'In Donegal we're all the one . . . we're proud to be where we're from' - McFadden

It didn’t take Colm McFadden much convincing to return to his native county and take up a role as a selector Donegal, after all, how could he say no to his brother-in-law Jim McGuinness? 

The St Michael’s man knew, with the former All-Ireland winning coach back in the saddle, something unique was bound to happen. Something which McFadden sensed was too good to turn down. 

There was never a full rationale given by the Donegal boss on the reasoning for his backroom team selection. One might think that the Naomh Conaill clubman borrowed from the Burmese proverb before picking up the phone and calling his brother-in-law to ask him to be his right-hand man; “In times of test, family is best”. 

One of Donegal’s all-time greats, and an All-Ireland winner in 2012, McFadden had been honing his coaching skills in Sligo last year under the management of Armagh legend Tony McEntee, but when McGuinness returned to the manager's role in Donegal late last year, it was an offer the former corner-forward couldn’t turn down. 

His respected status alone seemed an obvious choice for McGuinness. 

“Coming back to Donegal as a coach, I think it just worked out well for me,” said McFadden. “When you stop playing, sometimes you need a break from it all, and when Sligo came calling last year, I felt it was the right time to get involved in some form of coaching. 

“I enjoyed my time working with Tony McEntee, but when Jim asked me to get involved with Donegal, there was no way I was going to say no. It took no convincing to get involved, it’s just brilliant to be a part of it all, and to see Donegal back winning trophies again is brilliant.” 

For McFadden and the rest of the panel, it was an Ulster final day to remember. After extra-time and a penalty shootout, it was Donegal who emerged victorious, winning their 11th Ulster crown in history, while Armagh's Ulster famine which stretches into a 17th year continues.  

“It’s a mighty day for the county, Ulster final day is always a special day, and when you come out the right side of the result it’s just brilliant,” the 2012 All-Star winner said. 

“For the players to come back and respond from the tough season they had last year is great, they’ve really worked hard. We have great characters in that changing room, and to come back the way they did today, as they did against Tyrone when our backs were somewhat against the wall, really showed great character and what we’re made of as a team.” 

The tension in Clones for both sides was palpable. Despite trailing by four points in the second half, McGuinness and his coaching team remained confident with McFadden crediting the squad's attitude of never giving in and fighting right to the end. 

“There were nervous times on the sideline during the match, it really was edge of the seat stuff. When we went four behind, we knew it was going to be tough to get back into the game because I felt a goal would’ve been hard got, so we knew we had to get the scoreline down as soon as we could. 

“To score 20 points in a final is quite extraordinary, but the more the game went on, the stronger the lads looked, and in fairness to Armagh, they never gave up, they lifted their performance in extra-time again and went two points ahead, but for our lads to fight all the way to the end they deserve great credit and fair play to them.” 

McFadden won three Anglo Celt cups during his time as a player before hanging up his boots in 2016. He has had many great days in the green and gold jersey and Sunday’s victory only brought back the special days he shared as a player with his teammates and the people of Donegal. 

“A day like this brings back great memories for me when you see those scenes after the final whistle. In Donegal we’re all the one and we all share the same emotion and that is we’re proud Donegal people,” he said. 

“The crowds on the street today and in the ground were amazing, you get that feeling that you’d love to be a player again and play in that final today.”