O'Donnell Park

O' Donnell Park (Irish: Páirc uí Dhomhnail) is a GAA stadium in County Donegal, Ireland. The home ground of the St Eunan's club, it is situated between the Letterkenny Regional Sports and Leisure Complex and Ballymacool Park on the outskirts of the town.[3] The Donegal county football team uses O'Donnell Park as a venue for matches (as does the county hurling team).

O' Donnell Park
Páirc uí Dhomhnail
O' Donnell Park is located in island of Ireland
O' Donnell Park
O' Donnell Park
Location within island of Ireland
LocationLetterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland
Coordinates54.945423°N 7.752413°W / 54.945423; -7.752413
Public transitLetterkenny bus station
OwnerSt Eunan's[1]
Capacity8,200 (2012–present)[2] (2,500 Seated)
Surfacegrass
Construction
Opened1937
Renovated1955

History

The ground has hosted Gaelic games since the 1930s when the St Eunan's club bought the land for £300. The ground opened on Sunday 2 May 1937, with the Bishop of Raphoe's blessing of the park, a hurling match between Donegal and Antrim, an address from GAA President Bob O'Keeffe and a football match between Donegal and Armagh.[1]

During the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2006, the ground was used as a makeshift campsite for visitors to the town for the duration of the festival. On 11 November 2008, St Eunan's confirmed that it had completed the purchase of 14.5 acres (59,000 m2) of land adjoining O'Donnell Park, which it intended to develop over the coming years into additional pitches for the club.[4]

The Sam Maguire Cup and members of Donegal's 2012 All-Ireland SFC winning team attended a world record attempt at O'Donnell Park on 29 September 2012.[5]

The O'Donnell Park pitch was "highly commended" at the 2019 National Pitch Awards, and finished in the top six alongside such stadiums as Páirc Tailteann, Nowlan Park, Pearse Stadium and Dr Hyde Park.[6]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, O'Donnell Park was used as a drive-through test centre.[7]

County matches

Having formerly been a venue for football matches played by the Donegal county team, O'Donnell Park went unused for this purpose for three decades. On 25 March 2007, O'Donnell Park hosted its first inter-county football match since this hiatus, with Donegal defeating reigning All-Ireland champions Kerry by a scoreline of 1–15 to 0–13 in Division 1 (the top tier) of the National Football League. There was a half-hour delay to the game after the Kerry team were unable to arrive on time due to fog at the airport. TG4 broadcast the match live to a national audience.[8][9] Donegal followed up their victory by winning the 2007 National Football League title.[10]

Donegal have played the following league games at O'Donnell Park since then.

DateOpponentRound
25 March 2007   Kerry[10]Regular
13 April 2008   Derry[10][11][12][13]Division 1 semi-final
2009   Mayo[10]Regular
2011   Kildare[10]Regular
2012   Laois[10]Regular
2014   Monaghan[10]Matchday three[10]
8 March 2015   Monaghan[10][14]Regular
13 March 2016   Roscommon[10][15]Regular
5 February 2017   Kerry[10][16]Regular
4 February 2018   Galway[10][15]Regular
24 February 2019   Fermanagh[10]Regular
9 February 2020   Galway[10]Regular
27 March 2022   Armagh[17]Regular

NFL matches at the venue have tended to be competitive, with opponents finding it difficult to leave with full points if they do.[10] 2014's 2–11 to 0–10 victory over Monaghan, an eight-point win, is Donegal's biggest victory at O'Donnell Park.[10]

It has also been used by the Donegal senior hurling team, for example in the 2020 Nicky Rackard Cup.[18]

See also

References
  1. "Opening of O'Donnell Park". St Eunan's GAA. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015.
  2. "Capacities confirmed". Donegal News. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  3. "Letterkenny Town Council: St Eunans GAA club, O'Donnell Park". Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
  4. "St Eunan's club complete purchase of 14.5 acre site". Donegal Democrat. 14 October 2008. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
  5. "Stars to bring Sam Maguire to world record attempt at O'Donnell Park". 28 September 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  6. Keenan, Shaun (26 June 2019). "O'Donnell Park 'highly commended' at National Pitch Awards". Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  7. "St Eunan's GAA club to be used as Covid-19 test centre". Donegal News. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  8. "Donegal News: Donegal beat Kerry".
  9. "Return of NFL to O'Donnell Park". Archived from the original on 13 April 2008.
  10. Bradley, Oisín (6 February 2020). "O'Donnell Park record". Donegal News. p. 76. …despite [losses], all the games have been competitive affairs, leaving the team and management with something to look to in terms of recent results at the venue while they gear up for the visit of the Tribesmen.
  11. "Donegal 0–10 Derry 0–15". RTÉ Sport. 13 April 2008. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008.
  12. "Donegal 0–10 0–15 Derry". BBC Sport. 13 April 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
  13. "Sport". BreakingNews.ie.
  14. "Monaghan grind out result in dour encounter". RTÉ Sport. 8 March 2015. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  15. Campbell, Peter (13 March 2016). "Rossies signal greater intent after win over Donegal". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  16. Foley, Alan (5 February 2017). "Geaney at the double as Kerry achieve first opening round league win under Fitzmaurice". The42.ie. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  17. 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.
  18. "Donegal advance to Nicky Rackard semi final with win over Armagh". Highland Radio. 31 October 2020.
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