to have a rush of blood to the head. In a tense situation you must keep calm and keep your wits about you. I was never a flashy goalkeeper but I would like to think I was steady and reliable and I worked hard. I was raw when I started out but I received great help from a number of people including Charlie Campbell, who was a well known goalkeeper for Dungloe and Donegal. He showed me some good tips. I also received good advice from Jimmy O'Donnell of Dunloe, he had a big say in getting me into the county set up. John Hannigan from Letterkenny has also helped to improve my game and Danny Harkin from Convoy gave me the opportunity to get into the Donegal minor team when he was in charge." Noel was among the heroes of Donegal supporters that cheered their heroes to an All-Ireland success in '92 and there was nobody as overjoyed as the Dungloe native when Anthony Molloy raised Sam into the Croke Park air. "I was as excited as anybody else when they won that day because I knew many of the players. They were starting out in the Donegal panel when I was coming towards the end of my career. It was a tremendous victory." Even after years of diving at the feet of in-rushing forwards,Noel suffered relatively few major injuries. "I had no major injuries thankfully. I dislocated a shoulder twice and I was told I wouldn't play for a year the first time, but about five weeks later I was back playing. I didn't want to be out of football for too long. I dislocated it again in '85. I fell carrying the ball but my elbow jumped out and I spent a tortuous night in hospital. It was after a Louth division two game. Apart from those knocks I broke the odd finger which is par for the course." Noel, however is not the only sporting star in the McCole household. His wife Helen has played international handball for Northern Ireland and her brother Dan Connolly played senior football for Down. Helen and Noel have four sons, Mark, David, John and Brian. Reflecting on his career in football. Noel McCole has many bright memories to look back on. "I have had a great career in football, I have been all over Ireland travelling with the club and county and I have been to places as far away as Scotland, England, United States and Australia. I went to the States in '74 with Donegal and in '91 we went on a round the world trip with Civil Service so we have had some great times. I can't really complain but if there was one highlight that stands out it was that victory in 1974. Winning the Ulster title that year carried us away on a crest of a wave. When I think of all the great Donegal players of the past who never got any reward and there I was at the end of my first championship game with an Ulster medal. I will never forget that day." Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 4th March 1994 Tweet

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