Posted online: Jul 29th, 2009

By Michael McHugh, Editor

All roads lead to Croke Park this Sunday as Donegal attempt to make it to the All-Ireland senior football semi-final, for just the seventh time in their history, as the GAA celebrates its 125th year anniversary.
In a summer that has seen the Donegal lads go from zero to hero, they have proved critics and fair weather supporters wrong, with two excellent displays in recent weeks against Derry and Galway.
Indeed, the team’s performance has been the perfect antidote, to a county beset with spiralling unemployment, political pessimism and not the greatest of weather.
Thousands of fans will make the most of the Bank Holiday weekend, with a late rush for Dublin hotels, B&B’s and long lost city cousins, oblivious – temporarily at least – to the economic recession, that has gripped this nation.
Indeed, such has been the transformation on the playing field that many local shops have also been caught on the hop, with a late deluge of jersey and flags sales.
Much has also been made of the pitch resurfacing of Croker after the recent U2 gigs and the fact that it will be “British soil” that will adorn the Donegal boot cogs at the weekend, but if anything, that should prove an even greater incentive for the green & gold.
Between Donegal and the semi-final are Cork, who just pipped Tirconaill by a single point back in 2006 at the same stage.

(The full report is carried in today’s edition of the Donegal Post)