After a marathon five days in The Gleneagles Hotel, Killarney, Donegal added two new Irish titles to their recent collection of national victories.
In the over-60’s category, Donegal’s representative, Davy McGurn, came through a field of over fifty players to claim the national title with an assured 6-3 victory over Cork stalwart, Davy Byrne, in the final. Indeed, Davy was also a lynchpin of the over-50’s team and the men’s Intermediate team.
At the other end of the men’s age spectrum, the Donegal under 23 team of Ronan Whyte, Joe Chambers, Sean Devenney, and Daniel McHugh, were in imperious form during the round-robin stages, topping their group of seven teams without much resistance. Things were to get much tougher in the knockout section; a hard-earned 5-3 victory over Dublin in the semi-finals rewarded them with the ultimate test against unbeaten Mayo in the final. The match ebbed and flowed, leading almost inevitably to a final frame decider. Ardara’s Ronan Whyte held his nerve to take out a gutsy finish and spark jubilant celebrations among the players and the large contingent of Donegal spectators.
After leaving home last Tuesday, the Donegal players made the long trek home almost a week later, some jubilant, some disappointed, many tired and jaded, but all proud of having represented their county on the national stage.
