FORMER Donegal senior football manager Declan Bonner says he is very surprised that Donegal natives were not chosen on the interim implementation team to run GAA affairs in the county.
The 1992 All-Ireland winner, who led the county to consecutive Ulster titles in 2018 and 2019, added that the county should also now make every effort to find a Donegal man to fill the vacant senior team’s managerial post as quickly as possible.
Bonner believes there is enough local talent in the county, adding that it was very important to get back the players who did not feature this year.
“Do we not have enough people here in Donegal to take care of our matters? And that is no disrespect to the three-man committee that have been called in by Croke Park,” he said.
“Could they not find anyone in Donegal to take on these roles?”
Bonner was speaking ahead of tomorrow’s deadline for applications for a new Donegal senior football manager – amid some fears that it could be another lengthy process.
The three-man interim implementation committee is headed by Dr Billy Bennett, vice-president of academic affairs and registrar at Atlantic Technological University, Letterkenny.
Tyrone natives Roger Keenan and Gerald Bradley will be in charge of coaching and governance and financial support roles, respectively.
Their roles are to implement the review group’s pretty critical report on how the GAA has been run in the county.
The review exposed some major problems in the operation of the GAA in the county, with 14 high-risk findings in general administration including in finance and governance structures.
“There are plenty of people in Donegal that are capable of looking after our own affairs and there is no doubt about that,” said Bonner.
“I know this is a directive from Croke Park and I have not seen this happening in any other county.
“In my opinion, there are plenty of intelligent men in and around Donegal that are involved in GAA in the county and have Donegal at heart and the best for Donegal.
“Those are the people that should be looking after our affairs. I am baffled by it all and the affairs of the GAA in Donegal should be left with the people of Donegal and, as a staunch Donegal man, that is where I stand on it.”
Bonner believes that there are plenty of Donegal people out there who would be willing to get involved.
“The next few weeks and months will be critical in terms of where Donegal is going to go and we have two major issues in the academy and the Donegal senior team manager.”
“Those positions need to be addressed, with the right people involved. The position of commercial director should be a Donegal person as well,” Bonner added.
“The review committee did what they had to do, but Donegal is still a strong GAA county and there are a lot of GAA people out there who want to see things moving in the right direction.
“We have been competitive at senior county level for a long time, and we are a proud county and there are a lot of good people up here that may not be involved yet but that we need to get involved.”
Bringing back Four Masters clubman Lacey is imperative, insists Bonner
“It’s a priority to get Karl Lacey back with the academy.
“I know Karl and I know the work Karl has done and I had him for three years coaching at senior level and the expertise he brings is second to none. He did great work with the academy and brought great professionalism to it.
“The senior team management post is very important and there are a lot of footballers who did not play football this year and they need to be brought back.
“They should be there – the O’Donnell brothers spring to mind – and we were unlucky this year with injuries to Ryan McHugh and Peadar Mogan and Aaron Doherty is also a very good player, and it would be important to get them back.
“We still have the talent, so it is about getting the proper set-up and driving it on and that is the challenge for whoever does come in and we need to give them the backing to drive on.”
Bonner added that he would like to see a Donegal man in charge of the senior county team, and the county should go after the individuals it wants.
“I know there is an interview process, but we need to go after the individuals, whether it’s Jim McGuinness or Karl Lacey, those type of individuals, and let’s sit down and see if we can get them on board.
“Maybe they don’t want it, but we need to sound out the likes of those guys as it is a very important appointment.”
Bonner said there was still great potential in the county: “The players that were there this year were frustrated and you could sense it in the NFL campaign, and they don’t make sacrifices not to succeed.
“They want Donegal to be successful and nobody is hurting more than the players when things are not going well, and it is important that we get out of Division Two next season.
“We need everyone on board and those players that did not feature this season and the right management of course.”
