Mullingar Shamrocks

Founded 1953

Co. Westmeath

Dónal O'Donoghue recalls Westmeath's 2004 Leinster Campaign ...

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'The hype of Páidí meant every footballer in the county wanted to play ...' Dónal O'Donoghue remembers Westmeath's 2004 Leinster campaign and has some very interesting insights on the year and on the Páidí impact.

Dónal O'Donoghue has been one of the great servants of Mullingar Shamrocks with a senior career that began in 2000 and twenty years later is still progressing nicely during which time he has won three Westmeath senior medals with Shamrocks in 2000, 2012 and 2018. Dónal is a one of a small band of Westmeath footballers to have won Leinster minor (2000) and senior (2001) medals. Dónal was selected as the RTE Sunday Game Man of the Match for the first round game against Offaly and the drawn Leinster final against Laois. The action shots that accompany this feature were captured by Daniel Boyce.

My earliest memories of football are of being dropped into the Harbour pitch on a Saturday morning to Mullingar Shamrocks underage training by my mother when she was doing the weekly shop. Sundays, during the summer, involved travelling to Croke Park to generally watch Kildare or Meath play, long drives home on the old N4, being stuck in traffic for hours, and not much talking particularly when Kildare were beaten. I can’t recall going to too many Westmeath matches. My earliest memory was heading to Croke Park on a bus with Mullingar Shamrocks to see the League semi-final against Meath. They were after shocking Derry, the current All -Ireland champions in the quarter-final. Dermot Ryan, Spike and John Conlon were playing I’m nearly sure but Westmeath would lose that day to Meath.

My Westmeath senior career began in 2003, In the championship that year we drew with Meath in Croke Park where a 21-yard free was missed at the death to win. I made my debut in the replay; about 10 to 14 of the panel were injured and I was probably the last able body on the bench. I was brought on after 20 minutes I think and was given the task of marking Graham Geraghty in his prime. We lost the match and crashed out of the championship to Monaghan a week or so later where I played centre-back that day. It was decided during the winter that a new management team was required. There wasn’t too much hype about Westmeath, so when it was announced Páidi Ó Sé was taking the job, we all taught it was just tabloid material. But he was unveiled in the Greville and the profile of Westmeath football went through the roof.

I remember the buzz around the county from the moment Páidí arrived. RTE cameras were there when we went to play challenge matches. The O’Byrne Cup drew huge crowds and we played the final that year against Meath in Cusack Park. I have never seen a bigger crowd in the place before or since then, approx 16-17k people packed it out. We would also have a full time camera crew follow us for the year. They went on to produce “Marooned” the documentary off the back of it.

I hadn’t played much in O’Byrne Cup and actually paid in to Cusack Park for the first 1 or 2 matches. I got a run in the semi-final at wing back for the final 10 minutes and did ok . I started the final against Meath at wing-back and then after 10-15 minutes got switched into fullback. I was generally a centre-back on most teams I played on up till then. I must have played ok that day because Páidí rang me the following evening and asked me how I liked fullback? Being the big fecking egit I was I said “ye I liked it and was willing to play anywhere”. This would haunt me for the next 10 years where managers would keep trying me in there until they saw enough of me being roasted.

2004 was obviously an unbelievable year for me and Westmeath in winning the Leinster Title. I was blessed as the men around me were unbelievably good - We had the most underrated halfback line in the country with unbelievable speed and athleticism. I as the fullback obviously was expected to command the square like a Mick Lyons or Darren Fay but I had Gary Connaughton in goals behind me. He took care of high balls or anyone brave enough to come close to the goals. He would call his name and I'd step aside to see him come take man, ball, and anyone who stepped in his way. He should have got the All-Star that year but duly got his in 2008 . We also had a two-time All-Star beside me in John Keane. This was the time before packing defences became a tactic and more often than not you were left in there man-on-man against a 2-man full forward line.

I was only 21 that year which was great in one way as I didn’t have much nerves playing in those big games, there was no pressure on me to perform at the time. I'd be much more nervous playing for Shamrocks now than I was back then.

I can still remember the training that winter. Tomás O’Flatharta was a no nonsense coach back then who had no time for talking or joking. There were huge numbers training that winter seeking to make the panels - the hype of Páidí meant every footballer in the county wanted to play. We were brought to Sunderland that winter where Mick McCarthy was manager at the time. We had a full-time nutritionist, kit men, training sessions that were meant to start at 7:15 would start before 7 because everyone was so eager to impress and possibly afraid of a bollocking if they were a minute late. A ferocious game of football then was played for an hour A v B with everyone bursting to make the A team. Páidí had to be gone by 8 to get the plane back to Kerry. Tomás took over with the torture of wire to wire sprints across the width of the pitch. The Shanondagh pitch was the worst all about 20 yards wider than Ballinagore. Everything had gone up a level. Páidí had brought that and Tomás instilled it in us that year. A sand track was built in Ballinagore - lads would be ran so hard there were always lads puking each end of it. Páidí did his own video analysis and I think the shed in Ballinagore was converted in to a conference room. This was the dread every Tuesday night being scrutinized by Páidí with a clip of you trailing 5-10 yards behind your man; or if you were lucky like me the odd time, you might be so far off your man that you mightn't be even in the video shot.

We were in Division 1 of the league and after drawing with Cork in the first match, we lost 4 of the next 5 matches and drew with Fermanagh. I had to do exams during this period and probably saved my credibility a bit. I missed the bad defeats to Tyrone and Kerry. We played Mayo in the final match of the league and managed a win that made us safe with only 4 league points.

Championship rolled in and Páidí came alive once championship came around. The energy that he exuded was infectious. He was like a young lad kicking points and you could see that what he wanted to do was to be still playing. The week before a match everyone knew 14 of the 15 players that would be started. We even went to Croke Park for a walk about 2 weeks before the Offaly match and the team were all lined out across Croke Park; I remember, me and Fergal Murray were asked to stand in full back. Fergal Murray was a mainstay on the Westmeath team at this stage for probably 5-6 years and I had admired Fergal the whole way up since the 95 and 99 All-Ireland winning teams.

We sneaked past Offaly with a dubious point scored by Brian Morley. Thank God there was no Hawk Eye back in the day.

Next up was Dublin and the atmosphere was electric, there was a huge crowd, the Leinster Championship was at its peak with Meath, Kildare, Laois, Dublin all after winning championships in the previous years. We were blitzed in the first 10-15 minutes and an almighty hammering looked on the cards, but we settled into game and got to grips with that Dublin team and went on to win by 2 points

Wexford were next up and starred Mattie Forde who went on to win GPA Player of the Year. John Keane however gave an exhibition of man marking that day on Forde and we qualified for the Leinster final, Shane Colleary even managing a goal.

The excitement around the county that summer was unbelievable, but we were kept well shaded from it. I have to say we wanted for nothing that year The county board and supporters club provided for everything. I have been on panels the whole way up where we were scraping for gear. That summer we would arrive back in after training to find more training tops, shorts, clothing in our bags. Even new suits. It really helped us in believing the whole county was supporting us and had faith that we were worth supporting. That year we had training camps in Sunderland FC, Inchydoney Island and numerous weekends away down west close to the sea. These weekends were generally the weekend before each championship match and were great for avoiding the build-up and hype. These were also great bonding sessions and made us into a great unit.

After beating Laois in the replay it was unnatural. I remember looking down on Croke Park and seeing the masses in Maroon and to be involved in that was surreal. Obviously, growing up that's what you saw after All-Ireland finals and you always wanted to see the Westmeath colours flood the Croke Park pitch. Now it had happened.

I was fortunate to arrive into a squad like the 2004 panel, Definitely, the 95 All-Ireland team inspired me greatly as well as the under-21 All-Ireland win in '99. Seeing Micheál Burke and Brian Lambden from Shamrocks capture All-Ireland and provincial honours helped me to believe this was achievable. I was also lucky to be part of another special team in 2000 with Alan Lambden - Brian's brother, where the minor team also won the Leinster title.

2000 was also a great year for Shamrocks and we won the county title that year. I thought that this football was easy and Shamrocks would be winning titles. It didn’t work out so easy and it took us 12 years to win another championship. It really made me appreciate that win

Finally I am very thankful for all the coaches that have trained me throughout the years and all the doors it helped me open. It was a great way for meeting people and I have great friends off the back of it. The wins brought great days and nights and I am very proud to look back and to have been a part of some great teams.

Those wins in the 90’s brought a belief into Westmeath I think and then the Páidí factor propelled us across the line that year.

He always said you have to create your own piece of history- that was one piece of history I was very fortunate to be a part of.

Now that I’m at an age where there is no expectations on me, people are even surprised I can run, playing challenge matches' people are asked if that is the Donoghue lad - is he 50 now or what?

But football has definitely become more enjoyable, not that I don’t take it any less serious but I can see that it's not life and death and that there is life outside of it.

If there is any advice I would give my lads growing up would be to give football or whatever they are interested in 100% effort but to not let it consume you. It is ultimately a sport - the best years I had in football were always the years when training and the social side were in balance. In 2000 with the minor team the craic we had was unparalleled - We went into Croke Park singing like we were off on holidays or to a stag weekend. Anyone seeing our team bus travelling into Croke Park would think we were actually a supporters bus. There was always a house organised for the Sunday following a match - generally Hickey's house in Shandonagh. Team talks in the huddle would revolve around Alan Lamden getting insured on his car if we won or something else inspiring.

Sacrilege

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