Donegal manager Rory Gallagher released a statement on Sunday night regarding what he calls 'inaccuracies' in Jim McGuinness' autobiography 'Until Victory Always'.
Gallagher was part of McGuinness' Donegal backroom team between 2011 and 2013, a period in which the county won two Ulster titles and an All-Ireland.
In particular, Gallagher is perturbed that McGuinness divulged information about the breakup of the Donegal management team in September of 2013 when Gallagher, along with Maxi Curran and Francie Friel, left the set-up.
Following the end of Jim McGuinness' four-year reign in 2014, Fermanagh man Gallagher returned to the county as manager.
Here's Gallagher's full statement.
I have received many requests for my reaction to the description given by Jim McGuinness in his book with regard to my departure from the Donegal Senior Management Team in September 2013.
At this point, I am not interested in commenting on the inaccuracies in the book while involved with the Donegal Senior Team. I am comfortable in the knowledge that Donegal County Board officers are aware of the true circumstances of my departure.
I will say I am disappointed Jim has chosen to comment on the breakup of the management team at this point. The players, management and backroom team had a very clear understanding that what happened within the group remained within the group.
Following my departure I did not comment on the matter as this would have been unfair on the players and the new management team whose focus was on the year ahead. I am really looking forward to the new season working with a brilliant squad of players who have given Donegal so much over the last five years.
The management, players and the County Board will be doing everything in our power to achieve success again for Donegal in 2016.
In the book, McGuinness states that conversations between him and Gallagher became increasingly 'fractious' throughout the 2013 season. The relationship began to erode.
McGuinness was especially annoyed by an interview which Gallagher gave to the Irish News just three days before the quarter-final against Mayo - a game which Donegal lost heavily.
Rory was a very visible and vocal part of the set-up. We ended up hosting a lot of media nights and he was a natural at talking away and giving an interesting perspective without ever saying anything that he shouldn't. So I was stunned when, just before the quarter-final, he gave an interview to the Irish News in which he spoke about Mayo and Monaghan being in 'collusion' to try to beat Donegal. This could only serve to provoke Mayo - and they were still smarting form the previous year's All-Ireland final. He tried to tell me afterwards that the conversation had been off th record. I found that hard to believe, so I spoke to the journalist involved and he refuted the claim. I could figure what Rory's thinking was.
This led to McGuinness deciding that he should have full control of the team. There would be no more 'lengthy debates or joint decisions' between him and his number two.
The new arrangement was relayed to Gallagher in a meeting. Feeling hesitant regarding the adjustment, Gallagher requested time to think about it.
McGuinness, believing that the relationship between him and Gallagher to no longer be workable, contacted county chairman Sean Dunnion to inform that Gallagher, along with Maxi Curran and Francie Friel would be departing the management team.
While McGuinness was preparing a statement about the changes to his team, reports emerged in the media that Gallagher and Curran had quit.
So I rang Sean Dunnion and told him to state what had really happened; to state the facts. I needed them to release a statement confirming that I had made the decision. But by then it was too late. What should have remained a private meeting had degenerated into a public event. By midnight, Rory was still arguing that he had quit and was refusing to concede that he had been let go.
Once allies, McGuinness and Gallagher have not spoken since.
Picture credit: Oliver McVeigh / SPORTSFILE
