Matt Gallagher remembers 1992

Matt Gallagher tackles Damian Cassidy

WHEN Donegal played Mayo in the 1992 semi-final, diminutive full back Matt Gallagher was assigned to mark Ballina’s Liam McHale, a man mountain whose sideline was shooting hoops for Ballina.

It was a match up could have been described as brains against brawn, Gallagher relying on his intelligence and cunning to frustrate McHale’s physical dominance.

Against the odds he managed to best his opponent and Donegal went on to win 0-13 to 0-9. In doing so he serves as inspiration for a Donegal team that, while not small, are not as big as this towering Cork team.

This week Gaelic Life spoke to Gallagher to about that 1992 clash to discover what lessons might be learned ahead of this Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final.

Ronan Scott: Donegal face the biggest game of their season, against a Cork team that have been brilliant this year. How do you deal with going into that pressure situation as a player?
Matt Gallagher: You get very excited. You are at the business end of the Championship which is where every player and team wants to  be. You just have to organise yourself, and focus on what you have to do. It is a huge fixture.
But it is the same for Cork, there is the same build-up for both sides. Both teams want to take it a step further.

The full story is in the current issue of Gaelic Life, published on Thursday August 23. Buy your copy now in your local newsagent, or you can purchase the online version – for only 90p – by clicking here