DONEGAL goal-grabber Odhran Mac Niallais had a choice to make a few years back. He had to decide which sporting road he would follow. Would he take the short path down to the nearby golf club or turn the other direction to the football field?
He chose the latter and has no regrets as he has quickly emerged to become one of the key men in Rory Gallagher’s Tir Chonaill side: “During my teenage days I played a lot of golf,” said the Gaoth Dobhair man.
“The club was only two minutes from my home and I went there every chance I got. I was really keen on golf but, as my involvement in football increased, I had to make a choice. It is not possible to combine both, at any high level, so I chose football. I can always return to golf after my football days are over.”
His decision was a good one as he is now, undoubtedly, one of the top performers in Ireland, as he demonstrated last month in Donegal’s games against Fermanagh and Monaghan. In the former clash, when the chips were down, he stood tall and scored two goals against the Erne men. He hit another vital one to help his team draw with Monaghan in the semi-final.
Those moments of magic helped the playmaker win the Quinn Building Products UGAAWA Merit Award for June, ahead of some strong opposition: “That’s a really big honour and I greatly appreciate such a prestigious award,” said the 23-year-old Mac Niallais, who has been on the Donegal senior squad for four years.
“Team awards are great but personal ones are better. There are only a few of them around.”
In his trophy drawer, the Donegal man has three All-Ireland Gaeltacht Football Championship medals, alongside a couple of Ulster SFC medals. He is now looking forward to the provincial final against Tyrone, after overpowering holders Monaghan in the semi replay. The final he describes as “a real tough test”.
“Tyrone have a lot of fresh legs and young blood in their panel and they will be difficult to contain but if we score 2-17 against them, like Cavan did, I’d like to think that we would win the game,” he said.
To win the June Merit award, Odhran had to beat off challenges from Tyrone’s Ronan O’Neill and Monaghan’s Karl O’Connell, with Rosemary Courtney (Monaghan) and Tyrone hurler Lawrence Cunningham also in the mix.
The winner was presented with his Merit Award of an engraved Belleek Living vase, specially designed silver cufflinks by Carlingford Design House, training gear from O’Neill’s International Sportswear and a medical kit bag from 3FiveTwo Communications, on behalf of Kingsbridge Private Hospital.
The presentation was made by Quinn Products sales & marketing director for Ireland Seamus McMahon at a reception in the Donegal County Council Offices in Lifford.
