Mark Anthony McGinley: Life between the sticks

Shaun Casey catches up with former Donegal goalkeeper Mark Anthony McGinley

Mark Anthony McGinley thought his Donegal days were behind him. He hadn’t pulled on the green and gold jersey since 2019, but then, back in February of this year, Jim McGuinness’s number flashed up on his phone.

There was a bit of a goalkeeping crisis in the Donegal camp. Shaun Patton was still coming back from injury and with the U20 championship kicking into gear, Padraig Mac Giolla Bhride had to throw his lot in with them.

It was only a short-term fix. Just to get them through a rough patch, but McGinley was more than happy to answer the call and do whatever needed to be done for his county. He chuckled at the idea that his county career could stretch another season.

Still togging out for Donegal League Premier side Letterkenny Rovers, McGinley knew he couldn’t give his full commitment to McGuinness’ cause but helped out the best he could.

Man in the middle: All-Ireland final referee Martin McNally

“Shaun was unfortunate, he had an ankle problem from the middle of last season, and it took him a bit longer than expected to get back,” McGinley explained.

“Jim rang me and he asked me to come in. I wasn’t expecting it but I said I’d go in and help out for a couple of weeks, but I have no intentions of going back, it’s a big commitment. It’s one of those things – I’ve been there and done that so I don’t think I’ll be back, but never say never!

He continued: “I was playing soccer for Letterkenny Rovers and we were midseason, so I didn’t want to abandon them because they’d been good to me. I got married and had a wee boy there as well in January, so the commitment thing was a big drawback.

“When I went in, it was only for the two weeks (and one game against Galway), but not that too many people believed me when I said that! But it was genuinely only for the two weeks and Shaun wasn’t too far away at that stage.

“It was nice to see the set-up because Jim had just left when I first came in (2015) and Rory (Gallagher) had taken over. You hear all the stories about Jim, so it was nice to go in and see it and to have the chance to play at that level.”

Balancing soccer and Gaelic Football is nothing new for McGinley. He’s been doing it a lifetime. Coming through the underage ranks at the St Michael’s club, he juggled both sports.

“I juggled them until I was a minor. I remember playing in a Northern Ireland Cup game that went to extra time and we had a league game against Fermanagh that I ended up missing because of the soccer match.

“There were a lot of times where I’d play a soccer game in the morning and then a Gaelic match in the afternoon, but it got to the point where they got too serious basically, so I had to commit to just one.

“I ended up getting a soccer scholarship with UCD and I wasn’t allowed to play Gaelic. I did try but I rolled my ankle in a club league game and UCD found out about it and basically said the Gaelic needed to stop.

“There was a lot of juggling with Dad doing a lot of driving and I’m back now trying to do it again but it’s getting harder. As the body gets older, it takes longer to recover but I always enjoyed playing the two.”

Both codes

But the soccer stuff helped when it came to Gaelic. McGinley always felt in tip-top shape when the two sports were going hand in hand. “I felt that I was a better keeper when I played both, particularly kicking-wise,” he said.

“In Gaelic, you’re trying to pick people out whereas in soccer, it’s probably changed now because more teams are trying to play out from the back, but when I was younger, you were just trying to hit it as far as you could.

“Because I was picking people out in Gaelic, I could do it in the soccer too, so it was a big addition. There are obviously big differences and you’re probably more involved in the game with soccer.

“You can go long periods in a Gaelic match where you’re not involved and that’s where your concentration needs to be better for the times you are involved.

“You can go from not seeing the ball for a while to having four or five actions in a row. They are two different skillsets, but they definitely do complement each other.”

It all started at an underage training session one evening. McGinley decided to jump between the sticks to save his team from getting a hammering and never made it back out.

“I started out the field, I think most goalkeepers start out the field,” he described. “We were training one night, and I was maybe nine or ten years old, and my team was getting well beat in the training.

“I told the ‘keeper to go out, and I went into nets and I made a couple of saves and I’ve been in ever since. It’s hard at underage to get goalkeepers and once I went in and made a couple of saves, they didn’t want to let me out.

“They had to bribe me to keep me in! They used to let me take the penalties at underage and that’s how they got me in nets so that’s been my position since. At underage they used to take me out if we were getting beat and stick me in full forward.”

Trials

Like most soccer players on the island of Ireland, the dream is to get across the water. McGinley was lucky enough to get a few trials, but nothing permanent.

“I was over a few times with Cardiff, Leicester, West Brom. I was over a fair bit when I was younger, but it just didn’t work out, and I ended up coming back and getting a soccer scholarship with UCD.

“Obviously I would have loved to have made it across the way, but I think that 99 percent of young Irish lads would all say the same.”

While he didn’t get to experience the atmosphere at Old Trafford or Anfield, McGinley enjoyed plenty of big days at Clones and Croke Park for the Tir Chonaill County.

McGinley joined up with the Donegal panel in 2015, a season where they reached the Ulster final but suffered a one-point defeat at the hands of Monaghan. He saved a penalty from Sean Quigley on his championship debut the following season and wore the number one jersey in the 2016 Ulster final, but unfortunately the Donegal team returned to the losing changing room after that one as well.

He was still involved during the 2018 season when Declan Bonner’s side got their hands back on the Anglo Celt Cup, and McGinley finally earned a coveted Ulster medal.

“I made my Donegal debut against Dublin at Croke Park in the league so that’s obviously a massive highlight. It was a Saturday night under lights, it was unbelievable.” McGinley reflected.

“We had a couple of Ulster finals so there’s a lot of highlights but a lot of disappointments too. The big one that sticks out is the 2016 Ulster final against Tyrone because we were one up going into injury time and ended up losing by a couple of points.

“That was a massive disappointment but there’s nothing that will beat those days. Going in on the bus and seeing people from your community and people you know, there’s an unbelievable sense of pride with it.

“It’s something that if you could bottle it up and sell it, you’d be a millionaire. It’s honestly one of the best feelings in the world and you definitely miss it when it’s gone.”

Pre-match nerves were never a big issue for McGinley inside the changing room, but he had plenty of superstitions to occupy his mind. Too many to mention.

“In terms of nerves, I was never too bad before games, I would have more been looking forward to the game. I don’t like waiting around, there’s a period between the pre-match and the warmup that I hated because you’re just in limbo waiting.

“Regarding superstitions, I’d need about two hours to go through them all. Keepers are a bit crazy, although I would kind of class myself as one of the sane ones. I don’t know if too many people would agree with me!

“It’s the same seat on the bus, same seat in the changing rooms, putting all my left gear on first, doing the same routine when I come onto the pitch. I put my water bottle and towel in the same side of the goal. My cones and footballs are all on the same side of the goal.

“I think it’s a comfort thing because if I didn’t do it, I’d probably blame it (if we lost). I’ve done it all my life, and I don’t know why. I started doing them and continued to do them and I still do it today.”

The game has fairly changed since then, with the new rules and new championship structure leading to one of the finest All-Ireland series ever in 2026.

From a goalkeeping perspective, that one rule change could be difficult, but for the game, it’s improved things. Mayo’s full court press in the All-Ireland final would have been made redundant if they could ship the ball back to the keeper and create an overlap.

“It’s a completely different game now for goalkeepers. I think the big one is probably the two-point arc and having to kick outside that because there’s not much space to pick the short anymore and if you hit it, you have to be on the money.

“The fact is now that there’s less space and it’s a big punishment if you get it wrong. I probably found the hardest for me is not being able to get the ball back because that would have been one that when we went short, particularly at club level, it would come back to me.

“I found that hard to get used to because you’re nearly looking for it back. Ii’s definitely a different game but it’s probably a more enjoyable game to watch now that it was.”

His days in the Donegal jersey may be behind him, but McGinley still enjoys giving his all to the two sports he fell in love with as a child. And who knows, maybe Jim McGuinness will be dialling his number again in the future.