2017 Donegal county football team season
The following is a summary of Donegal county football team's 2017 season.
| 2017 season | |
|---|---|
| Stadium | MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey |
| NFL D1 | 3rd |
| All-Ireland SFC | Round 4 qualifier |
| Ulster SFC | Semi-finalist |
Squad
Personnel changes
Richard Thornton from Coalisland helped train the team in 2017.[2] Thornton took over from former Westmeath footballer Jack Cooney after two years, while Brendan Kilcoyne stayed on as a selector.[3]
2012 All Star Colm McFadden retired at the end of the previous season.[4][5] As did Eamon McGee (though he never won an All Star).[6]
Christy Toye, Rory Kavanagh and David Walsh also retired ahead of the 2017 season.[7] Leo McLoone also left.[8] So did Odhrán Mac Niallais.[9][10] And Anthony Thompson.[11]
On Valentine's Day, Neil Gallagher attended training at Convoy — it was upon the Convoy turf that he broke down for the final time and relinquished his status as an inter-county footballer.[12] The manager later described him as "very disappointed… He wanted to give it a go… He got the back re-scanned and tried to build it up".[12] He announced his retirement from inter-county football at the age of 33 on 20 February 2017.[13]
Competitions
Dr McKenna Cup
National Football League Division 1
In the opening game against Kerry, three players had their senior debuts (Jason McGee, Michael Langan and Jamie Brennan), with Caolan Ward and Paul Brennan making their first competitive starts.[14]
Table
Qualify for Division 1 final Automatic relegation to Division 2
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dublin |
7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6-109 | 4-72 | 43 | 11 |
 Kerry |
7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6-103 | 7-87 | 13 | 8 |
| Donegal |
7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5-90 | 7-74 | 10 | 8 |
 Monaghan |
7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7-79 | 5-82 | 3 | 8 |
 Mayo |
7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3-90 | 4-90 | -3 | 8 |
 Tyrone |
7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3-87 | 4-81 | 3 | 7 |
 Cavan |
7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4-72 | 2-101 | -23 | 4 |
 Roscommon |
7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 6-85 | 7-128 | -46 | 2 |
- Kerry, Donegal, Monaghan and Mayo are ranked by score difference.
Reports
| 5 February 2017 Round 1 | Donegal | 1-17 - 2-17 | Kerry | O'Donnell Park, Letterkenny |
| 14.00 | Michael Murphy 1-3 (1-0, pen, 0-3 frees), Patrick McBrearty 0-4 (0-3 frees), Ciarán Thompson 0-3, Darach O'Connor 0-2, Paul Brennan, Martin O'Reilly, Ryan McHugh, Eoin McHugh and Conor Gibbons 0-1 each. | Report | Paul Geaney 2-4 (0-2 frees), James O’Donoghue 0-3, Jack Savage 0-3 (0-1 free), Donnchadh Walsh 0-2, Tom O’Sullivan, David Moran, Jonathan Lyne, Paul Murphy and Jack Barry 0-1 each. | Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois) |
| 12 February 2017 Round 2 | Roscommon | 2-09 - 0-16 | Donegal | Dr Hyde Park, Roscommon |
| 14.00 | Ciaran Murtagh 1-4 (0-2 frees), Conor Devaney 1-0, Enda Smith, Kevin Higgins 0-2 each, Fintan Cregg 0-1 | Report | Ciarán Thompson, Martin O'Reilly, Eoin McHugh 0-3 each, Patrick McBrearty 0-2 (0-1f), Michael Murphy 0-2 (0-2f) each, Michael Carroll, Eoghan Bán Gallagher, Jamie Brennan 0-1 each |
| 26 February 2017 Round 3 | Donegal | 2-05 - 1-08 | Dublin | MacCumhail Park, Ballybofey |
| 14.00 | Jason McGee 1-1, Ryan McHugh 1-0, Ciarán Thompson, Michael Murphy 0-2f each | Report | Niall Scully 1-1, Dean Rock (0-3f), Shane B. Carthy, Ciaran Reddin, Ciarán Kilkenny, David Byrne 0-1 each |
| 4 March 2017 Round 4 | Cavan | 0-11 - 1-16 | Donegal | Kingspan Breffni Park, Cavan |
| 19:00 | Report |
| 18 March 2017 Round 5 | Donegal | 0-12 - 0-06 | Tyrone | MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey |
| 19:00 | Report |
| 26 March 2017 Round 6 | Donegal | 1-11 - 1-11 | Monaghan | Fr Tierney Park, Ballyshannon |
| 15:00 | Report |
| 2 April 2017 Round 7 | Mayo | 1-12 - 0-13 | Donegal | Elverys MacHale Park, Castlebar |
| 14:00 | Report | Attendance: 14,102 |
Ulster Senior Football Championship
The draw for the 2017 Ulster Senior Football Championship took place in Dublin in mid-October 2016.[15] In the quarter-final victory against Antrim, four players had their first championship starts (Jamie Brennan, Michael Carroll, Jason McGee and Caolan Ward).[16]
Bracket
| Preliminary round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||
 Derry
| 0-11 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tyrone
| 0-22 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tyrone
| 1-21 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Donegal
| 1-12 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Donegal
| 3-19 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Antrim
| 1-9 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tyrone
| 2-17 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Down
| 0-15 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Down
| 0-15 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Armagh
| 2-7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Down
| 1-14 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Monaghan
| 0-15 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cavan
| 0-15 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Monaghan
| 1-20 | Monaghan
| 1-15 | ||||||||||||||||
 Fermanagh
| 1-11 | ||||||||||||||||||
Reports
| Donegal | 3-19 - 1-09 | Antrim |
|---|---|---|
| M Murphy 0-6 (5f), P McBrearty 1-2 (2f), J Brennan 1-1, C Thompson 0-4 (3f), P McGrath 1-0, M Langan 0-2, H McFadden, K Lacey, F McGlynn, M McHugh 0-1 each | Report | CJ McGourty 0-6 (6f), C Small 1-0, T McCann 0-2, S Beatty 0-1 |
| 18 June 2017 2:00 pm |
Tyrone |
1-21 - 1-12 | Donegal |
St. Tiernach's Park, Clones Attendance: 22,609 Referee: David Gough (Meath) Man of the Match: Padraig Hampsey |
| Tiernan McCann 1-1, Niall Sludden 0-4, Kieran McGeary 0-3, Mark Bradley 0-2, Mattie Donnelly 0-2, Peter Harte 0-2, Padraig Hampsey 0-2, David Mulgrew 0-1, Sean Cavanagh 0-1 (f), Declan McClure 0-1, Ronan O'Neill 0-1, Niall Morgan 0-1 (45). | Report | Patrick McBrearty 0-6 (2fs), Michael Murphy 0-3 (2 '45's), Micheal Carroll 1-0, Martin Reilly 0-1, Michael Langan 0-1, Hugh McFadden 0-1. |
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
| 22 July 7:00pm Round 4A |
Donegal |
0-14 – 4-17 |  Galway |
Markievicz Park, Sligo Attendance: 10,564 Referee: Anthony Nolan (Wicklow) Man of the Match: Johnny Heaney (Killanin) |
| Paddy McBrearty 0-6 (2f), Michael Murphy 0-4 (3f, 1 '45), Martin O’Reilly 0-2, Martin McElhinney 0-1, Michael Langan 0-1 | Report | Johnny Heaney 2-2, Sean Armstrong 0-6 (4f), Liam Silke 1-0 (pen), Danny Cummins 1-0, Gary O’Donnell 0-2, Shane Walsh 0-1, Paul Conroy 0-1, Ian Burke 0-1, Damien Comer 0-1, Eamonn Brannigan 0-2, Michael Daly 0-1 |
Management team
- Strength and conditioning coach: Paul Fisher[17]
References
- Ferry, Ryan (12 August 2021). "Ethan eager to play final". Donegal News. p. 67.
O'Donnell heads into the county final after a breakthrough season with the Donegal seniors. He was involved with the Donegal panel in 2017 and 2020, but found his game time limited. However, he came on in the first league match against Tyrone this year, and ended up featuring in five of the seven games that the county side played… 'Peadar Mogan got injured before the Dublin match and I got my wee break then'... O'Donnell started against Dublin in the league semi-final, and he was thrown in from the off against Derry in the Ulster quarter-final.
Further details in the print edition. - Craig, Frank (10 September 2020). "Naomh Conaill face a tough St Eunan's test". Donegal News. p. 68.
Opposite number Thornton, a Coalisland native, is into his third year now with the St Eunan's senior footballers. The first of those, 2018, was as assistant to Maxi Curran. He stepped up to the helm last season… He was no stranger to the local scene here in the county, even before then, having helped out as Donegal trainer under Rory Gallagher back in 2017.
- Keys, Colm (4 January 2017). "Only six new inter-county gaelic football managers in 2017". Irish Independent. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- Fogarty, John (8 August 2016). "Colm McFadden walks and may be first of many to exit big stage". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- "Record scorer McFadden calls time on Donegal career". RTÉ Sport. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- Kiely, Ben (8 August 2016). "Eamon McGee's retirement announcement right up there with the greatest in GAA history". JOE.ie. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- O'Brien, Kevin (10 January 2017). "Trio of Donegal All-Ireland winners announce their retirement from inter-county football". The42.ie. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
- McNulty, Chris (20 February 2019). "'A real leader' — Leo McLoone set for 100th Donegal appearance". Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- "Odhrán MacNiallais confirms Donegal departure". RTÉ Sport. 7 January 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
- McNulty, Chris (24 September 2017). "Odhrán Mac Niallais and Leo McLoone set for Donegal returns: Duo opted out of panel in 2017 and have spent summer playing in New York". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- McNulty, Chris (9 March 2018). "Exclusive: 2012 All-Ireland winner to return from Donegal exile". Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- McNulty, Chris (21 February 2017). "Gallagher retirement a 'sad day' for Donegal". Irish Independent. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- "Donegal Midfielder Neil Gallagher to retire from inter-county football". Highland Radio. 20 February 2017. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017.
- O'Brien, Kevin (3 February 2017). "Underage Kerry stars make the jump to senior as 4 league starting debuts handed out". The42.ie. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
Jason McGee, Michael Langan and Jamie Brennan will make their senior debuts for Donegal, while Caolon[sic] Ward and Paul Brennan are set to start a competitive fixture for the first time.
- "2017 Ulster Championship Draw". 14 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- Doggett, Eamon; Byrne, Cormac (21 May 2017). "Donegal v Antrim as it happened: Updates from the Ulster Football Championship — The sides clash at MacCumhaill Park at 4pm today". Retrieved 21 May 2017.
Donegal will be heavy favourites and will field four debutants in Caolan Ward (St. Eunan's), Jason McGee (Cloughaneely), Michael Carroll (Gaoth Dobhair) and Jamie Brennan (Bundoran).
- Watters, Andy (15 December 2020). "A level playing field? Donegal coach Paul Fisher laments lack of resources in quest to close gap on Dublin". The Irish News. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
But Paul Fisher, the man who has overseen that programme for the last six years has reluctantly decided that it is time to move on. With a gym to run, a family to support and a Masters to complete, the Letterkenny native has stepped down after playing a vital role in the successes of managers Jim McGuinness, Rory Gallagher and Declan Bonner.
- O'Toole, Fintan (21 September 2017). "13 for Dublin and 12 for Mayo in 2017 All-Star football nominations: Tyrone, Kerry, Kildare, Down, Roscommon, Armagh, Monaghan and Donegal also have nominees". The42.ie. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
- "Donegal GAA Annual Award Winners & Details of the Awards Banquet". 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.