ON the morning of October 7th 2023, the Aughadown and surrounding community woke up in shock and disbelief on learning of the devastating loss the previous night of local man Donie Duggan.
Born in 1977, the second child of Martin and Kathleen, Donie grew up on a family farm in Kilkilleen. He attended the local Lisheen National School where he had the unique achievement of an unbroken attendance record over his eight years there. It was here that he first developed his love of sport and football. Lisheen school also provided Donie with his first of many football medals; in sixth class he was part of the team that won the internal club competition for the three local primary schools called the Fr Cahalane Cup. He then went on to attend St Fachtna’s De La Salle Secondary School in Skibbereen, playing on all of the school teams up through the ages including the senior team.
After the Leaving Cert, Donie trained to be a draughtsman at Cork RTC. After qualifying, barring a few brief stints in Cork, Donie spent the majority of his working life in Daly, Barry & Associates in Bantry where he was well liked by his colleagues.
Donie started playing with Ilen Rovers at U12 level in the mid-1980s. So began a long and fruitful career with the club. Although a prolific scoring forward growing up, it was actually playing in goal as a 17-year-old on the U21 team of 1994 that brought him his first silverware with the club when this team won the West Cork B championship. In ’95, it was at full forward on the all-conquering county-winning minor team that his real talents shone – Donie was a leading scorer and talisman, inspiring the team to the club’s first county title and with that began a golden era for Ilen Rovers GAA Club.
The following year he played at full forward on the U21 team that won another West Cork championship and after that he lined out at corner forward on the junior A team that won the club’s first West Cork championship at this level.
Donie was fortunate to be part of the ‘golden generation’ in Ilen Rovers that saw the club transform its fortunes from being an average junior A team to contesting the county senior final against Nemo Rangers in 2007. After many heartbreaks, the county junior title was eventually won in 2001. An intermediate county title was added in 2003 and following this success, the inaugural Munster and All-Ireland Intermediate titles were won. Donie was now an integral part of the team, often lining out at either centre-forward or full-forward.
Ilen now found itself competing at senior level and after a few years finding their feet they eventually managed to qualify for the county final in 2007. A gutsy display by the team which included Donie at corner forward was not enough to prevent a three-point loss to Nemo Rangers. Donie was an ever-present on the first team for the best part of 15 years, apart from 2001 when he took a year out to go travelling in Australia; this turned out to be a worthwhile adventure as it was on his travels he met his future wife, Donna.
Towards the latter end of his career, Donie continued to line out for the club’s second team and eventually the third team. His last success with the club was in 2015 when he had the honour of captaining the junior D team to a league and championship double.
Although a prolific scorer and freetaker at underage level it was his work-rate and unselfish team play that he was best known for at adult level. He was the big-hearted, brave, fearless player, doing the unseen thankless hard graft that allowed others to flourish on the scoresheet. One thing for certain, if the game was tight and you found yourself in the trenches, Donie Duggan would be one of the first men you would choose to have alongside you. His role in Ilen’s 1995 West Cork minor final triumph against St Colum’s highlights this – when Ilen needed a hero, Donie stood up and scored the majority of the team’s tally of 1-8, which saw them win by one point. With this monkey off their back, this team played with great confidence and a new-found resilience in the county championship.
Donie and Donna were married in 2009 and set up home in Kilkilleen, not far from where Donie grew up. They have children, Tara, Conor and Seán, all of whom inherited the love for sport, music and dance. The family have been engrossed in all aspects of community and club life. After his playing career came to an end, Donie continued to immerse himself in club life. He was a prominent member of the club committee and an excellent underage coach.
He was also a great character, too, possessed an impish grin, a roguish sense of wit and an infectious laugh. Donie was one of life’s true gentlemen, a great neighbour and friend but most importantly, a loving husband, father, son, and brother. He will be deeply missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him, especially by his heartbroken family.
The club sends its heartfelt condolences to his wife Donna, children, Tara, Conor and Seán, his mother Kathleen, his brothers, Raymond, Diarmuid, Brendan and Damien, his sister Karen and all the extended family. May he be reunited once more with his late father Martin and may his gentle soul rest in peace.
