No word of a lie, Donal Casey’s life has changed utterly in the past 12 months.
A year ago this weekend, the then 23-year-old was in game mode, an interested spectator in the crowd as the Leitrim SFC quarter-finals were playing out.
Nothing really mattered at that time apart from a manic determination to help Leitrim Gaels, who had safely navigated a path to the semi-finals, get their hands on the Fenagh Perpetual Cup for the first time in the club’s history. Life’s most valuable information in that moment was finding out who would be facing Mal Guckian’s side in the last four.
September 2026 is very different now for Casey though.
He did help his club to that coveted silverware, but life isn’t just about football anymore. After what happened in that county final, his outlook changed forever.
And after what’s happened over the last three weeks – where he had a starring role on RTÉ’s megahit The Traitors – life has decided to turn once again.
Back to that 2025 county final though and the victory over Sean O’Heslin’s.
It was a day when dreams should have been realised, but for the young centre half-back, it came so close to complete tragedy.
An accidental collision with a team-mate in the first half resulted in two hairline fractures in his neck as well as a displacement fracture of the vertebrae. He would go on to finish out the game, much to the horror of the specialists he saw in the aftermath.
A human neck is comprised of bones known as cervical vertebra and marked from C1 to C7 – from the closest to the head downwards. C1 and C2 injuries are incredibly dangerous, in particular; Casey’s injuries were in C5, C6 and C7.
Viewed as one of the most promising defenders in the county, with the attitude to match, Casey was tipped to play a major role in a young county taking flight. Instead, his playing days are almost certainly over.
“This is the famous question,” he told RTÉ Sport when asked could he ever see himself pulling on the boots again in the future.
Donal Casey (C) pictured during The Traitors
“I’ve just had so many shocking injuries, injuries where people would always come up and say ‘God, you’re awful unlucky’.
“I just got so many of them, back to back to back, It bled into my own life and I just spent my life recovering from injuries.
“It just became too much and then when you’re out from work for so long, my family just never got to see me, I could never go away anywhere.
“Being dedicated to something 100% whilst not even being able to play was tough. I’m still in mourning, I still can’t go to games, I still can’t be involved because it hurts.
“You still feel like no matter what, you could be able to go out and help out the team. Who knows? For now I want to just let things settle, try and get my life back in order in some way. And please God, that I could be able to come back in some capacity – it doesn’t even have to be playing.”
Casey was still in his teenage years when he was drafted into the county squad by Terry Hyland. Andy Moran was his next manager with Stevie Poacher – currently the longest serving manager in Connacht – in charge when his injury happened.
Moran, of course, has ascended to the very top of the managerial game after ending Mayo’s torturous wait for an All-Ireland title and while the victory was a shock for most outside the county, Casey wasn’t as taken aback.
“It was after our first training session with Andy, I turned around to one of the lads, (Mark) Diffley, he was the captain the last few years, and I said ‘that man is going to lead Mayo to an All-Ireland without a shadow of a doubt’.
“This was his first day with us. It was just written.
“He came in at a rough time in Leitrim, Covid and everything. Andy came in and just gave it this new lease of life.
Donal Casey (R) and Mayo’s Jordan Flynn during a 2020 Connacht SFC clash
“It really opened my eyes. I just couldn’t believe what’s possible and you can see the enthusiasm of him. We’d have training on a Tuesday, he was over in New York on a Thursday, trying to fundraise, and he’s back at training on a Friday morning, and that’s the type of madness.
“He’s just unbelievable, and when it comes to talking about nutrition, psychology, literally everything, he covered everything to the last.
“He was probably a little bit further ahead than Leitrim at the time and it didn’t really align. It didn’t really work out in the end, but what he left behind him was invaluable.”
Casey feels the current side, with the influx of a very talented crop of youngsters, are on a real upward turn under Poacher following a tough first year for the Down native.
The 2025 season brought with it moments of humiliation, including the concession of a Division 3 game to Fermanagh due to a lack of players.
Last season though, there was a Connacht win over Sligo followed by a real scare thrown into Galway. The Tailteann Cup also brought a win over Carlow.
“I don’t know what Stevie was sold, but when he came in, everything was kind of falling around us,” Casey said.
“I remember Stevie came in, and I was off with a bad injury at the time, and things were very bleak. To be honest, that full first year for him was horrendous, really.
“What he had to endure was just simply outrageous I have to say. I’ve had a lot of unbelievable coaches, but as a person, Stevie Poacher is as solid of a human being that I’ve come across.
“He put the person first. He wanted me around the place, was constantly in contact with me asking how I was, not how the injury was.”
His banishment left EVERYONE in tears 😭 Donal speaks out after his emotional exit from the castle. #TraitorsIRL pic.twitter.com/YzT4JTUHcG
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) September 15, 2026
The positivity Casey felt from the Leitrim camp – and from club boss Guckian – kept his confidence up, up enough to take a leap of faith and apply for The Traitors.
His run came to an end at the round table this week, his tear-filled exit a result of an experience he rates as one of the best he’s ever had and one that has given him an entirely different perspective on life.
“Those few weeks in the castle, it’s so intense, it’s nearly like you’re after living two years within three weeks,” said the Carrick-on-Shannon Community School teacher.
“You get every emotion to the extreme. Everyone talks about the big ending and myself getting emotional, but, like, before going in there, people would have said ‘Jesus, this fella’s as cold-faced as you’ll ever get’.
“Going in, I thought there’s not a thing that’ll break me, but it did.
“We all got to know ourselves and others so well during and afterwards.
“There’s such a diverse cohort of people that I probably would never have been around before, and probably never will again.
“It really gave me such a different perspective. It was 22 perspectives in there that I received, and it just showed me there is a lot more to life than just football and there is more to life than just your locality.
“There’s a lot more out there and it’s the positivity of knowing that you can move on to anything, anything’s possible, anything could pop up.
“Sure I got on it like and I’m just an eejit from Leitrim.”