It may be two years since Donegal last lifted Sam Maguire, but Jimmy's Winning Matches is still the anthem of the county's GAA fans. Seamus McKinney caught up with singers Rory Gallagher and 'Senegal Jimmy' as All-Ireland final fever builds again
A S the referee blew the final whistle on Sunday to send Donegal into another All-Ire-land final, the strains of Jimmy's Winning Matches once again started to ripple around Croke Park.
At the same time, Rory Gallagher began an impromptu version of the song that has made him famous in the Lanzarote bar he now owns with his Scottish wife.
He was joined on stage in 'The Island' pub by his equally famous singing partner 'Senegal Jimmy', as hundreds of Donegal holiday makers danced with joy.
In 2012 reggae song Jimmy's Winning Matches became the unexpected Donegal GAA anthem, capturing the imagination of fans around the world.
When Michael Murphy lifted the Sam Maguire Cup, the Donegal faithful in Croke Park started into a verse of the song in tribute to team manager Jim McGuinness.
And two years on, things are no different.
A native of Kilcar, Gallagher is a former front man with Donegal rock band The Revs.
He moved to Lanzarote in 2006 as musician in residence at a local bar and life continued quietly until Donegal and 'Jimmy's' 2012 success.
"The last two years have been unbelievable for both me and [Senegal] Jimmy. I had a few tours in Ireland after the song became famous," he said.
"Over here (in Lanzarote), we opened a bar, me and my wife Cara, and it just took off.
"We actually had to move to a bigger bar, The Island, to cope with the numbers."
On the music front, the Donegal man has released new songs on iTunes, one of them - The Ballad of Mad Dog Coll, about a Gweedore-born 1930s New York gangster - topping the Irish iTunes chart.
But it's still Jimmy's Winning Matches that he's most famous for.
The song also made his friend Jimmy - who is from Senegal but sells watches in Lanzarote - a minor celebrity.
So popular did he become that a campaign was started to bring Senegal Jimmy to Ireland in the aftermath of Donegal's 2012 success.
The trip to Donegal failed to materialise and Jimmy stayed in Lanzarote with his young son - or "wee Senegal Jimmy", as Rory describes him.
"Jimmy's still here and hasn't managed to get over to Ireland yet but he does realise how famous he is in Donegal; he loves it. Every night he makes the grand entrance into the bar, coming down the stairs and giving high fives to everyone around him," he said.
The Kilcar man is still undecided about what he will do with his song in the run-in to the All-Ireland.
"I wouldn't change it; it doesn't
need it. Mind, when Mark McHugh ('He's got McHugh, he's got McBrearty, he's got Lacey man") left the panel, I panicked but then his brother, Ryan McHugh, came in so it was okay," he said.
"I might just freshen it up next week on YouTube, maybe add a verse but I won't change it."
In the meantime, Gallagher has penned a poem about the Donegal manager and how he has proved his critics wrong:
'Panic in the Cusack, horror on the pitch.
'Jim McGuinness is a genius - isn't karma just a bitch?
'This deep-thinking man from Glenties who had to fight the doubts alone
'Has proved to the people of Ireland what us Donegallians have always known
'That Jimmy's winning matches 'Jimmy's winning games 'Jimmy's bringing Sam back to Donegal again.'
While he doesn't believe he'll get over to the final on September 21 himself, Gallagher has promised any Donegal holiday makers in Lanzarote a day to join him in his pub if Jimmy McGuinness keeps winning matches.
* ISLAND LIFE: Senegal Jimmy and Rory Gallagher at The Island bar in Lanzarote. Top left, Gallagher, in creative mode, whose song Jimmy's Winning Matches, became a hit with Donegal fans two years ago when his native county last lifted the Sam Maguire. Below, Donegal manager Jim McGuinness celebrates his team's win over Monaghan in the Ulster Senior Championship final at Clones in July