Willie Donnellan's sporting highs and lows of 2024

We're back at that time of the year when we delve deep into our memory banks and pick out our highs and lows of the sporting year in Leitrim for 2024. We start with Willie Donnellan, a man who marked 50 years working for the Observer earlier this year so if there is somebody familiar with the highs and the lows, it is certainly our intrepid photographer.

Over the next couple of weeks, we've asked some of the county's brightest sports star and some of our media to review the sporting happenings of the past 12 months and what exactly caught their eye and in a year that included an All-Ireland title for Leitrim Ladies, an Olympic Games, a European Championships in both Soccer and Athletics and so many, many more amazing events, there is a lot to choose from!

But again, first up, it is Willie Donnellan as our man behind the camera tells us what caught his eye in 2024!

HIGHLIGHT

You have to give the highlight of the year to the Leitrim women in Croke Park winning the All-Ireland Intermediate title. That was an amazing day, the crowd that we brought with us and everything, the excitement and the atmosphere. And then, in Carrick that night was unbelievable, in the pouring rain - I’ll never forget it, the march down from Murtagh’s to The Landmark in the teeming rain and both sides of the street were jammed with people the whole way down.

LOWLIGHT

I suppose Leitrim going out of the Tailteann Cup, losing to Wicklow on the day of the election count. I remember breaking off from the election count and going to Longford. I was also a bit disappointed with what happened at the end of the Men’s intermediate final, with all the craic that time. 

THE LAST POINT: CONDUCTOR SETS THE TUNE FOR THE ORCHESTRA

Having three managers for the Leitrim Men’s Senior team, you wonder what was going on there. It didn't look good for the county, it gave an awful bad impression that things weren't going well when they might be.

PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

I’d give it to Ailbhe Clancy for her display in the All-Ireland Final - it is a hard one to pick this year because you could pick any of them, but I thought Ailbhe was outstanding that day. I also have to mention Conor Beirne from Eslin and his displays during the year. Conor Beirne was Conor Beirne - he's a genius. If we only had him for a few years for the county, God only knows how we could have done had we had him playing with Leitrim. Shane Quinn and Tom Prior, when games were on the line for their clubs, they came up big. 

TEAM OF THE YEAR

Leitrim Ladies is an easy choice but I have to mention that I’d be very disappointed with the support they get - they should be getting better support. Of course the Fr Manning Cup Final game was a good game and that Leitrim Schools team at the moment are an excellent team but then look who is over them - Shane Ward. I don't think he got a fair crack of the whip all with Leitrim but he knows his stuff.

EVENT THAT MADE ME GO WOW!

I think when the final whistle went in Croke Park, I'll never forget it. When the women won that All Ireland, the crowd were going mad and I ran on the pitch to get the celebrations - the stewards were trying to shift me off the pitch and I told them, “lads, I said, you can carry me off if you like, but I'm not going anywhere. I might never be in here again with the Leitrim team”. And they left me alone when they said it. I also have to mention the two Leitrim Men's Senior Club Finals - those two finals were two mighty games. 

HERO OF THE YEAR

That’s a hard one, I mean, there were so many but I suppose I’d give it to Rhasidat Adeleke, she was unreal. She was something else.

ONE THING I’D DO TO MAKE SPORT BETTER IN 2025

I suppose the big thing with Gaelic Games is we'll have to see how these new rules pan out - only time will tell. It has become very hard to watch Men’s Gaelic football. In ladies' football, they're up and down the field, they’re like rockets but in the men’s game, it is this shite over and back, and over and back and back to the goalie. Hopefully the new rules will sort that out a bit but I don't know, I have my doubts too.

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FACING LEITRIM SPORT IN 2025?

Well, the big challenge is emigration, it's huge all over the country. Every club is losing people, women and men, so that's going to be a big problem and in a small country like ours, we can't afford that. The two Bruens are an awful loss to the ladies, if they're going to stay in Australia - a shocking loss to the Ladies. But then, as I always say to you, every year our team changes - we never seem to keep the same team together. When you go across the bridge to Roscommon, those boys seem to be always there for their country and they’re getting back fellas this year. 

ONE TO WATCH 2025

I'd be very interested to see how the three boys - Paul Honeyman, Darren Cox and Ben Guckian do. There are three men to watch, I think - we've been raving about them. When you see what Barry McNulty and Jack Foley did this year, it will be exciting to see what the three boys, who we’ve been raving about for years, might do.