It is rather apt that Oisín 'Farrah' Gallen, from a family of legendary Ballybofey barbers, has looked a cut above for Donegal since establishing himself in the team over the last 12 months.
In many ways, 2023 was the year that things really began to fall into place for the forward in a Donegal jersey.
First drafted into the set-up in 2019 during the McKenna Cup, a string of injury setbacks have curtailed the progress of the Seán MacCumhaills man; while he tasted championship action that summer against Tyrone, it would be a four-year wait for his first start.
Those intervening years saw four quad tears, a hamstring tear, a dislocated shoulder and an elbow injury which has required two operations.
By his own admission – on foot of yet another setback in 2022 – he seriously contemplated a path that didn’t include inter-county football. Was the juice worth the squeeze?
"I thought at that point I was done, I wasn’t for coming back this time," he later said.
Throw the long commute from DCU while completing his four-year BA in Primary School teaching – Gallen lived with Mayo defender Enda Hession for a period of time – and there were fears that the rangy forward who many had heralded as the heir to the Michael Murphy throne in the full-forward line, may never realise his undoubted potential.
But 2023 changed all of that. Having completed his studies, Gallen found employment as a teacher in Bridgend, at the base of the Inishowen peninsula, to bring to an end arduous trips back and forth from the capital.
A stretch of games saw Gallen run amok in the county championship. Seán MacCumhaills exited at the semi-final stage, but their talisman plundered 1-59 over seven matches to finish as top-scorer, 22 points clear of a trio of players who were his closest challengers.
The Gradam Shéamuis Mhic Géidigh award for the player of the championship was nothing short of a formality.
Crucially, it was the year the 23-year-old announced himself at the elite level. In a turbulent year for Donegal and the changing of manager mid-season, he made his mark in the group stages.
A first start against Clare was followed by giving Chrissy McKaigue the runaround (0-03 from play as well as back-to-back marks) in defeat to Derry.
'We'll be looking back at that game and thinking that we should have won it'
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 4, 2023
Oisín Gallen says Donegal were disappointed to fall short against Derry this afternoon #RTEGAA pic.twitter.com/q1m6Bv2ykX
He maintained his scoring form against Monaghan and while the defeat to Tyrone in the preliminary quarter-finals was a lacklustre conclusion for the team, he still finished with 0-05 to his name on his way to an All-Star nomination.
One of the silver linings to a troubled season was the fact Gallen was now the main man up top.
"He had never really had a run in the team," says former player Kevin Cassidy, who witnessed first-hand what Gallen could deliver during last year’s club championship.
Gaoth Dobhair and Seán MacCumhaills crossed paths twice with Cassidy’s side prevailing on both occasions. Yet the standout player on both occasions was Gallen.
In the round one fixture, he kicked nine of the team’s tally of 11 points. When the draw pitted the two sides together again for the right to play in a county final, Gaoth Dobhair’s strategy focused on keeping a tight rein on the free-scoring forward.
Gallen was double-marked – with three in close proximity on occasions – with three-time All-Star Neil McGee among those tasked with keeping Gallen in check. That battle was lost even if Gaoth Dobhair ultimately won the war.
"He doesn't go hiding in games; he’ll look for the ball and shoot from anywhere."
Joel Bradley Walsh hit a second-half point for Sean MacCumhaills, the rest (0-10, 0-4 frees, 0-2 mark) arrived courtesy of Gallen
"He put on a show, kicked left and right," recalls Cassidy. "It’s his temperament. You can try and rough him up, you can try verbals and it doesn’t bother him.
"He doesn’t go hiding in games; he’ll look for the ball and shoot from anywhere. He’s really comfortable at taking on that responsibility, which is great for a young lad."
Gallen as much as anyone is doing his bit to propel the club back into a first county final since 2004, while you have to go back to 1977 for the last time they were the kingpins of Donegal football, with Gallen's family rooted in the club.
Eddie 'Farrah' Gallen, who took over a Ballybofey barber shop in the 1960s that remains in the family's hands, was manager of Sean MacCumhaill's when they claimed a maiden county title in 1959.
The other significant factor from 2023 was the appointment of Jim McGuinness, the 2012 All-Ireland mastermind returning to the hotseat to nurture a new crop of players.
"A little of the unknown, but it’s very exciting," he said last winter when asked about working with the former Celtic coach.
McGuinness has put his trust firmly in a fully fit Gallen with last year’s form carried into this season.
Outstanding against Derry in the shock win over the Ulster champions, he was on song in the provincial final plundering 0-06, the first half at times in Clones appearing to come down to a shootout between Conor Turbitt and himself.
Oisin Gallen with a lovely score for his second from play @officialdonegal #GAANOW pic.twitter.com/VrqFMwzIqJ
— The GAA (@officialgaa) May 12, 2024
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