Tyrone star Cathal McShane was just a schoolboy when he first encountered Jim McGuinness. His school were preparing for a soccer cup final when the teacher decided to ask Donegal’s All-Ireland winning manager in for a pep talk.
McGuinness, who guided his native county to the Sam Maguire Cup in 2012 and back to the final in 2014, also won three Ulster Championships during his first spell in charge of the Tir Chonaill County.
The Glenties clubman then headed off into the soccer world, experiencing different roles at different clubs including Celtic and across China and America. But he has since returned to Gaelic Football and got Donegal off to a flying start last weekend.
They dismantled the back-to-back Ulster Champions Derry with six-points to spare thanks to four goals from Daire Ó Baoill (2), Jamie Brennan and Oisin Gallen. Donegal now meet Tyrone this Sunday in the Ulster semi-final.
On Sunday, McShane recalled what it was like to sit in on a Jim McGuinness team talk.
“He took us for a talk one day at Holy Cross College about six or seven years ago. He’d be good friends with my old teacher Gerard Boyle, it’s good to have him back in for Donegal,” McShane told the GAA Social podcast after Tyrone beat Cavan after extra time on Sunday.
“We were actually going for a soccer tournament, the Northern Ireland Cup, and I remember him coming into the school to talk to us and prep us for it. He was just giving us words of advice.
“I was a player so we’re talking back about ten years. He was obviously a well-known name at that time and obviously being friends with Gerard Boyle our teacher, it was a nice surprise to get. He was in just giving us words of advice for the game and we went on to win it.”
24 March 2024; Cathal McShane of Tyrone is tackled by Dáire Newcombe of Dublin during the Allianz Football League Division 1 match between Dublin and Tyrone at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
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Semi-final showdown
McShane, who has been troubled by injuries pretty much since winning an All-Star award in 2019, came on as a second half substitute for Ruairi Canavan and was still on the pitch for extra time.
The Owen Roes clubman, who scored a goal after coming in off the bench when Tyrone won the All-Ireland in 2021, wasn’t surprised at Donegal’s victory over Derry having witnessed McGuinness men up close and personal earlier in the year.
The two sides locked horns in the second round of the McKenna Cup back in early January and while McShane didn’t feature in that 0-15 to 1-10 defeat at Healy Park, he saw enough from Donegal to know they mean business.
“I watched the game, and I was very impressed,” added McShane.
Before the game, we’ve played Derry this year and Donegal as well in the McKenna Cup and when you’re looking at Donegal that night, they had serious running coming out of defence at pace.
“They performed well, and you were always thinking that they were going to bring something (against Derry), personally I wasn’t surprised. They done very well and Derry knew straight away they were in a match and that’s the aim every day you go out.
“You want to make sure that the opposition is up against it. Cavan did it well against us and obviously at spells it mightn’t have looked like that when we were six or seven points clear or whatever it was.
20 April 2024; Donegal manager Jim McGuinness during the Ulster GAA Football Senior Championship quarter-final match between Derry and Donegal at Celtic Park in Derry. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
“But they pulled it right back and that’s what teams want to do, stay competitive and see if they can get through.”
It’s a quick turnaround for both Donegal and the Red Hands as they cross paths on Sunday, just one week after their opening round victories, and with Cavan taking Tyrone to extra time, recovery will be key this weekend.
“It’s great to be playing games to be perfectly honest,” continued McShane. “In different years there’s a break and if we had have lost then you maybe have four, five or six weeks without a game.
“So, we’re not going to complain that we have matches coming thick and fast. Obviously you want to make sure that the bodies right and that’s already started so we’ll be doing everything, whether it’s on the field or video work, to make sure we’re in the best place possible for next week.”
