Donegal team-manager magnanimous in defeat

Donegal fans in a good mood early on in the game. Pics: Michael O’Donnell

In his after match interview the Donegal team-manager, Brian McIver, a Tyrone native, said: “I thought Tyrone’s mobility was going to be a big factor in this game. They were very fast all over the field, and we just couldn’t get a grip on the game at all.’’ McIver refused to place any importance on two crucial penalty decisions in the opening half. In the first instance, referee David Coldrick awarded Donegal a penalty after Colm McFadden had crashed the ball to the Tyrone net. McFadden then missed the resultant spot-kick, making the Donegal supporters wish the match official had turned a blind eye to the initial foul. Having missed a penalty, Donegal then watched Colm McCullagh plant a spot-kick past Paul Durcan – the strike gave Tyrone a four point lead. Tyrone won the penalty after goalkeeper Durcan was adjudged to have thrown the ball to a defender. The Donegal boss refused to quibble with the penalty calls. “If you look at the scoreline, there is no point moaning about decisions that go against you. On the day Tyrone were excellent. “You have to give credit where credit is due. They were flying today, and that’s as good a performance as anybody has put up in a long time. If they can repeat this consistently in their forthcoming championship games, they will be hard to beat,’’ he added.
As regards his own side. McIver believes they had an ’off day’ – and paid the price. “We are a much better side that the performance we produced to-day in Clones. We now have a few weeks to re-group and hopefully we can return for the Qualifiers totally re-focussed and re-energised and get back into the championship race. All is not lost. We have still the talent and ability in this Donegal side to have a vital say in the destination of championship honours this season. We have to believe in our own ability, but there is still a lot of work to do to get the team back on track,’’ he concluded.

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Four Masters G.A.A. Club/Frank Muldoon Memorial Golf Classic
In Association with the Donegal Town Cancer Support Group

Back: Michael Doherty, Benny Byrne, Barry Monaghan, Anne McGroary, Ronan Muldoon, Paul Durcan, Karl Lacey. Front: Kieran Mullin, Breege McNeilis, Paul Timoney, Bridie Carrabin, Kathleen Hanafin, Sean Dunnion.

The 13th annual Four Masters G.A.A. Club/Frank Muldoon Memorial Golf Classic, in association with the Donegal Town Cancer Support Group, took place at Donegal Golf Club on Wednesday last June 20th. It was played in dry weather conditions but the very strong wind on the day made scoring difficult for many teams. However, some great scores were returned with the winning team of Martin Carr, Paddy Carr, Michael Gallagher and Chris Cassidy posting a fine return of 94 points.
Four Masters G.A.A. Club Chairman, Sean Dunnion, welcomed everybody to the presentation of prizes in particular Ronan Muldoon who represented the Muldoon family, Anne McGroary on behalf of the main sponsors, Rooney’s Centra and Breege McNeilis, Kathleen Hanafin and Betty Carrabin representing Donegal Cancer Support Group.
He thanked Donegal Golf Club for their great help in staging the classic, the main sponsor Rooney’s Centra and the sponsors of the 28 teams that participated. He also thanked Kieran Mullin, Joyce McMullin and Paul Timoney for their work in organising the event. Ronan Muldoon spoke on behalf of the Muldoon family and then presented the Frank Muldoon Memorial Cup and medals to the winning team. The full list of winners is as follows:
Winners: Martin Carr, Paddy Carr, Michael Gallagher, Chris Cassidy 94 Pts; 2nd Thomas Carr, Brian Neilan, Eamon Hone, Hugh Cassidy 92 Pts
BOT 3rd Conor Williamson, Denis Kelly, Sean Martin, Hugo Sweeney 92 Pts BOT 4th Paddy Woods, Colm O’Rourke, Damien Wilson, Brendan Gurren 89 Pts
BOT 5th Neil Courtney, Ray Foster, Darren Williamson, Daniel Ward 89 Pts
BOT 6th Eunan Gallagher, Dave McCann, Oliver Plunkett, Declan Gallagher 87 Pts
7th Eddie McGarrigle, Fr. Martin Collum, Laurence Doherty, Seamus Garrity 86 Pts
Ladies: Dorothy Woods, Mary McLaughlin, Mary Gillen, Moragh Canney 77 Pts