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Donegal GAA thread

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Replying To peiledoir20: "At the game in Muff last night the word was three different individuals had already turned down the S&C role vacated by Antoin." I wonder is that due to the level of commitment involved, the demands that the job would entail, and deciding that it just wouldn't pay well enough. Or is due perhaps to the feeling that they wouldn't have the level of control required under Jim to allow them do the job the way they would want it done. Or is it geography, in that a lot of those with the qualifications for the job are not living within the county? Maybe Flaker could enlighten us, especially with the Barry Solan situation in Mayo, how does that work? SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 960 - 08/09/2026 15:57:10 2693172 Link
Replying To SouthOfTheGap: "I wonder is that due to the level of commitment involved, the demands that the job would entail, and deciding that it just wouldn't pay well enough. Or is due perhaps to the feeling that they wouldn't have the level of control required under Jim to allow them do the job the way they would want it done. Or is it geography, in that a lot of those with the qualifications for the job are not living within the county? Maybe Flaker could enlighten us, especially with the Barry Solan situation in Mayo, how does that work?" I think Jim gets a lot of bad press with regards backroom teams etc, such that he is unwilling to listen to any input from coaches etc. I think this far from accurate, I suspect Jim is open to anything that would bring us over the line, he is the Team manager and has the final say on everything ultimately and sometimes he might feel some suggestions by coaches etc might not work and he has to make the final call. I find that a lot of younger people in their 20s at work struggle if people don't go with their ideas or constructively disagree with them, they take it personally. I suspect an element of this seeps into coaching too. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1951 - 08/09/2026 18:12:37 2693188 Link
St Nauls v Naomh Padraig UC moved to Ballyshannon from Red Hughs. Hardly a neutral venue with travel time to Ballyshannon 1hr30+ from Naomh Padraig. Why not play the game in Killybegs or 4 Masters altogether, be handier for St Nauls! It would be something similar to playing the game in Malin and asking St Nauls to travel further North than Naomh Padraig to play the game. I doubt that would be allowed to stand. dats_rite (Australia) - Posts: 25 - 09/09/2026 09:37:10 2693215 Link
Replying To Commodore: "I think Jim gets a lot of bad press with regards backroom teams etc, such that he is unwilling to listen to any input from coaches etc. I think this far from accurate, I suspect Jim is open to anything that would bring us over the line, he is the Team manager and has the final say on everything ultimately and sometimes he might feel some suggestions by coaches etc might not work and he has to make the final call. I find that a lot of younger people in their 20s at work struggle if people don't go with their ideas or constructively disagree with them, they take it personally. I suspect an element of this seeps into coaching too." I'm not disagreeing regarding to the criticism Jim gets for his backroom teams. Jim obviously places tremendous emphasis on loyalty, and he believes in having the Donegal identity represented. Other counties prefer the outside/celebrity names, and my opinion is to let them at it. But for a position like S&C, are we struggling to recruit the specialists required within the county? SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 960 - 09/09/2026 11:12:39 2693232 Link
Replying To SouthOfTheGap: "I wonder is that due to the level of commitment involved, the demands that the job would entail, and deciding that it just wouldn't pay well enough. Or is due perhaps to the feeling that they wouldn't have the level of control required under Jim to allow them do the job the way they would want it done. Or is it geography, in that a lot of those with the qualifications for the job are not living within the county? Maybe Flaker could enlighten us, especially with the Barry Solan situation in Mayo, how does that work?" Mayo for the most part have always had a very good S and C set up. Andy really pushed this year to make sure everything was geared towards June and July. The freshness in Mayo from quarters on was night and day compared to league and Roscommon game. But Mayo also had a lot of things that came together in a short space of time. Beirne and Kobe came in and were flying at the business end of the championship. Same for McGreal. All these things might not go as smoothly in another year. Mayo were always a match for anyone from 2012- 2018 but they huge issue they had then was 17 or 18 players were travelling twice a week from Dublin to Mayo for training which isn't healthy for the body or the mind. That was one of the first things Andy focused on. Who works in Dublin? Do they have to? McBrien who used to be injured a lot was in beast mode at the business end of the season. Same for Hession. And they are 2 lads who left Dublin to move home this year. TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 8928 - 09/09/2026 11:17:48 2693234 Link
Replying To dats_rite: "St Nauls v Naomh Padraig UC moved to Ballyshannon from Red Hughs. Hardly a neutral venue with travel time to Ballyshannon 1hr30+ from Naomh Padraig. Why not play the game in Killybegs or 4 Masters altogether, be handier for St Nauls! It would be something similar to playing the game in Malin and asking St Nauls to travel further North than Naomh Padraig to play the game. I doubt that would be allowed to stand." Dunno where you're looking, but the the game is showing as Red Hughs on Donegal GAA website (Pairc Aodh Rua). greenfan (Donegal) - Posts: 813 - 09/09/2026 11:26:32 2693237 Link
Replying To TheFlaker: "Mayo for the most part have always had a very good S and C set up. Andy really pushed this year to make sure everything was geared towards June and July. The freshness in Mayo from quarters on was night and day compared to league and Roscommon game. But Mayo also had a lot of things that came together in a short space of time. Beirne and Kobe came in and were flying at the business end of the championship. Same for McGreal. All these things might not go as smoothly in another year. Mayo were always a match for anyone from 2012- 2018 but they huge issue they had then was 17 or 18 players were travelling twice a week from Dublin to Mayo for training which isn't healthy for the body or the mind. That was one of the first things Andy focused on. Who works in Dublin? Do they have to? McBrien who used to be injured a lot was in beast mode at the business end of the season. Same for Hession. And they are 2 lads who left Dublin to move home this year." I suspect it's easier to build a core S&C team at the beginning of a managerial cycle than it is to find suitable replacements in the final year of a managerial cycle. SurelyToGod (Donegal) - Posts: 534 - 09/09/2026 12:31:13 2693261 Link
Replying To greenfan: "Dunno where you're looking, but the the game is showing as Red Hughs on Donegal GAA website (Pairc Aodh Rua)." Two red hughs in the one county does lend to a bit of confusion at times!! WeGoAgain (Donegal) - Posts: 221 - 09/09/2026 13:09:11 2693270 Link