Donegal's Hugh McFadden pictured at the national launch of the All Ireland Senior Football Championships.
By Cian O’Connell
With five Ulster titles earned since 2011 these are truly splendid times for Donegal football.
Hugh McFadden, though, stresses that many valuable lessons were learned during crushing defeats in the same period.
Those defeats ensured huge satisfaction followed Donegal’s provincial triumphs in 2018 and 2019. “I've said it and it might sound generic, but any time you win an Ulster Championship it is a special moment,” McFadden acknowledges.
“Up until 2011 we had only done it five times in the history of Donegal, to have it five times done since 2011 is a spectacular feat for the older people in our squad.
“I suppose looking back on last year we came into the Super 8s as Ulster champions and we would be disappointed that we didn't put in enough performances to get out of the group. This year going into the Quarter-Final series we will be trying to move on a bit.”
St Tiernach’s Park has provided the backdrop for Donegal celebrations with McFadden adamant that the panel is remaining firmly focused on making an impact in the upcoming All Ireland series.
Hugh McFadden in action during Donegal's Ulster SFC Final win over Cavan at St Tiernach's Park.
“When you're a player in the group, you are not really looking at these side stories and you are not probably recognising things,” McFadden says about the success.
“People are calling it a golden era for Donegal football, but we wouldn't get carried away with that kind of thing. We've had a lot of tough days as a group, a lot of boys have lost Ulster finals in '13, '15, and '16.
“Some of us have lost two or three Ulster finals so when you see the celebrations in 2018, in particular, and this year we really rate our Ulster medals. For us any day you are lucky enough to win an Ulster final is very special for the people of Donegal.”
With Paddy McBrearty fully fit and emerging players delivering impressive performances are Donegal better placed than 12 months ago to deliver on the national stage?
“Stories and reports always come out when things are going very positive, everyone is saying how well we are doing at the moment, but we are also missing good players we had last year,” McFadden replies.
“Cian Mulligan, Odhran MacNiallais, Mark McHugh, Anthony Thompson all these boys, who stepped away for the year. They are a miss, but we feel we have improved over the last 12 months and we will be looking to start off with a win at home.”
