Flashback: When Donegal won the 1983 Oscar Traynor Cup

AT THE DONEGAL LEAGUE’S headquarters at Diamond Park in Ballyare, there’s plenty of football memorabilia dotted around the boardroom wall.

Pride of place, though, is a framed photograph of the 1983 Oscar Traynor Cup winning team, who, until last year when the Inishowen League won the competition, were the only side from Donegal to take the trophy back to the county.

Photo caption: The 1983 Donegal Oscar Traynor Cup winning squad. Photo: The Donegal Democrat

This season, the Donegal League and the Inishowen League are in opposite semi-finals with Brian Dorrian’s Donegal side the first in action this weekend when the take on the Clare Junior League at Boora on Sunday.

Manager Richie Kelly would be the man who guided the Donegal League to success in 1982/83.

He had seen the shoots burst through the surface in 1979 when he was in charge of the Donegal Youths, who won the All-Ireland at Butlins following a 4-0 win over Galway at Butlins.

That team included Packie Bonner from Keadue, who would be playing first-team football for Glasgow Celtic within months and his twin brother Denis was to be part of the Galway United team that won the League Cup in 1985.

Con McLaughlin ended up scoring over 100 goals for Finn Harps and Mickey Ferry was part of the Sligo Rovers squad who would go onto win the FAI Cup in 1983.

Kelly took over as manager of the Oscar Traynor Cup side, with Pat McColgan from Lifford as his assistant.

Kelly had been offered the chance to manage Finn Harps but as he was employed as a sports broadcaster with BBC in Derry couldn’t juggle the commitment.

“I decided to get rid of the so-called top junior players of the day and instead based the team on those who had come through the youth set-up,” he said.

Donegal opened the campaign with an impressive 7-2 win in October 1982 over Inishowen but Rathmullan’s Liam McAteer, who scored a hat-trick against the north-western neighbours, was soon on his way to Finn Harps with Milford United’s Eddie McGinley.

Goalkeeper Bosco Gallagher left the set-up to train as a guard in Templemore.

But Donegal regrouped and made the semi-final, where they faced the Sligo-Leitrim League at the Showgrounds in Sligo. Pat Doohan – who would tragically die in a motor accident a year later – had been sent off but the 10 men dug in and Patsy McGlanaghy from Dunkineely Celtic scored the only goal.

The programme from the 1983 Oscar Traynor Cup final, courtesy of Kevin McFadden

The final was at Finn Park on Arpil 18, 1983. Kelly had travelled to Tolka Park to see the Dublin AUL come from 2-0 down to draw 3-3 with the Waterford & District League and win the shoot-out in the other semi-final.

In Ballybofey at the final, it was the AUL who struck the first blow from the penalty spot before Liam McLaughlin of Swilly Rovers headed home an equaliser a minute before half-time from a McGlanaghy corner.

It was the AUL who struck again to make it 2-1 before a second leveller, this time from Fanad United’s John Kelly following an assist from Gerry Coyle from Gweedore Celtic.

There were no more goals and the destination of the trophy was going to be decided in a penalty shoot-out at the Town End.

Goalkeeper Bernard Dowds saw one of the AUL’s efforts hit the post before saving. So Doalty Sweeney – one of five Gweedore Celtic players – sealed the win on a 4-2 scoreline in the shoot-out following the 2-2 draw.

“That team have survived the test of time,” Kelly added. “They were the epitome of what Donegal football was like at the time. It was a vibrant era and we were stuck in the middle of it.”

Team v AUL: Bernard Dowds (Donegal Town); Phil Durning (Swilly Rovers), Hughie Rua Gallagher (Gweedore Celtic), Donnchadh MacNiallais (Gweedore Celtic), Liam Sweeney (Keadue Rovers); Gerry Coyle (Gweedore Celtic), Patsy McGlanaghy (Dunkineely Celtic), Liam McLaughlin (Swilly Rovers); Doalty Sweeney (Gweedore Celtic), John Kelly (Fanad United), Pat Doohan (Gweedore Celtic). Subs: Donal McGee (Gweedore Celtic), Packie Boyle (Keadue Rovers), Declan McAteer (Rathmullan Celtic), Declan Bonner (Leitir United), Lochlainn O’Rourke (St Catherine’s), Owen Harkin (Gweedore Celtic).