SHANE O’DONNELL had to see the proof for himself before accepting the return of the man with an idol’s reputation was more than idle speculation.
The St Eunan’s star was preparing for an Ulster Club SFC clash with Errigal Ciarán last winter when claims that Michael Murphy was set to end his inter-county retirement began to emerge through the grapevine.
Having been convinced that it was too good to be true, O’Donnell, 23, was elated to encounter the three-time All-Star forward when he linked back up with the Donegal panel following the conclusion of his club commitments.
He recalled: “There were rumours going about.
“It was a closed camp and I didn’t actually believe it until I’d seen it with my own eyes when I got back there.
“It’s good to have him back. He’s a great man and he’s a great ambassador for Donegal.”
O’Donnell’s first season with Donegal looked set to be icon Murphy’s last as the Glenswilly man stepped away at the end of 2022.
Yet despite the two-year hiatus, he has picked up where he left off.
Murphy, 35, was a key figure as Jim McGuinness’ men retained their Ulster title.
He continued to play a starring role during the All-Ireland group stage and collected the man-of-the-match award after Sunday’s win over Mayo.
O’Donnell said: “When you were in the club championship and he was playing with Glenswilly, they were flying with him there and he was performing well in all those games.
“I kind of had a fair idea that he would’ve settled in well whenever he came back — probably not as well as what he’s doing at the minute.
“He’s performing in all the big games for us and he’s coming away with individual awards as well.
“He’s doing very well and I’m very happy for him. There’s no better man to be getting that recognition. He deserves it.
“He’s a bit of an icon in there for a lot of us because there are a lot of young boys there that wouldn’t have played with him beforehand.
“Thankfully I was there for his last year under Declan Bonner and Stephen Rochford so I was able to work with him for a year.
“But there’s a lot of new faces there that wouldn’t have seen him there before.
“I think a lot of us now just kind of idolise him and look up to him.”
Donegal will be hoping for another Murphy masterpiece on Sunday when they host Louth in Ballybofey for their All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final.
A draw was all they needed against Mayo to finish up in second place in Group 1. But they sealed the win with the last kick of the game and dumped the Connacht men out of the Championship.
The hooter sounded just as match-winner Ciarán Moore collected a Shaun Patton kick-out.
O’Donnell was one of several members of the Donegal set-up on the sideline who urged Moore to end the game by kicking the ball out of play.
Having just been replaced by Eoin McHugh, he was ‘fully aware’ that a draw was worth just as much as a win in the overall standings.
But he explained: “It was probably a different story with the boys on the pitch.
“When you’re caught up in those types of games and those types of moments, you’re not thinking about other things.
“There were a lot of people and it was hard to get messages on board with the noise from the supporters.
“I think we were shouting a few things as well but they didn’t hear us.”
Nevertheless, Donegal bagged their first win over Mayo since the 2012 All-Ireland SFC final.
There was also significance in the fact that it was their first Championship victory over a Division 1 team from outside their own province since 2016.
O’Donnell added: “We always find in the last couple of years that we do well against Ulster teams.
“And maybe when we go outside of it, it’s not the same.
“I suppose for us, we haven’t beaten Mayo in a long time — not that I can think of anyway.
“But it was just nice to get that victory over them in the end.”
Donegal footballer Shane O’Donnell poses for a portrait at the national launch of the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Series at the Croke Park
PRODUCING the type of display that leaves pundits gushing is Galway’s aim against Tipperary — but Fintan Burke admits TV analysis is not his cup of tea.
Looking ahead to the All-Ireland SHC quarter-final, the defender reflected on the ‘frustration’ of his side’s loss to Kilkenny in the Leinster decider.
The St Thomas’ man was also asked if he sat down to watch Cork’s penalty shootout win over Limerick in the Munster decider the previous evening.
Burke laughed: “I’d watch the match but not the analysis.
“I’d leave the analysis and go and have a cup of tea. There’s a lot of talk I wouldn’t agree with at half-time.”
When it comes to the opinions expressed by former players on live broadcasts, ignorance is bliss for Burke.
He explained: “Sometimes it’ll creep into your mind. You could be sitting at half-time for 15 minutes and you’ll be saying, ‘What are they saying about us?’
“If you don’t know what they’re talking about, you don’t know what they’re focusing on.
“Sometimes a lot of what is said at half-time is just to fill in the 15-minute gap.
“A lot of it has no relevance to how the game is going.”
As for the 3-22 to 1-20 defeat to Kilkenny, Burke does not require the input of any analyst to know that Galway’s performance was not up to scratch.
Having fallen 13 points behind by the 57th minute, the Tribe rallied by firing 1-6 without reply.
But a stoppage-time goal from Mossy Keoghan killed off the comeback as the Cats landed their sixth straight provincial title.
Burke reflected: “There’s probably a positive and a negative in that we’ve seen what we can do when we let our hurling do the talking once we get into the flow.
“But we left it too late and Kilkenny deservedly won.
“The most disappointing thing for us is that we didn’t hurl how we wanted to and we didn’t express the brand of hurling we’re trying to express.
“We kind of played it on Kilkenny’s terms.” Following their previous loss to Kilkenny in a Leinster final — in 2023 — Galway rebounded by advancing to an All-Ireland semi-final at Tipp’s expense.
They will hope to repeat the dose at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday.
The return to the hotseat of Micheál Donoghue, the man who steered them to Liam MacCarthy Cup glory in 2017, brought renewed hope to Galway entering this year.
And Burke, now in his sixth season of senior inter-county hurling, is keen to claim some Championship silverware.
But he said: “There’s no panic. There’s frustration and disappointment at our performance.
“But it’s not going to be an overnight thing of Micheál coming in and winning All-Irelands.
“It’s going to take a year or two for lads to kind of knit in, the younger lads to get used to the older lads and vice versa.
“But we still want to be successful at the same time.
“A few of us are pushing on a little bit and you don’t want to be waiting three or four years to be successful.
“It’s kind of about finding the balance in between.”
If Galway are to prevent Tipp from reaching the last four of the All-Ireland race for the first time since 2019, a leading role is likely to be played by Cathal Mannion.
The Ahascragh-Fohenagh marksman has been thriving since undergoing a procedure to address a long-standing Achilles issue last winter.
His fine form continued with an 11-point haul against Kilkenny.
Burke said: “People outside the county probably would’ve forgotten the level of hurler he is.
“In fairness to us in the group, when you see him day in, day out and week in, week out doing it in training, you’re not really surprised, to be honest.
“I’d have him as one of the best to come out of Galway
