Donegal's goalkeeping debate: The hard life of an understudy

The role of the goalkeeper in Gaelic football has become so dramatically important to the modern game these days one would think it could have its own soap opera. 

A debate point that has been surging over the last few weeks, ever since Jamie Brennan slammed home Donegal’s fourth goal into the back of the Derry net against the Oak Leaf County three weeks ago when Mickey Harte’s netminder Odhran Lynch was caught off his line on three occasions after venturing out the field.  

The argument still lingers from that day, is the risk of the fly-goalkeeper worth the reward? 

We may have to wait and see on that one, but from a Donegal point of view, more pressing matters surround the role of the goalkeeper for Sunday’s Ulster final clash with Armagh, and the question is simple; who will start the final? 

Shaun Patton was and still is Donegal’s number 1 netminder but was forced off through injury during the Ulster quarter-final which saw him replaced by substitute goalkeeper Gavin Mulreany. 

The St Naul’s man kept his place for the semi-final match against Tyrone, and was superb throughout, and if there is still uncertainty around Patton for Sunday’s clash, no doubt Jim McGuinness will have no issue drafting Mulreany into the starting squad. 

But life as a support act can no doubt take its toll. It’s not a role for the faint-hearted with A strong mindset and thick skin a necessary requirement and former Donegal goalkeeper and 1992 All-Ireland winner Paul Callaghan knows that better than most. 

The Inishowen man played the understudy for legendary Donegal ’keeper Gary Walsh for over half a decade, he can relate to Mulreany more than most.  

“I can look at my time in Gavin’s role when I was behind Gary,” Callaghan explains. “There may have been competition there, but it was more of a support effort from both of us to each other because we spent so much time together. You talk about the Goalkeeper’s Union, that’s what we were, and we still get on so well to this day.  

I don’t think Gary and I ever fell out, we traveled together for years, and we always supported each other. I assume Gavin and Shaun are the same in terms of helping each other out. It’s a better environment to support a player and a teammate you spend so much time with. There can still be a competitive edge there but it’s usually a friendly one. 

“Back in those days when I came onto the panel in 1991, there were no goalkeeping drills, so we did the same running and training as the rest of the team, which wasn’t easy. The only time we would practice was in a training game or if the players were practicing frees.  

“But myself and Gary always tried to get the best out of each other. Yeah, life as the number two goalkeeper isn’t easy because there’s only one position and only one person can play in it, but you have to want what’s best for your team and these lads know that.” 

Callaghan would eventually earn his starting spot in 1997, six years after breaking onto the panel. He would manage a total of three championship games before being plagued by injury and calling it a day in 1999. 

He remains active in the game to this day with Ulster GAA, while also having served as a goalkeeping coach under Brian McEniff, Brian McIver, and Rory Gallagher. 

The Inishowen native knows the struggles of sitting on the sidelines while praising the support he always received from Walsh and drawing parallels to modern-day goalkeeping. 

“Like I don’t know what Gavin’s mindset is but when I first went into the Donegal side, initially, I was just happy to be there, but as you get older and more confident, I was trying to push Gary in the best possible way as I could.   

“However, the thing about Gary was, he was never injured and rarely made a mistake, on top of being a good goalkeeper too, so it was hard for me, but I knew when I eventually got my chance when Gary retired, you have to grasp it with both hands and Gavin did that in his last two games. 

“And it’s not easy doing what Gavin did by coming off the bench in a championship match. It’s actually easier starting a championship game, but Gavin has now played three championship matches and two of them were off the bench. That’s not an easy thing to do. 

“You need extreme focus, I know you should be prepared to come on in every game, but we can see it rarely happens and it can take a while to get used to the speed of the game and what’s happening around you, so fair play to Gavin for embracing that role.” 

When analysing both Donegal goalkeepers, Callaghan can easily see the similarities and quality in their game. 

“I think with Shaun, he has the most accurate and longest kickout in the country, which is incredible really that one man can be a master at both, it’s very unique,” said Callaghan. 

“Gavin has equally such a big boot with great accuracy, I think he prefers to put a bit of height in his kickout which a lot of players seem to like. But I think Jim McGuinness would be equally comfortable with either of them in goals and that showed the last day when Gavin came on. 

“When you look at the quality of both goalkeepers, I try to look at a few things when analysing a good ’keeper; number one: are they safe in goals? Number two: are they consistent? And number three: are they comfortable on the ball? I think we can easily see that in both Shaun and Gavin.”