Eoghan Ban Gallagher is set to start an Ulster Senior Championship game on Sunday for the first time, but the arena will hardly faze the quiet-spoken Killybegs man.
Gallagher was joint captain of the Ulster-winning Donegal U21s this year and has made a place in the senior XV his own during the Allianz League campaign.
Gallagher made substitute appearances last year against Monaghan (twice) and Tyrone in the Ulster SFC, but this weekend he is expected to start as Rory Gallagher’s side face Antrim in Ballybofey.
“I’m looking forward to it very much,” he says.
[adrotate group=”91″]“I’ve been in with the seniors for two years.
“It took me a while to adjust and found training very hard at the start, but lads like Jason McGee and Michael Langan came in this year and made an instant impact.
“I was involved with Declan Bonner since under-16. When we were in the first year at minor we didn’t look at strength and conditioning. Declan was the first manager to bring that in and underage and that’s helped. It’s been massive.”
A son of John Ban Gallagher, an All-Ireland winner at U21 level in 1987 with Donegal, Eoghan played for Donegal in the 2016 Dr McKenna Cup and made his first League appearance in a tempestuous encounter away to Kerry last March.
[adrotate group=”46″]It was a mark of his talents that he was thrown on such a stage.
He speaks with a seasoned tone as Donegal, the overwhelming favourites, line up against the Saffrons.
He says: “We have no reason to look past Antrim. It’ll be a new experience for a lot of players. Antrim will be looking at a lot of new Donegal players. A lot of players might be going in off the cuff and without a lot of experience.”
Listen to the full interview below …
https://soundcloud.com/donegalsportstalk/eoghan-ban-gallagher-ahead-of-donegal-v-antrim
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