Niall O'Donnell

Niall O'Donnell (born 1998) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for St Eunan's and the Donegal county team.

This article is about the Gaelic footballer. For the lexicographer, see Niall Ó Dónaill.
Niall O'Donnell
Personal information
Irish name Néill Ó Domhnaill
Sport Gaelic football
Born 1998 (age 24–25)
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Occupation Permanent TSB employee
Club(s)
Years Club
2015–
 St Eunan's
Club titles
Donegal titles 1
Inter-county(ies)
Years County
2018–
 Donegal
Ulster titles 1

The Irish Independent's Colm Keys named O'Donnell among his "18 for [20]18: The brightest young talents" in Gaelic football, describing him as "both elusive and skilful".[1] He is the younger brother of Conor O'Donnell Snr, the eldest of the St Eunan's Conor O'Donnells.[2]

Education

O'Donnell attended St Eunan's College, where he played for the school team.[3][4] In 2016, following his Ulster minor title with Donegal, he became the eighth student from the school to win an Ulster Colleges All Star, succeeding — among others — Michael Murphy and Shaun Patton; O'Donnell played alongside Patton in the school team.[3][5]

Playing career

Club

O'Donnell captained his club at under-21 level.[6] He played in county finals at under-12, under-14, under-16, minor, under-21 and senior levels.[7]

He made his senior debut for his club as a replacement for John Haran in the remaining two minutes of the final of the 2015 Donegal Senior Football Championship, which his club lost by one point against Naomh Conaill.[4][8] He later said: "I got one touch. I just laid it off. I was a bit young to be taking a big shot on then".[7]

O'Donnell's brother Conor also plays alongside him for the club.[9] As does his brother Shane.[7]

O'Donnell, a dual player, has also played hurling for his club.[10] He played from the start in, and scored in, the 2017 Donegal Senior Hurling Championship final.[11]

He captained his club to the 2021 Donegal Senior Football Championship, aged 23, scoring three points in the final.[7][12]

Minor

O'Donnell was part of the team that reached the 2016 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship semi-final.[13][14][15][16][17] He was joint-captain of the Donegal minor team with Jason McGee.[18]

Senior

O'Donnell first featured for his county at senior level under the management of Declan Bonner. He played against Kerry as a half-time substitute in the opening fixture of the 2018 National Football League at Fitzgerald Stadium.[19]

He did not feature on the pitch when Donegal won the 2018 Ulster Senior Football Championship,[20][21][22][23] as, alongside Jason McGee, he had decided to drop down to play with the under-20 team instead.[18]

Donegal qualified for the 2019 National Football League Division 2 final and O'Donnell started the game and scored two points as Donegal defeated Meath to win the title.[24]

O'Donnell played for the first 42 minutes in the final of the 2019 Ulster Senior Football Championship against Cavan, scoring one point and claiming his first Ulster senior title.[25] He had made a substitute appearance against Fermanagh in the quarter-final and started in the semi-final win over Tyrone.[26][27]

O'Donnell did not feature in Donegal's opening fixture of the 2020 National Football League against Mayo.[28] He made a substitute appearance in the second game against Meath, scoring a point.[29] He made three further substitute appearances against Galway, Dublin and Monaghan.[30][31][32] Then the COVID-19 pandemic brought play to a halt. Play resumed behind closed doors on 18 October with a home game against Tyrone; O'Donnell started that game and scored two points.[33] He also made a substitute appearance in the concluding game of the league campaign (away to Kerry).[34][35] O'Donnell then started the 2020 Ulster Senior Football Championship victory against Tyrone.[36] He also started the semi-final victory against Armagh, scoring two points (one of which was a mark).[37] He scored two points in the final against Cavan, in what proved to be the season's concluding game for his team.[38]

O'Donnell started each of Donegal's four fixtures of the 2021 National Football League (against Tyrone, Monaghan, Armagh and Dublin), scoring one point against Tyrone, two points against Monaghan, one point (from a free) against Armagh and one point against Dublin.[39][40][41][42] He started each of Donegal's three fixtures of the 2021 Ulster Senior Football Championship, scoring a point against Down, three points against Derry and two points against Tyrone.[43][44][45]

O'Donnell made substitute appearances in the opening fixture of the 2022 National Football League, against Mayo, and in the third fixture, against Kerry.[46][47] He started the fourth fixture, against Tyrone.[48] He made a substitute appearance in the final game against Armagh.[49] In the 2022 Ulster Senior Football Championship, O'Donnell made substitute appearances in each of Donegal's three fixtures, the quarter-final against Armagh, the semi-final against Cavan and the final against Derry (which included extra-time, during which he played).[50][51][52] He made a late substitute appearance in the 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship qualifier loss to Armagh, during which he scored a point.[53]

Personal life

As of 2021, Permanent TSB in Letterkenny employed O'Donnell.[7]

Honours
Donegal
St Eunan's
Individual
  • Ulster Colleges All Star: 2016[5]
  • Donegal News Sports Personality Award: December 2015[4]
  • Player of the Tournament — St Paul's Ulster Minor Football Tournament: 2015[4]

References
  1. Keys, Colm (31 January 2018). "18 for 18: The brightest young talents in gaelic football you need to keep an eye on this year". Irish Independent. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  2. Ferry, Ryan (28 November 2019). "Bonner boosted by young guns return". Donegal News. p. 80. Conor O'Donnell Snr (St Eunan's), joins his younger brother Niall in the panel, and he is best known as a half-back.
  3. Walsh, Harry (22 March 2014). "St. Eunan's College power into All-Ireland semi final". Donegal News. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  4. "Niall picks up Sports Personality Award for December". Donegal News. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  5. "Colleges All Stars for Mogan and O'Donnell". Donegal News. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  6. McNulty, Chris (17 November 2018). "'This is a bit of life for the senior team' says Niall O'Donnell as Eunan's win U21 title". Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  7. Ferry, Ryan (4 November 2021). "St Eunan's O'Donnell hoping for third time lucky". Donegal News. p. 75. While he is still only 23, O'Donnell is no longer the young pretender and is an integral leader and captain of the St Eunan's side… O'Donnell — who works for Permanent TSB in Letterkenny — has had the distinction of playing in Under 12, Under 14, Under 16, Minor and Under 21 county finals and he has an abundance of medals. However, he still missing a senior one… 'It would be great to [lift the Dr Maguire Cup] with my two brothers (Conor and Shane), and the team that I have grown up with'.
  8. Foley, Alan (19 October 2015). "Gutsy Naomh Conaill edge to glory". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  9. "GAA: Full-time — St Eunan's v Milford in the Donegal Senior Football Championship". 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019. RTE man of the match Darragh Mulgrew got the opener while the most impressive Eoin McGeehin added two more before the break. It was ironic that this was the one game where the pundits thought might yield a shock result, but Eunan's quickly dispelled that notion with a calm clever and composed display where full-forward Niall O'Donnell reigned supreme. He was well supported by his brother Conor O'Donnell, McGeehin, James Kelly, Conor Parke and Conor Morrison in a game where they never needed to get out of second gear.
  10. McNulty, Chris (20 August 2019). "Niall O'Donnell 'excited' for future at club and county levels". Retrieved 20 August 2019. It is a busy spell for O'Donnell, who'll line out for the black and amber against Setanta in the Donegal senior hurling championship final in two weeks' time before spearheading St Eunan's bid for Dr Maguire a week later…
  11. McNulty, Chris (16 September 2017). "Setanta make experience count to see off St Eunan's and become champions again". Retrieved 16 September 2017. Dual star Niall O'Donnell jinked his way in for a score that showed his class and a guile that belies his tender years, dropping the shoulder to clip over a delicious point.
  12. Campbell, Peter (7 November 2021). "St Eunan's overpower Naomh Conaill in Donegal SFC final". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  13. McNulty, Chris (30 July 2016). "Superb second half sees Donegal minors reach All-Ireland semi-final". Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  14. O'Toole, Fintan (30 July 2016). "Donegal second-half comeback sees off 14-man Cork in All-Ireland quarter-final". The42.ie. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  15. Foley, Alan (21 August 2016). "Donegal minors lose to Galway in All-Ireland semi-final". Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  16. Gallagher, Ciarán (21 August 2016). "Galway account for Donegal to make minor decider". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  17. "On This Day — August 21, 2016: Donegal minors have All-Ireland dreams ended by Galway at Croke Park". The Irish News. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  18. Cannon, Chris (27 May 2018). "Niall O'Donnell joins Donegal U-20s panel". Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  19. O'Toole, Fintan (28 January 2018). "Casey hits winning point, O'Shea fires 0-7 and 3 red cards shown in Kerry Donegal clash: The sides met in Killarney today". The42.ie. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  20. McNulty, Chris (13 May 2018). "Ulster SFC: Donegal too good for Cavan". Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  21. Mooney, Francis (27 May 2018). "McBrearty excels to fire Donegal past Derry". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  22. Mooney, Francis (10 June 2018). "14-man Donegal cruise past Down into Ulster decider". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  23. Mooney, Francis (24 June 2018). "Energetic Donegal end Fermanagh's Ulster title dream". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  24. O'Brien, Kevin (30 March 2019). "Murphy masterclass helps Donegal to Division 2 glory after comeback win over Meath". The42.ie. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  25. Sweeney, Peter (23 June 2019). "Donegal power past Cavan to claim Ulster title". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  26. Mooney, Francis (26 May 2019). "Donegal overcome Fermanagh in Ulster arm-wrestle". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  27. Mooney, Francis (8 June 2019). "Donegal power past Tyrone to make Ulster decider". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  28. "FL1: Durcan delivers late as Mayo hold Donegal". Hogan Stand. 25 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  29. Keane, Paul (2 February 2020). "Classy Donegal put Meath to the sword at Navan". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  30. McNulty, Chris (9 February 2020). "Allianz FL D1: Galway secure valuable victory". Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  31. "Mannion goal crucial as Dubs reel in Donegal". RTÉ Sport. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  32. Foley, Alan (1 March 2020). "McFadden and Ward hit the net as Donegal claim easy victory over Monaghan". The42.ie. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  33. McNulty, Chris (18 October 2020). "Allianz FL D1: Donegal defeat Tyrone". Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  34. "Understrength Donegal well beaten by Kerry". Donegal News. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  35. Brennan, Paul (24 October 2020). "Allianz FL D1: Kerry crowned League champions". Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  36. Keys, Colm (1 November 2020). "Donegal in pole-position for Ulster three-in-a-row after dumping Tyrone out of Championship". Irish Independent. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  37. Bogue, Declan (14 November 2020). "Donegal ease past Armagh to reach yet another Ulster final". The42.ie. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  38. O'Brien, Kevin (22 November 2020). "As it happened: Donegal v Cavan, Ulster senior football final". The42.ie. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  39. Bogue, Declan (15 May 2021). "Allianz FL D1 North: Donegal edge Tyrone". Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  40. McNulty, Chris (22 May 2021). "Allianz FL D1 North: Spoils shared in Ballybofey". Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  41. Bogue, Declan (29 May 2021). "Allianz FL D1 North: Donegal finish strongly to earn important point". Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  42. Campbell, Peter (14 June 2021). "Dublin share title with Kerry after defeating Donegal". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  43. Bogue, Declan (27 June 2021). "Donegal signal their intent with Ulster Championship trouncing of Down". The42.ie. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  44. Foley, Alan (11 July 2021). "McBrearty kicks late winner as Donegal squeeze past Derry". The42.ie. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  45. Bogue, Declan (18 July 2021). "Murphy sent off as Tyrone edge out 14-man Donegal to book Ulster final spot". The42.ie. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  46. Finnerty, Mike (30 January 2022). "Rob Hennelly the hero as Mayo snatch draw against Donegal in Allianz Football League". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  47. Brennan, Paul (20 February 2022). "Kerry impress as victory over Donegal sends them top of Division 1". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  48. Campbell, Peter (26 February 2022). "Goals crucial as gritty Donegal see off Tyrone". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  49. McNulty, Chris (27 March 2022). "Donegal hang on for win as things get hot and heavy with Armagh". The Irish Times. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  50. Watters, Andy (25 April 2022). "Donegal cruise to victory over mis-firing Armagh in Ulster Championship quarter-final". The Irish News. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  51. Haughey, John (8 May 2022). "Donegal 2–16 Cavan 0–16: Tir Conaill men survive Breffni onslaught to reach Ulster decider". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  52. Bogue, Declan (29 May 2022). "Derry outscored Donegal 0–4 to 0–2 in the extra-time period". The42.ie. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  53. Bogue, Declan (12 June 2022). "Armagh power past Donegal to book All-Ireland quarter-final". The42.ie. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  54. "Donegal hold off Derry to secure Ulster minor title: Goals from Nathan and JD Boyle enough to clinch second provincial title in three seasons". The Irish Times. 17 July 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
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