Mindset shifts for Leitrim but Donal Casey delighted to be back out on the pitch

Probably one of the most relieved people in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada last Saturday evening was Donal Casey as he returned from a 12 month injury nightmare to excel against Mayo in the Connacht SFC Semi-Final.

Fair to say, it was a tired but very happy Donal who chatted with the Observer after the game as he laughed “It wasn't too bad, was it?” about his comeback after an injury sustained in last year’s Allianz Division 4 Final in Croke Park. All I could do was sit in the gym all day long but physically, I actually felt great out there today. I played a few more minutes than I was kind of intending it, so all happy.”

Apart from injury, the Leitrim Gaels clubman could only look on as his teammates suffered through a rough 2025 and Donal admitted it was difficult watching from the sidelines: “It was very rough. Yeah, very tough to sit there listening to supporters from opposition teams and your own supporters that are talking. 

“But it's all noise - you get used to the noise but just not being able to help the team was the hardest part. Myself, Cillian McGloin, Barry McNulty sitting there and just not being able to do anything was the hardest part about it. So that's why today meant so much that we could go out there and put in a performance for the team, for the supporters more than anything.”

Restoring pride in the jersey was a phrase heard a lot after the 0-20 to 0-13 defeat and it was an approach the full-back endorsed: “Today was to bring a bit of pride back in the jersey and I hope that's as much as we've done, that we can walk off happy that we've done that much.”

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There were also words of praise for the new surface in Pairc Sean: “The pitch is class, the pitch is brilliant. We've been waiting years for it, but it was superb. You wouldn't get a better pitch in Ireland than that pitch. It was excellent, brilliant.”

But probably the most interesting part of the chat with Donal was when the Observer asked if the mindset changes now for the Tailteann Cup after the quality of the performance against Mayo: “You took the words out of my mouth - the mindset completely shifts. Things, supporters were down, now it's on the up. 

“It's completely changed. The Tailteann Cup was our goal at the start of the year, especially with the lads coming back. The timing is perfect, no better time to put in a good performance, go into the Tailteann and get good results out of that.”