Rory Gallagher has close family ties to Tyrone, but tomorrow night there will be an even closer Red Hand connection in the Donegal dugout.
Gallagher’s mother, Deirdre, is a native of Ballygawley; Gallagher his a cousin of Eamonn Kavanagh who was on the Finn Harps panel that reached the FAI Cup final in 1999.
Much has been made of the surgery Gallagher has been required to perform on the Donegal squad since he was handed a new, extended tenure in the role in October.
Nine players from the 2016 panel have either retired or opted out for this year.
But Gallagher also had to make changes to his backroom team in the winter.
He has a new goalkeeping coach, with Paul Callaghan, Donegal’s sub ‘keeper from the 1992 All-Ireland final, taking over where James Gallagher left off while Jack Cooney, who had been Gallagher’s number 2 for the previous two seasons, left his role.
Gallagher himself had been something of a surprise appointment by Jim McGuinness in 2011 and Cooney, too, had been an unknown to most Donegal supporters when Gallagher drafted him in from Westmeath.
In the winter, when Gallagher was on the look-out for a team trainer, he went to Tyrone and recruited Richard Thornton, who will be on the opposing end to some former team-mates and colleagues in Ballybofey tomorrow night.
Picture caption: Richard Thornton during his playing days with Tyrone.
“I felt we would have the best management team, if we brought a different variety, and possibly a different way of coaching,” Gallagher said.
“I have been involved with these lads for five of the last six years and have taken an awful lot of training sessions in that time.
“The year that I was out, I did a lot of the training with the Under 21 team, and trained some of them at club level.”
Thornton hails from Coalisland and won an All-Ireland U21 title in 2001 and a National League in 2002.
Last year, he trained the Loup to a Derry SFC final, although they lost heavily to Slaughtneil.
Thornton’s role so far has gone under the radar, even if some Donegal players have regularly name-checked him.
Gallagher took some flak in quarters for going ‘outside’ to get his man – but Thornton came highly recommended.
Gallagher said: “I heard an awful lot about Richie, and I remember him playing at underage level.
“I spoke to a lot of the teams that he was involved with, and he has brought a really fresh way of coaching to both the way we defend and the way we attack.
“Obviously, himself and myself would have to have very similar views and ideas on how a team plays, and on how to take training sessions.”
Donegal and Tyrone go to war in Ballybofey with a place in the League final a real possibility now for both. Last spring, Donegal were beaten well by Dublin in a semi-final, but Gallagher wouldn’t baulk at the prospect of going to Croke Park for a final.
“Yeah, why not,” he said.
“The winners of ourselves and Tyrone will be in a very strong position. Looking at the fixtures for everyone else, Dublin are still in the prime position, but the winner of our game will stand a good chance.
“We haven’t looked that far ahead. Just like we never talked about relegation. But no doubt, we’d love to make a National League Final. It’s still a massive ask with the three games to come. There is no doubt though that would be the ambition.
“I think getting to Croke Park, regardless of who else was there waiting, would be a brilliant experience for everyone. It would be a sign that we are doing a lot of good things over the course of the Spring. But we’re not worrying about that just yet.”
Tags: