TEN YEARS AGO this week, there was a peppering of Donegal men involved with the Limavady College set-up as they won a first ever national title.
In fact, it was to mark the beginning of something of an era as the Derry college, following league success went onto win All-Ireland championship crowns in each of the two following seasons.
In 2006, Jim McGuinness and current St Eunan’s manager David McGinley were in joint-charge as Limavady made their way to face Institute of Technology Tralee at NUI Galway, in the All-Ireland Colleges Division Three final.
Photo: The Limavady College side of 2006 celebrate their victory in the All-Ireland Colleges Division Three final in Galway with managers Jim McGuinness and David McGinley
Naomh Padraig Lifford’s Paul Given was in goal, while St Michael’s Boddy Carey, Downings’ Colin Gallagher, Andrew Doherty from St Eunan’s and Declan McFadden of Cloughaneely were in defence, as was Paul Fisher from Milford – the current strength and conditioning coach for the Donegal senior footballers.
In midfield, there was Ephrim McFadden of Gaeil Fhanáda and Conor Catterson from Lifford.
And the forward line possessed Colm McGonigle, also Fanad; Colm Farrell from Glenswilly, Milford’s Paul Shields and Daragh Gallagher of Naomh Conaill.
Gallagher would finish the year as an Ulster Minor Football Championship winner at Croke Park with Donegal and would also be included in the Ireland Under-17 International Rules panel with clubmate Eoin Waide and Michael Murphy from Glenswilly.
New St Eunan’s manager David McGinley, who will take charge of the Letterkenny club for the first time this term, in his playing days against Crossmaglen Rangers in the 2008 AIB Ulster Club Championship semi-final
McGuinness began his student life having completed his Leaving Cert as a 24-year-old mature student in Letterkenny in 1997 at Tralee and would win two Sigerson Cups with the Kerry side – in 1999 and then in 2001 as captain.
But by 2006 McGuinness the manager was beginning to forge a reputation for himself.
When picked up a dreadful injury in a club fixture in 2004 for Naomh Conaill against Killybegs – torn cruciate ligaments, broken a leg and smashed a kneecap – his inter-county career was over and he would only play occasional club football thereafter.
By his own admission he was “sitting about” and “feeling sorry for himself” in 2005 and was approached by Hughie Molloy – the manager of the Naomh Conaill seniors – to see if he was interested in helping out.
As trainer, McGuinness had his fingerprints all over Naomh Conaill’s first ever RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta Donegal SFC, when they toppled St Eunan’s as 6-1 outsiders following a defensive masterclass in the replayed final that October.
At Limavady, McGuinness and McGinley – who was on county championship winning St Eunan’s teams in 1997, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012 – used to talk football from morning till night and the team’s progress in 2006 brought excitement.
The morning of the final, the panel and management boarded the bus at the college – accompanied by students, including some of the young women who were at the the Hair & Beauty Academy in Limavady – and set off for Galway.
As Gaelic football at the Limavady College was in its infancy, there was an innocence of sorts and the pitch in Galway wasn’t easily found.
But when the match started it was IT Tralee who lost their way as Limavady started excellently and were 1-5 to 1-0 in front at half-time.
“Daragh was beating every team we played, single-handedly almost,” joint-manager McGinley said this week of talisman Daragh Gallagher, who would score 1-5 in all that day.
But at the end of the hour, IT Tralee had forced extra-time with their 2-3 matching Limavady’s 1-6.
“When we went to extra time we were dead on our feet,” McGinley continued. “Sean Brolly, who was with Leeds United for a number of years and had just returned home and started our course that year, kicked a free from the right about 30 yards out and right of centre in extra time to win it for us. It was the only score of extra-time.”
A year later, in 2007, Limavady were collecting silverware again.
The competition this time was their championship and not league as they lifted a first Further Education Football Championship title at the Dub in Belfast on Sigerson weekend with a fine performance from Buncrana corner-forward David Bell, who scored 1-5.
A 1-15 to 1-2 victory over Cavan Institute of Further Education proved the evolution with McGuinness and McGinley still calling the shots from the sideline.
As well as Bell’s excellent performance in the final, Gallagher scored 0-4, Ephrim McFadden knocked over a couple of points and Glenswilly duo Farrell and Caolan Kelly were also on the mark.
Martin McElhinney of St Michael’s was part of the panel, as was his clubmate Brendan Rodden. Shane McGeever of St Eunan’s and Termon’s James Doherty were also on board.
A three-in-a-row was sealed in 2008 after McGuinness had moved on and four years later he would take Sam Maguire to Donegal.
Three weeks’ before the 2012 All-Ireland final, McGuinness, at the last press night which took place in Jackson’s Hotel, spoke fondly about his time at Limavady.
“The best experience I ever had coaching was in Limavady College when there was no Gaelic Football team when I went,” he told a room full of journalists.
“I had to try and get a team together. We won a League in the first year and we won the Championship in the second year.”
With McGinley in sole charge, Christy Connaghan of Termon was man of the match in the 2008 Further Education Football Championship final win, 0-11 to 0-7, over Cavan College at Institute of Technology Carlow.
Michael Boyle, also Termon, was in goal that day and Conor Magee of Cloughaneely was in the full-back line. Bell and Kelly were at centre-field with Connaghan and clubmate James Doherty inside. Daniel Connaghan from Termon was on the bench along with Ryan McFadden of Cloughaneely and St Eunan’s Christopher Gillen.
That, though, was the beginning of the end of that particular chapter. With Limavady College and North West Institute merging in August 2007 to become North West Regional College, much fewer Donegal students now venture onto the Limavady campus.
There was enough in the spillover into 2008 but the well soon went dry.
“As Limavady College, we were a stand-alone college and half of our classes were made up of Donegal students, who either got a bus up and down every day or stayed up in halls or in digs,” McGinley added.
“It was a serious commitment either way. When the merger happened Donegal students were able to come to Derry and did not have to travel onto Limavady.”
McGuinness (pictured above) is now Celtic FC’s first team psychologist and although has experienced some amazing highs since then and works at a professional level, he did recall a story in that 2012 interview about a player – who he has never named – that encapsulated his time at Limavady.
“There was a young lad who had never played the game before,” McGuinness said. “He came on in the final in the second year for five minutes. He won the ball and slipped the ball. A couple of minutes later, he won the ball, slipped the ball and someone kicked it over the bar.
“This lad had never set foot on a pitch before and all of a sudden, at a very small level, he was a part of a winning team. His face and his team-mates faces looking at him was absolutely unbelievable after the game. Things like that are special. That was the best buzz I ever got out of coaching or football.”
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