Today we turn our focus to Donegal in our Love Your County series, the home of Jim McGuinness, Rory Gallagher and one of the biggest Gaeltachts in the land.
Sporting Moment: All-Ireland Glory
Jim McGuiness’ men proved the value of a seriously strong mentality with their fantastic win against Mayo for their first taste of glory since 1992.
McGuinness had ramped up his men for an epic encounter on the biggest day of their lives, and they did more than they was asked of them by their manager with a quick start gave them a lead that Mayo simply couldn’t catch.
McGuinness himself has been on everyone’s radar since, and even got himself a job working with Celtic after his motivational skills became world famous.
It also meant we all got to hear the great tune ‘Jimmy’s winning matches’, which is probably still at number one in the charts up in Donegal.
The Gaeltacht
Donegal’s Gaeltacht is one of the biggest in the country, and with 25% of the overall population of all Gaeltacht areas living in Donegal, it’s a hugely important part of Irish heritage in general, as well as vital for the survival and growth of the Irish language.
A fair few of us might even have been up there to brush up on the aul cúpla focail before the exams. Cá bhfuil mo dheinms dubha agus m’umbro top?
Rory Gallagher
When people think of Donegal and music, a lot of people would go straight for wee Daniel, but one of the most iconic guitarists of all time, Rory Gallagher, hails from Ballyshannon.
He’s sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, and the Rory Gallagher music festival every year is one of the highlights of any music fan’s calendar. In fact, it takes place next month if you fancy hearing a few sweet rock and blues tunes.
