2015 season | |
---|---|
Stadium | MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey |
All-Ireland SFC | Quarter-finalist |
Ulster SFC | Finalist |
The following is a summary of Donegal county football team's 2015 season.
The 2015 Donegal county football team season was the franchise's 111th season since the County Board's foundation in 1905. The team entered the season, having reached the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final.[1]
Rory Gallagher was in his first season as the team's manager. He was ratified on 31 October 2014.[2] In December 2014, Gary McDaid officially joined the backroom team as coach–selector.[3]
Thirteen players were added ahead of the 2015 Dr McKenna Cup, including goalkeeper Mark Anthony McGinley, Eoin McHugh, Ciaran McGinley, Conor Parke, Eunan Doherty (Naomh Conaill) Kevin McBrearty (Four Masters) and Ryan Malley (Ard an Rátha).[4]
Ahead of the season Rory Kavanagh announced his retirement.[5] Mark McHugh returned.[6]
Another veteran of the 2012 All-Ireland SFC winning campaign, Dermot Molloy, also departed, between the McKenna Cup's conclusion and League's beginning.[7][8][9]
Michael Boyle left for Boston before the 2015 Ulster SFC semi-final and Mark Anthony McGinley, who had earlier joined the panel, was promoted to his position.[10]
Team as per Donegal v Galway, 2015 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Qualifier, 1 August 2015
The draw was made in early November 2014, with Derry, Fermanagh and Queen's Donegal's opponents in Section B of the competition.[11]
Gallagher's first match in charge of the county was a 2015 Dr McKenna Cup away defeat to Derry.[12]
Queen's was the second game; Dr McKenna Cup Section B up until that point ran as follows: Fermanagh 1–13 0–9 Queen's on Sunday 4 January; Derry 1–16 0–8 Donegal on Sunday 4 January; Donegal 2–16 1–8 Queen's on Sunday 11 January; Fermanagh 1–9 1–7 Derry on Sunday 11 January; Derry vs Queen's at Owenbeg on Wednesday 14 January at 19:30 GMT; Donegal vs Fermanagh at MacCumhaill Park on Wednesday 14 January at 19:30 GMT.[13]
So Fermanagh was the third game.
Donegal advanced to the Division 1 semi-finals.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | D | Pts | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Dublin | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7–93 | 2–78 | 30 | 9 | Advanced to NFL semi-finals |
3 | Monaghan | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 4-86 | 7–84 | -7 | 8 | |
4 | Donegal | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6–75 | 5–70 | 8 | 7 | |
5 | Mayo | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8–79 | 7–79 | 3 | 7 | |
6 | Kerry | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6–88 | 9-90 | -11 | 7 |
1Donegal, Mayo and Kerry are ranked by points difference.
Donegal advanced to their fifth consecutive Ulster final.
Preliminary round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||
Cavan | 0-15 | ||||||||||||||||||
Monaghan | 0-16 | ||||||||||||||||||
Monaghan | 1-20 | ||||||||||||||||||
Fermanagh | 0-13 | ||||||||||||||||||
Fermanagh | 1-13 | ||||||||||||||||||
Antrim | 0-08 | ||||||||||||||||||
Monaghan | 0-11 | ||||||||||||||||||
Donegal | 0-10 | ||||||||||||||||||
Derry | 0-12 | ||||||||||||||||||
Down | 0-11 | ||||||||||||||||||
Derry | 0-10 | ||||||||||||||||||
Donegal | 1-09 | ||||||||||||||||||
Armagh | 0-08 | ||||||||||||||||||
Donegal | 1-13 | Donegal | 2-11 | ||||||||||||||||
Tyrone | 1-10 |
Donegal | 1-13 - 1-10 | Tyrone |
---|---|---|
M McElhinney (1-2); M Murphy (0-3, 2 frees, 1 45); C Toye, C McFadden, P McBrearty (0-2 each); F McGlynn, K Lacey (0-1 each). | Report | S Cavanagh (0-4, 3 frees); D McCurry (1-0); C McAliskey (0-3); Justin McMahon, M Donnelly, R McNamee (0-1 each). |
Armagh | 0-08 - 2-11 | Donegal |
---|---|---|
T Kernan 0-3 (1f), J Morgan, C McKeever, E Rafferty (f), A Findon, C Rafferty all 0-1 each. | Report | M Murphy 0-5 (5fs), P McBrearty 1-1, M O'Reilly 1-0, O MacNiallais 0-2, N Gallagher, M McElhinney, N Gallagher 0-1 each. |
Derry | 0-10 - 1-09 | Donegal |
---|---|---|
M Lynch 0-02, 1f, E Bradley 0-02, 2f, C O’Boyle 0-02, C McKaigue 0-01, C McFaul 0-01; N Holly 0-01, B Heron 0-01. | Report | M O’Reilly 1-00 P McBrearty, 0-02, 1f, M Murphy 0-02, C McFadden 0-02, M McElhinney 0-01; C Toye 0-01, O MacNiallais 0-01. |
Monaghan | 0-11 - 0-10 | Donegal |
---|---|---|
C McManus 0-6 (4f), K O'Connell, O Duffy, K Duffy, D Mone, O Lennon 0-1 each. | Report | P McBrearty 0-6 (4f), M Murphy 0-2 (2f), K Lacey, F McGlynn 0-1 each |
Donegal | 3-12 – 0-11 | Galway |
---|---|---|
P McBrearty 1-1, C McFadden 0-4 (1f), R McHugh 1-0, C Toye 1-0, O MacNiallais 0-3, M Murphy 0-3 (2f), L McLoone 0-1 | Report | G Sice 0-5 (5f), D Cummins 0-1, T Flynn 0-1, A Varley 0-1, P Conroy 0-1, S Walsh 0-1, D Comer 0-1 (1f) |
Mayo | 2-13 - 0-11 | Donegal |
---|---|---|
Lee Keegan 1-2, Aidan O'Shea 1-0, Jason Doherty 0-3, Cillian O'Connor 0-3 (0-2f), Kevin McLoughlin 0-2, Keith Higgins 0-1, A Freeman 0-1, A Moran 0-1. | Report | Michael Murphy 0-8 (0-5f), Christy Toye 0-1, Leo McLoone 0-1, Anthony Thompson 0-1. |
But Boyle opted to travel to Boston for the summer prior to the Ulster semi-final against Derry and Mark McGinley stepped up to become the reserve goalkeeper.
Rory Gallagher extended his term for a further three years with the option of serving a fourth and has a new coach in former Tyrone All-Ireland U-21 winner Richard Thornton, who comes highly regarded. He replaces former Westmeath footballer Jack Cooney after two years with Gallagher.
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.