My Greatest Game - Declan Bonner recounts Donegal's 1992 All-Ireland triumph

Declan Bonner kicked four points in Donegal's All-Ireland Final win over Dublin in 1992 - including the final score of the match

"To win it for the first time and even though it's nearly 30 years now, the memory will never go away."

Declan Bonner's choice of Donegal's 1992 All-Ireland Final triumph for our 'My Greatest Game' series will not surprise GAA lovers.

But as a native of the county, I can safely say Donegal folk will never tire of looking back on that late September day 28 years ago.

Bonner himself produced the final act of the match he took a pass from James McHugh on Donegal's right flank some 35 metres out from Dublin's goal, cut inside on his favoured left peg and swung over his fourth point of the day.

His immediate clenched fist of triumph directed at the Hogan Stand remains one of GAA's iconic moments.

"It was the culmination of a number of years that group had been together. It was our first time ever (in Donegal) so it was always going to be a fantastic experience," the current Donegal manager told BBC Sport Northern Ireland this week.

Ironically, one of Dublin football's favourite sons had played a role in getting Bonner ready for what surely still remains - with the greatest of respect to Pat Bonner - Donegal's greatest sporting moment with Dr Pat O'Neill helping to diagnose and remedy a persistent groin injury that had nagged the forward since the previous winter.

"I only got back in just ahead of championship after being told to rest for four or five months," recalls the Rosses man.

Martin Shovlin helped Donegal beat National League champions Derry in the Ulster Final but missed out on the All-Ireland decider because of injury

Donegal nearly fell at first hurdle

And it was very nearly a brief summer for Donegal in those pre-back door days as they needed a last-gasp Martin McHugh free to snatch a draw in their Ulster opener against Cavan at Breffni Park before easily winning the replay in Ballybofey.

A late barrage of scores saw them run out 2-17 to 0-7 winners against Fermanagh in the provincial semi-final but Bonner says it was a far from happy dressing-room at Healy Park afterwards even though they had reached a fourth successive Ulster final.

"There was a lot of soul searching. I think it was basically a demand for basically more in terms of training and all-round and we really went at it after that."

The call to arms seemed to have the desired effect in the Ulster Final at Clones four weeks later as despite losing John Cunningham to a red card and influential full-forward Tony Boyle to injury - both before half-time - Donegal overcame National League winners Derry 0-14 to 1-9.

"That win over Derry gave us great belief for the rest of campaign whereas two years previously when we beat Armagh there was great euphoria at winning an Ulster title.

"I felt we were happy with our lot in 1990. We hadn't that belief going into Croke Park to play Meath in the 1990 All-Ireland semi-final.

"There was a bit more resilience in the group in '92. It was great to win Ulster but we were also looking at a great opportunity to get past Mayo and reach an All-Ireland Final."

Scrappy win over Mayo was 'sheer relief'

Not for the first time in the campaign, Donegal misfired for nearly all the Mayo contest and the prospect of the county's four-time All-Ireland semi-final hoodoo being extended seemed a real possibility before the Ulster champions sneaked home 0-13 to 0-9.

"It wasn't pretty but it was sheer relief to get over the line and reach that All-Ireland Final," recalls Bonner.

In many ways, Donegal's semi-final struggles played into their hands going into the decider as Dublin were huge favourites despite their difficulties in overcoming a Clare side that had caused an almighty upset by beating Kerry in the Munster final.

"We really went at it in the five weeks we had before the final. It built a really strong unit and strong belief that we were well capable of beating Dublin," admits Bonner.

"Our preparation went really, really well. There was a real edge to all the sessions because there were guys putting their hand up to get in the team."

Many of the pundits also appeared to have forgotten that Donegal should have beaten the Dubs in the National League quarter-final at Breffni Park five months earlier when two late Vinny Murphy goals saw Paddy Cullen's team edge victory.

After travelling from Donegal on the Saturday morning, the team's pre-match based of Finnstown House on the outskirts of Dublin kept the players away from any pre-match hype or any late requests for tickets.

Bonner says he knew Tommy Carr would be his immediate opponent in the 1992 All-Ireland Final

'No video analysis in those days'

"It was all pretty relaxed there. We could have a bit a bit of a walk around the golf course and there was no real long meeting in relation to video analysis or anything like that that you would have now," recalls Bonner.

"At that stage, it was man on man and I knew I would be playing against the Dublin captain Tommy Carr.

"I knew Tommy wasn't particularly happy playing at four. He would have been more content in the half-back line or further out the field.

"Mick Deegan as well was more of a ball player than a mark marker so we felt we had opportunities if Tony, Manus (Boyle) or myself got the ball.

"We also thought with James (McHugh), Martin (McHugh) and Joyce (McMullan), we had a lot of running power in that half-forward line against a Dublin half-back line in Keith Barr, Eamonn Heery and Paul Curran that liked to attack and that we could hopefully put on the back foot."

There was late drama on the morning of match when Martin Shovlin was ruled out by injury which led to Glencolmcille man John Joe Doherty being drafted into the defence.

"It would have been a very, very tight group and we all felt for Martin. You don't go out and say that you won an All-Ireland for Martin Shovlin but that was part of it," says Bonner.

"John Joe starting at wing half-back was an unusual position for him because he would always have played in the full-back line but he did extremely well while Barry Cunningham coming off the bench also really worked for us."

Manus Boyle produced an epic final display for Donegal as he kicked nine of his side's 18 points

Donegal colours predominated in Croke crowd

As they ran out to the Croke Park pitch at around 3.15pm, the deafening roars and sea of yellow and green round around three quarters of the stadium told Bonner than Donegal folk from all over the globe had seemingly got the bulk of the precious match tickets.

After a nervy start by both sides, Dublin were presented with a glorious chance to strike an early blow when they were awarded an eighth-minute penalty only for Charlie Redmond to blaze wide - in what proved the first of his two All-Ireland Final spot kick misses with Down keeper Neil Collins denying him two years later in the Mourne County's narrow triumph.

"People say if Charlie Redmond had scored the penalty, it could have been a different outcome. Nobody knows. To me it wasn't a penalty anyway and justice was done," says Bonner.

"After that we did lift it and that period before half-time was where we won the match where we kicked six or seven scores to their one or two. It was a purple patch and it put us 0-10 to 0-7 ahead at half-time.

"And we pushed on right through the second half. They got it back to three on a couple of occasions but we weren't in any real danger. They didn't really create any clear cut goal opportunities and Manus Boyle kicked nine points on the biggest stage of all which was phenomenal.

"Dublin were fairly one-dimensional. Any opportunity they had they were getting direct ball into Vinny Murphy.

"While Vinny did win some ball, Matt Gallagher had a tremendous game in terms of curtailing him. Ultimately we knew the ball was going to come into Vinny and we had maybe two or three bodies in that area."

Declan Bonner admits Donegal's celebrations after their 1992 triumph were "relentless"

Donegal partied on for weeks and even months

Donegal's delirium at the final whistle was total as a party started which in truth was to go on for weeks and months in some cases.

One memory that stands out for Bonner from the evening is being handed a mobile phone by then Donegal TD Pat 'the Cope' Gallagher as the squad arrived at their thronged post-match base the Grand Hotel in Malahide and being able to speak to his mother Bridie.

"I think it was the first time I had a mobile phone in my hand. Pat the Cope is a fellow Rosses man and happened to be chatting to my mother."

The team bus was greeted by a crowd of 20,000 when it arrived in Donegal Town at 2am on the Tuesday morning.

"That week after was a complete blur. I don't think I got back to my own bed until the Thursday night. It was pretty relentless stuff."

All those experiences formed a bond in those men which remains to this day - even though life means they don't meet as a group as often as they would like.

"There are always certain guys you will meet regularly. But we had our 25th in 2017 and we had a number of golf days out and we had two nights in Dublin on the weekend of the All-Ireland Final that year.

"We just got back together again as if we had never been apart and it was special."

Precious memories indeed.