Willie Donnellan's highs and lows from Leitrim's 2023 sporting year

We're back to that time of the year where we look back and look forward at the same time and in the Observer sports department, we're no different! Or maybe we know what works as we return with our popular sports review of 2023 over the next few weeks.

Like last year, we've asked some of the county's brightest sports stars to look back over the last 12 months along with some of those journalists on the sports beat around the county.

First up is our Willie Donnellan of this parish and once more I'll guarantee you that you'll enjoy Willie's unique take  on the sporting year. And in this week's paper on pages 45 & 46, we'll hear from Dublin Ladies All-Ireland winner and Ballinamore native Eilish O'Dowd, journalist PJ Leddy, Leitrim Senior men's captain Donal Wrynn and Ireland Schools Club rugby international Gerard Murtagh, giving a unique insight into how the sporting year went for Leitrim in 2023. 

A rough end for Ballianmore but what a magical journey

THE LAST POINT

So enjoy looking back and here's to a spectacular 2024.

WILLIE DONNELLAN - LEITRIM OBSERVER

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR

You have to say Ballinamore Ladies in Croke Park was one of the highlights of the year and their semi-final in Ballinamore was extraordinary. I mean the way the Derry women kicked the game away, the Ballinamores won’t like me saying it but they were just wasting time, up and down, up and down and next thing bang and all hell broke loose. The celebrations were unreal.

Fair play to Eilish O’Dowd on winning the All-Ireland with Dublin Ladies, you have to admire her. It proves that Leitrim players, in the right environment, are capable of playing at the highest level, just like Dearbhaile Beirne winning the League with Peamount or Muireann Devaney winning the Cup with Athlone Town

You can’t forget about Drumkeerin GAA opening their facilities and Aughavas their astro-turf pitch and I was delighted to see Aughavas naming their pitch after James McGovern, a great Aughavas man and a great Leitrim man. He and his brothers pumped a lot of money into  both club and county and you have to be grateful for that.

LOWLIGHT OF THE YEAR 

New York - I’ll never forget it! Pure disaster. Everything went against us - we were told that there were two games before the Leitrim match but somebody drove by Gaelic Park at 3pm that day and there were no games. The cold that night was unnatural - I’ve been out at a lot of games in my time but the cold was shocking, it’d go through you. I mean we were playing at 11 pm Irish time at night and by the time it was over, it was 1 am Irish time, it was just unbelievable. I felt sorry for the crowd of people who travelled over and to see what went on then. We kicked the game away, we had several chances of winning it but we just couldn’t put them away. But  then, Leitrim people are Leitrim people - they gave out for a while and were in bad humour but the next day, they accepted it and that was it, get on with it, move on.

PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

You have to mention Muireann Devaney, she had a great year with both her club and Athlone Town. Nationally, you can’t go by Katie Taylor, the drubbing she gave Chantelle Cameron in Dublin, nobody expected that - she was going in as a complete underdog. I watched that fight and she fairly tore into it. In Gaelic football, David Clifford is a genius but the three Dubs winning nine All-Ireland, they are powerful men and it’ll never be heard of again, never, in any county. Limerick have only four yet, there’ll be big changes in the next five years and there’ll be somebody out to catch them.

TEAM OF THE YEAR

I’d give this jointly to Ballinamore Ladies and Annaduff men who both won big finals after a few years of disappointments! I was delighted for our good friends across the bridge in Roscommon when they beat Mayo and I was disappointed they didn’t go the whole way to Sam Maguire! 

PERSON OR EVENT THAT MADE YOU GO WOW IN 2023

That last fight of Katie Taylor’s has got to be there. Locally, that’s a tough one to pick out but I’ll go with the roar that went up when Aoibheann Flynn scored her goal for Ballinamore Ladies against Steelstown in the All-Ireland Semi-Final - bedlam! The celebrations and excitement after that game and their Connacht Final were something else. 

ONE THING I’D DO TO MAKE SPORT BETTER IN 2024

I’m going to pick out three things, not one. Firstly, I’d reduce the teams in the Leitrim Men’s Club Championships for a start, there are too many teams and I’d make it harder to win it. Secondly, in Gaelic football, I’d penalise teams for this passing over and back, over and back - I don’t agree with that style of play. And finally, I’d love to see a new pitch and floodlights in Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada.

Croker memories yet to be made

THE LAST POINT

WHAT ARE THE  CHALLENGES FACING LEITRIM SPORT IN 2024?

Emigration is getting serious in every club, not just my own club in Leitrim Gaels - we’re losing four or five lads to Australia after Christmas and there are already three or four gone. Small rural clubs can’t afford that but what do you do? A few lads want to go and travel, you can’t hold them back - championships are held far too late in the year, pure madness playing a County Final in the middle of October and all the good weather in June and July with no big games - pure daft!

ONE TO WATCH IN 2024

I’m going to mention four, not one - Barry McNulty, Ben Guckian, Paul Honeyman & Darren Cox are four excellent footballers and I hope we see them in the Green & Gold next year, playing a big part on the County scene. Also, if he can overcome his injuries after a rough couple of years, I think Ryan O’Rourke will be one to watch. And on the Ladies scene, I’d like to see Roisin McHugh get a run with Leitrim, she is more than good enough to be in there.