From Wikipedia - Reading time: 11 min
| 2016 season | |
|---|---|
| Stadium | MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey |
| NFL D1 | Semi-finalist |
| All-Ireland SFC | Quarter-finalist |
| Ulster SFC | Finalist |
The following is a summary of Donegal county football team's 2016 season.[1][2]
Brendan Kilcoyne replaced Gary McDaid on the management team.[3][4] Kilcoyne's appointment as a team selector was announced in November 2015.[5] Maxi Curran was also said to be involved in team preparations ahead of the 2016 Dr McKenna Cup, alongside Gallagher, Kilcoyne and Jack Cooney.[4]
Twelve players were added ahead of the season: Eoghan Bán Gallagher, Ciarán Thompson, Stephen McMenamin, Caolan McGonagle, Tony McClenaghan, Kieran Gillespie, Michael Carroll, Stephen McBrearty, Jack O'Brien (Naomh Muire), Danny Rodgers (An Clochán Liath; goalkeeper), Rory Carr (St Eunan's) and Caolan Ward. Ward was the eldest of those additions.[6] O'Brien played for Donegal in the 2016 National Football League semi-final against Dublin at Croke Park.[7]
Paul Durcan emigrated to Qatar at the end of the previous season.[8][9]
The 'KN Group' began appearing as title sponsor on the front of player shirts, while the 'MCR Group' became Tier 2 sponsors, thus featuring on the back of player shirts.[10]
The fixtures were announced on 16 November 2015.[11]
Compete in Division 1 semi-finals
Automatic relegation to Division 2
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8-91 | 4-75 | 28 | 14 | |
| 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5-109 | 5-77 | 32 | 10 | |
| 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 9-98 | 8-77 | 24 | 8 | |
| 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 8-84 | 6-78 | 12 | 6 | |
| 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 5-88 | 7-91 | -9 | 6 | |
| 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6-83 | 7-91 | -11 | 6 | |
| 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 9-89 | 9-105 | -16 | 6 | |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2-60 | 6-108 | -60 | 0 |
1Donegal, Mayo, Monaghan and Cork are ranked by scoring difference.
| 30/01/16 Round 1 |
Down |
0-7 - 3-15 | Donegal |
Páirc Esler, Newry Referee: D Gough |
| D O'Hare (0-4), A McConville (0-2), C McGovern (0-1) | Report | M Murphy (0-8), P McBrearty (1-3), R McHugh (2-0), L McLoone (0-2), C Thompson (0-1), F McGlynn (0-1) |
| 07/02/16 Round 2 |
Donegal |
2-14 - 1-7 | Cork |
Fr Tierney Park, Ballyshannon Referee: J McQuillan |
| O MacNiallais (1-4), P McBrearty (0-4), M O'Reilly (1-1), A Thompson (0-2), C Thompson (0-1), F McGlynn (0-1), M Murphy (0-1) | Report | D Goulding (0-5), D Og Hodnett (1-0), B O'Driscoll (0-1) |
| 28/02/16 Round 3 |
Donegal |
1-14 - 1-12 | Mayo |
MacCumhail Park, Ballybofey Referee: B Cassidy |
| M Murphy (0-5), P McBrearty (0-4), L McLoone (1-0), O MacNiallais (0-2), R McHugh (0-2), R Kavanagh (0-1) | Report | E Regan (0-4), D O'Connor (1-0), R Hennelly (0-2), A O'Shea (0-1), B Harrison (0-1), C Loftus (0-1), L Keegan (0-1), S Nally (0-1), S O'Shea (0-1) |
| 06/03/16 Round 4 |
Kerry |
1-13 - 1-8 | Donegal |
Austin Stack Park, Tralee Attendance: 7,056 Referee: E Kinsella |
| B Sheehan (0-8), D Walsh (0-3), P Crowley (1-0), BJ Keane (0-1), C Cooper (0-1) | Report | M Murphy (1-4), P McBrearty (0-3), N Gallagher (0-1) |
| 13/03/16 Round 5 |
Donegal |
0-17 - 1-19 | Roscommon |
O'Donnell Park, Letterkenny Referee: P Hughes |
| M Murphy (0-7), P McBrearty (0-6), C Toye (0-1), E McHugh (0-1), O MacNiallais (0-1), R McHugh (0-1) | Report | C Murtagh (0-6), F Cregg (0-5), C Cregg (1-2), N Daly (0-3), C Daly (0-1), C Devaney (0-1), E Smith (0-1) |
| 26/03/16 Round 6 |
Dublin |
1-10 - 0-7 | Donegal |
Croke Park, Dublin Referee: C Lane Man of the Match: Kevin McManamon |
| C Costello (0-3), K McManamon (0-3), P McMahon (1-0), B Fenton (0-1), C Kilkenny (0-1), D Rock (0-1), P Andrews (0-1) | Report | P McBrearty (0-3), E McGee (0-1), M Murphy (0-1), O MacNiallais (0-1), R Kavanagh (0-1) |
| 03/04/16 Round 7 |
Monaghan |
1-10 - 1-9 | Donegal |
St Tiernach's Park, Clones Referee: R Hickey |
| C McManus (0-6), D McKenna (1-1), C Walshe (0-1), D Hughes (0-1), R McAnespie (0-1) | Report | M Murphy (0-3), M McElhinney (1-0), P McBrearty (0-2), A Thompson (0-1), E McHugh (0-1), O MacNiallais (0-1), R McHugh (0-1) |
| 10/04/16 4:00 pm Semi-final |
Dublin |
1-20 - 0-13 | Donegal |
Croke Park, Dublin Referee: M Deegan Man of the Match: Ciaran Kilkenny |
| D Rock (0-5), B Brogan (1-2), C Kilkenny (0-3), P Mannion (0-2), P Andrews (0-2), P McMahon (0-1), J Cooper (0-1), J McCarthy (0-1), J Small (0-1), C Costello (0-1), E Lowndes (0-1) | Report | P McBrearty (0-8), M Murphy (0-4), M McElhinney (0-1) |
The draw for the 2016 Ulster Senior Football Championship took place on 15 October 2015.[12]
| Preliminary round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||
| 0-12 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3-14 | |||||||||||||||||||
(R) | 0-16 5-18 | ||||||||||||||||||
(R) | 3-07 2-17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2-16 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0-14 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0-13 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0-11 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2-22 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0-09 | |||||||||||||||||||
(R) | 0-14 2-10 | ||||||||||||||||||
(R) | 1-11 0-17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2-12 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1-12 | 0-11 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 0-9 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Donegal | 2-12 – 0-11 | |
|---|---|---|
| O MacNiallais (2-1), P McBrearty (0-3), E McHugh, M O'Reilly (0-2 each), M McElhinney, C McFadden, F McGlynn, M Murphy (0-1 each) | Report | T Corrigan (0-7), E Donnelly, B Mulrone, R Jones, S Quigley (0-1 each) |
| Monaghan | 0-14 – 1-11 | |
|---|---|---|
| C McManus (0-8), C McCarthy, K O’Connell (0-2 each), S Carey, O Duffy (0-1 each) | Report | P McBrearty (0-5), M Murphy (0-3), O MacNiallais (1-0), K Lacey, E McHugh, C Toye (0-1 each) |
| Monaghan | 2-10 – 0-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| C McManus (1-4), S Carey (1-1), J McCarron (0-2), C Boyle, O Duffy, C Walshe (0-1 each) | Report | M Murphy (0-5), P McBrearty (0-4), M O’Reilly (0-3), R Kavanagh, M McElhinney, F McGlynn, M McHugh, A Thompson (0-1 each) |
| Tyrone | 0-13 – 0-11 | |
|---|---|---|
| S Cavanagh (0-3), P Harte, N Morgan (0-2 each), R Brennan, C McCarron, D McCurry, C McGeary, C McShane, N Sludden (0-1 each) | Report | P McBrearty, R McHugh (0-3 each), O MacNiallais, M Murphy (0-2 each), C Toye (0-1) |
| 30 July 2016 4.00 PM Round 4B |
Cork |
1-15 – 0-21 | Croke Park Attendance: 27,615 Referee: P Neilan (Roscommon) | |
| Paul Kerrigan 1-1, Colm O’Driscoll, Tom Clancy (Clonakilty), Kevin O’Driscoll, Colm O’Neill (0-1f), Donncha O’Connor 0-2 each, Mark Collins, Tomás Clancy (Fermoy), Seán Powter, Aidan Walsh 0-1 each | Report | Patrick McBrearty 0-11 (0-4f), Ryan McHugh 0-3, Eoin McHugh, Michael Murphy (0-1f) 0-2 each, Karl Lacey, Frank McGlynn, Odhrán MacNiallais 0-1 each. |
| 6 August 6.00 PM |
Dublin |
1-15 – 1-10 | Croke Park, Dublin Referee: C Branagan (Down) Man of the Match: Ciaran Kilkenny (Castleknock) | |
| D Rock (0-5f), P Mannion (1-1), D Connolly, K McManamon, P McMahon (0-2 each), P Andrews, C Kilkenny, J Cooper (0-1 each) | Report [1] | M Murphy (0-6 5f, 1 45), R McHugh (1-0), P McBrearty (0-3, 2f), A Thompson (0-1) |
Ryan McHugh won an All Star, the county's 32nd.[16] Paddy McGrath and Patrick McBrearty were also nominated.[17][18]
| Pos. | Player | Team | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Mayo | 1 | |
| RCB | Mayo | 1 | |
| FB | Dublin | 1 | |
| LCB | Dublin | 2 | |
| RWB | Mayo | 4 | |
| CB | Mayo | 3 | |
| LWB | Donegal | 1 | |
| MD | Dublin | 2 | |
| MD | Tyrone | 2 | |
| RWF | Tyrone | 1 | |
| CF | Dublin | 2 | |
| LWF | Dublin | 2 | |
| RCF | Dublin | 1 | |
| FF | Tipperary | 1 | |
| LCF | Kerry | 1 |
A team captained by Jason McGee, and including Mark Curran, Enda McCormick, Odhrán McFadden-Ferry, Eoghan McGettigan, Peadar Mogan, Gavin Mulreany and Niall O'Donnell, advanced to the 2016 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship semi-final on 21 August.[19][20][21][22][23] O'Donnell was also joint-captain of the minor team with McGee.[24]
Gallagher, Kilcoyne, Maxi Curran and Jack Cooney will run the rule over a large number of players when the Donegal senior squad resumes training early next month ahead of the opening McKenna Cup game.
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. Brendan Kilcoyne continues as a selector.
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.
Gallagher — a Trench Cup winner in 2005 with Letterkenny Institute of Technology — is currently the goalkeeping coach with the Donegal senior football team and was assistant manager to Ollie Horgan at Finn Harps last season.