It's 10 years to the day that Jim McGuinness brought Sam Maguire back to the Forgotten County with a 2-11 to 0-13 win over Mayo. Donegal's 2nd All Ireland win was certainly memorable and here's 5 things that made their championship run so magical.
1. The Quarter Final Win Against Kerry
For most Donegal people, this is when they truly began to believe that their team was going to win Sam. In their first ever championship clash with the Kingdom, most pundits believed the then 36 time champions would have too much for Jim McGuinness's side. However, the Tir Chonaill men prevailed on a score line of 1-12 to 1-10. Donegal dominated much of the match, only for Kerry to claw their way back.
2. Jimmy's Winning Matches
Carly Rae Jespen's Call Me Maybe would've been the hit of that summer if it wasn't for this masterpiece from Rory Gallagher. Possibly the greatest GAA song of all time, Rory Gallagher's tune about the Glenties man and his team was sung throughout the county that year.
3. The hype within the county
In a usual championship summer, the Donegal flags would be taken down in June or July but not this time. Flags were flying high in September and towns from Bundoran to Buncrana were swathed in green and gold. SAM would appear written on various mountains across the county as Donegal made it to their first All-Ireland final in 20 years.
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4. Martin McHugh becomes emotional as his son wins the All Ireland
The 1992 All Ireland winner was overcome with emotion as his son Mark bridged the 20-year gap. Speaking on RTE afterwards, the proud father admitted he was more nervous that day than before his own All-Ireland final two decades ago and that he'll be known as Mark McHugh's Dad from now on.
5.The brilliance of that team
With the McGee brothers and Paddy McGrath shoring up the defence, Neil Gallagher and Rory Kavanagh dominating the midfield, Colm McFadden and a young Patrick McBrearty chipping over points and the impressive Michael Murphy leading them, they beat all in front of them that summer. McGuinness tweaked his system to be more attacking and viewers were treated to a showcase of talent. In the final, fans witnessed one of the best goals Croke Park has seen to cap off a memorable campaign for Donegal.
Here are some of the photos of that magical day.
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