Donal Greene
Donal Greene is a promising young footballer who plays
in goal for the Dundalk FC under 18 team.
He featured in the first team panel a number of times last season but on
Thursday night, 8th January 2007, he made his debut in goal with the senior
team, in their pre-season worm-up against Premier title hopefuls Derry City. Dundalk won the game scoring 4 goals to no
reply. Donal played all his Schoolboy
football with Bay F.C. and to mark his first appearance with the Dundalk F.C.
senior team the Bay Website asked him to give us a rundown on his football
career to date. Here’s what he had to
say:
Fun And Enjoyment Comes First
I started
playing football with Bay FC at the tender age of six, under the guidance of
Frank Gaughran, and Mickey Dillon. At
that time we played in the field in Bay Estate before Bay moved to its new
pitches on the Rock Road. I
played on the left side of midfield as a young fellow, and I don’t think I was
much good, but I loved football and had great fun playing with the team. When I was about ten or eleven I tried
playing as a goalkeeper. I loved it
right from the start and even though the team wasn’t very successful, I was
still enjoying it. From then on I stayed
in goals and was playing for the under 12, and under 13 sides when I was still
only eleven.
League Honours
When I was 12 my
managers were Frank Gaughran and Pat Campbell.
They felt I had some potential and I was sent for trials to the Dundalk
Schoolboys League team. I was selected to
play for the League under 12 team, managed by Kevin Cotter. This was the first bit of recognition I got
as a goalkeeper. We only played in a
small tournament in Dublin but it was good to get my first experience
at a higher standard of football. The
year after that (2003) I went to the prestigious Kennedy Cup tournament in Limerick with the League under 13 team managed by
Kevin Cotter and Cronin McCabe. I played
in four out of our six games including the Kennedy Bowl final, which we lost to
South Tipperary in extra time, through a contentious
goal. The following year we went to the
world famous Milk Cup tournament in Derry. Players such
as Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Lee Bowyer have all showcased
their talents at this tournament, so it was a massive opportunity to impress. Unfortunately we left the tournament without
a single win, which was disappointing.
The teams in our group were Paraguay, Ipswich Town, Swindon Town, Co. Derry, and Fermanagh.
One positive aspect of the tournament was that my team mate Conor
McCormack was spotted by Manchester United and has since moved over there on a
four year contract.
Moving On To League Of Ireland
With Dundalk
F.C.
After the Milk
Cup I took up an invitation to join the Dundalk FC under 18 team and play in
the DDSL super league. Shortly after
that I was invited to train with the Dundalk first team by the then manager, Jim Gannon. When Jim left Dundalk to become manager of Stockport County, a team he had spent ten year playing for,
he had the kindness to invite myself and another Dundalk player, Tiernan Mulvenna over to Stockport for a four-day trial. This was a fantastic experience and I still
harbour an ambition to go back there, after my Leaving Cert, to try to make it
in professional football.
Premiership Trials
The summer of
2006 was pivotal in my development as a footballer. Not only did I establish myself as Dundalk under 18 and reserve goalkeeper, as well
as being involved with the first team squad on several occasions, I was also
invited for a week long trial with Premiership newcomers Reading FC. During my time there I trained with the first
team goalkeepers, Graham Stack, and Adam Federici, and I also got talking to
Irish strike duo Kevin Doyle, and Shane Long.
While at Reading I was involved in two friendly matches against
Conference teams Aldershot and Arsenal. Both games ending in two all draws.
Pulling On The Green Jersey
I was only home
from Reading when I was straight on a plane to play
with the Republic of Ireland under 17 team in an international tournament
in Hungary. I started in
two of our three games in Hungary, against Poland, and Slovakia, we also played Serbia.
Feet On The Ground – Education First
Things have
quietened down since the summer and I have just returned to pre-season training
with the Dundalk first team, however my chief worry at the
moment is my Leaving Cert exams in June. After I complete that I will continue
to pursue a career in professional football safe in the knowledge that I have
my leaving cert to fall back on if all does not go to plan.
Thanks for the Help
The biggest
influences on my football career so far include the people at Bay FC who
continue to do fantastic work in the area. People like Frank Gaughran, Mickey
Dillon, Tony Griffin, and Pat Campbell all deserve tremendous recognition for
their efforts. The fantastic coaches at
Dundalk FC like Tommy Connolly, John Whyte, Stephen Carragher, John Gill, Gerry
Scully and Collie O’Neill have also influenced my career. Other influences include Jim Gannon, who
introduced me to senior football, Gary Lester, and Dermot O’Neill, Dundalk goalkeeping coaches, and last but not
least, Dundalk first team goalkeeper Chris Bennion who
has been there to guide me throughout the last two seasons and hopefully will
continue to do so.
Donal Greene
Feb 2007
