Cassidy absence from reunion avoids further controversy
Six of Jim McGuinness’ 2011 panel have been invited to play in an unofficial game between the college’s winning teams of 2002 and 2004/’05 organised by current Sligo footballer and former student Alan Costello.
Donegal assistant boss Rory Gallagher played on the ‘02 college side but it’s not certain whether he was asked as well. It had been rumoured at least one of the Donegal players was anxious about the prospect of Cassidy attending the event after he was ousted from the panel by McGuinness for disclosures about the team’s preparations in a recently-published book.
However, a source close to the All Star wing-back rubbished those suggestions and said Cassidy has been in touch with some of the players since the controversy. Neither Cassidy nor his Gweedore club-mate Eamonn McGee are expected to attend the reunion, although McGee’s brother Neil and Christy Toye from the north-west Donegal club are set to make the trip. In a tweet to Costello earlier this month, Cassidy had expressed his hope to play in the game.
Along with Kevin Cassidy, the McGee brothers and Toye, goalkeeper Paul Durcan and All Star centre-back Karl Lacey are two other players from the 2011 Donegal panel who have featured on the college’s Sigerson Cup-winning teams.
Earlier this month, players were directed by McGuinness not to attend the launch of the book, This Is Our Year, which Cassidy contributed to.
Cassidy and his wife Sarah are not travelling on the team holiday to Florida next week, with suggestions that decision was taken by management.
Donegal’s 1992 All-Ireland winner Manus Boyle has come out in favour of Cassidy, suggesting the punishment dolled out by McGuinness was an over-reaction.
“I think Kevin Cassidy was very harshly treated,” said Boyle.
“The whole thing could have been handled better by the management.”
Boyle added: “I can see Jim’s need to create some discipline within the panel but Kevin is an honest lad and having read the book I don’t think there’s an awful lot he said that we didn’t already know.
“Maybe it’s an embarrassment to the management that Kevin has merely confirmed some of the things we always thought.
“I don’t see the need to make them put their signature to an agreement or hand their phones over to the manager three hours before an All-Ireland semi-final.
“This whole affair is no good for anyone and I’m sure Kevin still has friends on the panel that will wonder, after putting in huge commitment, is this the way they will be treated if they give their opinion? Hindsight is a great thing but if Jim wasn’t happy with what Kevin did, maybe it might have been better to keep it quiet and just omit him from the Dr McKenna Cup panel and have a word with him in private.
“We had a great year and yet this is how it is ending. In Donegal we have a habit of shooting ourselves in the foot and washing our dirty linen in public.”
Meanwhile, Tyrone County Board’s Competitions Control Committee (CCC) are expected to conclude the investigations into the ugly scenes which marred this month’s Division One league final on Friday.
The CCC members will meet for a third time after having viewed video footage of disturbances at the title decider between Carrickmore and Dromore, which erupted into violence both on and off the field, with fighting breaking out among spectators in the stand at Dunmoyle.
After studying referee Cathal O’Hagan’s report and watching the county board’s official DVD of the match at an initial meeting, they summoned members of both clubs to appear before them earlier this week.
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