There were some poignant scenes before Donegal’s Allianz League game against Meath last night.
By Chris McNulty in Ballybofey
Tributes were paid to the four men who lost their lives in a horrific road traffic accident in west Donegal last Sunday night.
Donegal management and players line up for a minutes silence in remembrance of those who lost their lives in last week’s road tragedy before the Division 2 National League game in Ballybofey. Photo Evan Logan
A minutes silence was impeccably observed before the game.
The Meath county secretary, Mairead Delaney, presented four candles to commemorate the lost lives to Donegal’s Central Council delegate Seamus Ó Domhnaill.
Three of the men – John Harley, Daniel Scott and Shaun Harkin – were connected to Ó Domhnaill’s home club, Cloughaneely.
The fourth man, Mícheál Roarty – of the Gaoth Dobhair club – played minor football with Donegal in 2013, when Declan Bonner was a selector.
Before the game, players, management and backroom staff linked arms in front of the stand to remember the four.
The arms of Donegal midfielder Jason McGee were surely linked that little bit tighter.
McGee, from the Cloughaneely club, lost friends and team-mates in the last week, while Michael Langan went to secondary school with John Harley, Daniel Scott and Shaun Harkin.
McGee came on as a substitute in the second half as Donegal won 1-13 to 0-14.
“It has been a tough, tough week for every involved in the group, none more so than Jason,” said Donegal manager Declan Bonner. “It was nice for Jason to come in.”
It was a night when football felt irrelevant following a week when even life itself was shadowed by perspective.
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