Ulster Football Championship: Fury in Armagh as Donegal demolish Down

Donegal's superb display against Down was a credit to the sport of gaelic football

As we sat down for our pre-match ham sandwich and glass of lemonade in a balmy Clones, all the talk was of fury and the weekend's big fight.

Unfortunately, the fight in question had been at the Armagh Athletic Grounds and not the Manchester Arena as the Under-20 gaelic footballers of Tyrone and Armagh put on a display of aggression singularly lacking from Tyson Fury's farcical contest with Sefer Seferi 24 hours later.

In truth, the latest wobbly and grainy mobile phone images detailing GAA disgrace were a hard watch and listen.

The sound of a young female voice shrieking in horror at what she was seeing was extremely disturbing.

Such was her distress, it was hard to make out most of what she saying but she appeared to be appealing to perhaps a brother or a boyfriend to "get off....stay off" the pitch.

With the footage shot vertically by this particular director and the focus very much on the nonsense unfolding on the field, it was difficult to get a sense of the crowd's make up but doubtless, there were many young impressionable children present.

How did parents explain brawl scenes?

I wouldn't have envied the task parents had on the car journey home in attempting to explain what those young eyes had witnessed.

Do we deem these outbreaks of violence as just an inevitable, albeit unsavoury, part of gaelic football, which we have to accept as part of the tapestry of the sport?

In that case, a very serious tragedy is likely to occur before too long when one of those incredibly strong and toned young men delivers a fatal blow on an opponent in the white heat of one of those awful melees.

Managers, coaches and mentors...please act before it is too late.

What action the Ulster Council's Competitions Control Committee takes in response to this incident is of less importance.

When or if they clamp down on players or the two counties, the story will morph into the usual "ah the scenes weren't that bad" or perhaps the dreaded lawyers will be pulled in to attempt to drive their usual coach and horses through the GAA's rule book.

Those cynical responses are doing this wonderful and admirable sport no favours. This has gone beyond serious.

Patrick McBrearty and Jamie Brennan both excelled in Donegal's full-forward line alongside Michael Murphy

Murphy and McBrearty hitting form

This article was supposed to be about Sunday's second Ulster Football semi-final and to be fair, Donegal's superb display certainly warrants a few comments.

The obvious plus for Declan Bonner is the rude footballing health of his key forwards Michael Murphy and Patrick McBrearty while they also received great support from the other member of the full-forward trio Jamie Brennan, who helped himself to a 1-3 tally.

After misfiring in a couple of games when he returned to action midway through the Spring, Murphy now appears at the absolute top of his game while McBrearty has also hit his stride again after a relatively quiet opening Ulster outing against Cavan.

Ryan McHugh's all-action display at Clones was arguably just as encouraging for Donegal's summer prospects while Frank McGlynn's performance suggests that those who believed his best days were behind him may have to rethink that view.

Neil McGee's silly sending off was the only negative from Donegal's day but in a roundabout way that could ultimately work to Donegal's advantage as they finally have to look seriously at other options to replace the long-serving number three.

Not wanting to tell Declan Bonner how to do his job, but I wonder whether Paul Brennan might be a full-back option after impressing in the half-back line in all three games so far this summer?

Bonner will recognise that a well-drilled Fermanagh will provide a much sterner test than the dismal challenge provided by Down.

Gallagher knows these Donegal players better than anyone and he will deliver a mini-dossier on every member of the opposition to his Ernemen.

But the glory will surely be Donegal's on 24 June if they can get Murphy, McBrearty and McHugh on the ball again at Clones.