By Shaun Casey

THROUGHOUT the entire history of the GAA, only two seasons have started like this one for Donegal. 2013 and 2020. They both had the same pressures, and same privilege on the line as 2026 does.

In those seasons, Donegal started the year aiming to win three Ulster Championship titles in a row. It’s never been done before. Two in a row hadn’t even been achieved until Jim McGuinness led his county to back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012.

Now, in his third season, and second stint, in charge of Donegal, McGuinness is back with the same objective. Hugh McFadden was there in 2020 when Cavan shocked the country in halting Donegal’s drive for a historic three on the bounce.

It’s never been done before, and McFadden would love to help his county do it, but they can’t look that far ahead. They only have eyes for Down at the minute, and that focus won’t waver, despite the massive prize dangling in front of them.

“It’s just Groundhog Day,” said the towering midfielder ahead of the Ulster Championship. “It’s back to the same, every season, you try to go through the same processes. You have the pre-season in the McKenna Cup and then you try to tick the boxes in the league.

“You go at the Ulster Championship hammer and tongs and we’re going to do the same this year. It’s where we start and it’s an incredibly important competition to us in Donegal and we want to go at it with the best of our ability.

“Donegal have never won three-in-a-row and obviously we came up short in 2020, we were very disappointing against Cavan but in the same circumstances, that’s not something we can think about.

“It’s something that you might like to talk about in years ahead but at the moment we can only look at Down and take that championship game on the merits of playing against a very good Down team with a great management team.”

It’s champion against champion in the opening round at Letterkenny, as the Division One league winners Donegal take on a Down team fresh from lifting the Division Three league title.

It’s also a repeat of last year’s semi-final on the provincial stage, and reflecting back on that game, McFadden know his team can’t take anything for granted.

“It’s going to be a massive challenge,” he added. “Down have done incredibly well again this year and our game against them in the Ulster semi-final last year in Clones was an incredibly competitive game and we were fortunate to come out of it on the right side.

“They’ve only gone from strength to strength, and they have some of the best performers in the country at the moment. We know that we’re going to have to be at the top of our game to come out of their with any sort of result.

“The next four weeks are going to be massive and we’re going to have to be very, very concentrated and focused on our preparation to give ourselves the best chance of putting in a performance against Down.”

There are four potential trophies up for grabs at the start of the season and Donegal have already for their hands on the McKenna Cup and the league title. It’s not the be all and end all, but McFadden was delighted to win at Croke Park against Kerry.

“You start off at the beginning of the year and you’re just taking it one game at a time but the fact that we had an opportunity to win national success was a big achievement for our group.

“We’re happy with how the spring went and we’re looking forward to the summer now. It’s all positive, the league wasn’t the be all and end all but any day you get to play in Croke Park is definitely a privilege and any day you get to win in Croke Park is an added bonus.

“You’re always looking to find a bit of consistency throughout the games and throughout the winter you might earmark one or two things that you’re trying to work on and improve as a team.

“You’re trying to see are those things that we’re trying to do working throughout the games, or if they’re not working, what can we do to change it? That’s what the league gives you and the games back-to-back, that rapid fire test puts you on strenuous conditions.”

The biggest positive of the league was the displays of the younger crew that have emerged in the Donegal ranks. Finnbarr Roarty led the way last season, winning Young Footballer of the Year, and all the others have followed his example.

Max Campbell was outstanding in the league final, holding Seanie O’Shea to a single score while kicking 0-3 himself. The likes of Shea Malone and Conor McCahill have made positive impressions during the earlier months.

McFadden first stepped into the Donegal squad in 2014, a squad that would contest the All-Ireland final later that season. He’s amazed by the maturity and the comfort the youngsters have shown during their first taste of inter-county action.

“I suppose for the league this year for Donegal, one of the big positives are the performances of our young fellas who came into the squad,” the Killybegs clubman continued.

“It’s refreshing and energising to see young boys man to play for the county and mad to put their best foot forward and mad to do well for Donegal and we’re very proud of how they performed.

“They’re going to bring a serious competitiveness to the squad now for the summer and they’ve put their best foot forward. I would say that’s one of the things Jim was very happy about coming out of the National League.

“It’s seriously impressive. When I reflected back on when I was first coming in, these boys are just hitting the ground running and they’re doing very well.

“They have a very good coaching and management team there that is providing them with expertise and advice on how to perform and at the moment, there’s a lot of good teammates there that are getting them through the games.

“They’re good young fellas and the one thing I must commend them on too is that they’re all solid lads. The conversations are good, they’re good fun and good craic and they’re good Donegal fellas.”