2012 Donegal county football team season

Donegal county football team 2012 football season

Donegal county football team2012 season

Manager| Jim McGuinness
Stadium| MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey
All-Ireland SFC| Winners
Ulster SFC| Winners

← 2011

2013 →

The following is a summary of Donegal county football team's 2012 season. It was the franchise's 108th season since the County Board's foundation in 1905. The team ended the season as All-Ireland champions after winning Sam Maguire MMXII.

Jim McGuinness returned for his second season as the team's manager. Pioneer of the game's revolutionary tactic The System,[1] he entered the season having won the 2011 Ulster Senior Football Championship in his first season at the helm. Consecutive Ulster titles were a possibility, a first in team history, and the 2012 Ulster Senior Football Championship duly followed. McGuinness then became only the second manager, after Brian McEniff at the helm of the fabled Sam MCMXCII side, to lead Donegal to the All-Ireland title.

## Panel

[edit]

↑ Team as per Donegal v Mayo in the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final on 23 September 2012

| No.  | Player  | Position  | Club

|
|
|

1  | Paul Durcan | Goalkeeper | The Four Masters
2  | Paddy McGrath | Right corner back | Ard an Rátha
3  | Neil McGee | Full back | Gaoth Dobhair
4  | Frank McGlynn | Left corner back | Glenfin
5  | Eamon McGee | Right half back | Gaoth Dobhair
6  | Karl Lacey | Centre back | The Four Masters
7  | Anthony Thompson | Left half back | Naomh Conaill
8  | Neil Gallagher | Midfield | Glenswilly
9  | Rory Kavanagh | Midfield | St Eunan's
10  | Ryan Bradley | Right half forward | Buncrana
11  | Leo McLoone | Centre forward | Naomh Conaill
12  | Mark McHugh | Left half forward | Cill Chartha
13  | Patrick McBrearty | Right corner forward | Cill Chartha
14  | Michael Murphy (c)  | Full forward | Glenswilly
15  | Colm McFadden | Left corner forward | St Michael's
|  | No.  | Player  | Position  | Club

|
|
|

16  | Michael Boyle | Substitute | Termon
17  | Martin McElhinney | Substitute | St Michael's
18  | Marty Boyle | Substitute | Naomh Conaill
19  | David Walsh | Substitute | Naomh Bríd
20  | Christy Toye | Substitute | St Michael's
21  | Stephen Griffin | Substitute | St Naul's
22  | Daniel McLaughlin | Substitute | St Michael's
23  | Martin O'Reilly | Substitute | Seán MacCumhaill's
24  | Dermot Molloy | Substitute | Naomh Conaill
25  | Declan Walsh | Substitute | Malin
26  | Adrian Hanlon | Substitute | An Clochán Liath
|  | No.  | Player  | Position  | Club

|
|
|

| Antoin McFadden | Panelist | St Michael's
| Gary McFadden | Panelist | Glenswilly
| Peter McGee | Panelist | Gaoth Dobhair
| Tommy McKinley | Panelist | Naomh Colmcille
| Kevin Rafferty | Panelist | St Eunan's
| Peter Witherow | Panelist | St Michael's

* v
* t
* e

Donegal – 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Champions (2nd title)

* 1 P. Durcan
* 2 P. McGrath
* 3 N. McGee
* 4 F. McGlynn
* 5 E. McGee
* 6 K. Lacey
* 7 A. Thompson
* 8 N. Gallagher
* 9 R. Kavanagh
* 10 M. McHugh
* 11 L. McLoone
* 12 R. Bradley
* 13 P. McBrearty
* 14 M. Murphy (c)
* 15 C. McFadden

Substitutes used
19 Dav. Walsh for Bradley (40')
17 M. McElhinney for McBrearty (48')
20 C. Toye for McLoone (57')
24 Brick Molloy for McElhinney (70+2')

Substitutes not used
16 Michael Boyle
18 Marty Boyle
21 S. Griffin
22 D. McLaughlin
23 M. O'Reilly
25 Dec. Walsh
26 A. Hanlon

Extended panel
27 B. Dunnion
28 P. Witherow
29 A. McFadden
30 K. Rafferty
31 P. McGee
32 G. McFadden
33 T. McKinley

Manager
J. McGuinness

Selectors
R. Gallagher
M. Curran
P. Shovelin

Others in the backroom team
Strength and conditioning coach — A. Speer; Surgical consultant — K. Moran; Team doctor — C. McManus; Team physio — T. Kerr

Donal Reid

## Competitions

[edit]

### Dr McKenna Cup

[edit]

Main article: 2012 Dr McKenna Cup

Conor McManus from Cork was part of the panel after transferring to Cill Chartha due to work commitments and being called into McGuinness's panel. He made his Donegal debut against UUJ at O'Donnell Park on 8 January, playing in midfield beside Neil Gallagher. He was half-time substitute against Cavan at Breffni Park on 15 January. His third and final appearance for the county came as a corner-forward against Derry at MacCumhaill Park on 18 January. McManus did not participate in Donegal's league campaign as by then his work brought him to Limerick, allowing him to return to his native club Clonakilty.[2]

### League

[edit]

Main article: 2012 National Football League (Ireland)

### Ulster Senior Football Championship

[edit]

Main article: 2012 Ulster Senior Football Championship

20 May 2012

3:30pm

Preliminary round

Cavan| 1-10 - 1-16| Donegal

|
|

N McDermott 1-1 (1-0 pen, 0-1f), E Keating 0-5, D Givney 0-2, G McKiernan, J Brady 0-1 each | Report | C McFadden 1-6 (1-0 pen, 0-5f), R Kavanagh 0-3, M McHugh, L McLoone 0-2 each, N McGee, F McGlynn, N Gallagher 0-1 each

Breffni Park, Cavan

Attendance: 12,847

Referee: Cormac Reilly (Meath)

16 June 2012

5:00pm

Quarter-final

Donegal| 2-13 - 0-9| Derry

|
|

C McFadden L McLoone 1-0, M Murphy 0-3 (3f), P McBrearty, D Walsh 0-2 each, R Bradley, N Gallagher, A Thompson, F McGlynn 0-1 each. | Report | P Bradley 0-6 (5f), M Lynch, SL McGoldrick, E Bradley (’45) 0-1 each.

MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey

Attendance: 11,207

Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo)

30 June 2012

4:30pm

Semi-final

Tyrone| 0-10 - 0-12| Donegal

|
|

Stephen O'Neill, J McMahon (2f) 0-2 each, C Clarke, C Gormley (45), D Carlin, Sean O'Neill; Mark Donnelly, M Penrose 0-1 each | Report | M Murphy (3f), C McFadden (2f) 0-3 each, R Kavanagh 0-2, R Bradley, K Lacey, P McBrearty, M McHugh 0-1 each

St Tiernach's Park, Clones

Attendance: 17, 730

Referee: David Coldrick (Meath)

22 July 2012

2:00pm

Final

Down| 0-13 - 2-18| Donegal

|
|

L Doyle (2f) 0-4 , D O'Hare (1f) 0-2 , C Laverty, A Rogers, K McKernan, A Brannigan, C Maginn, D Hughes, E McCartan 0-1 each | Report | L McLoone, F McGlynn 1-0 each, C McFadden (3f) 0-6 , Declan Walsh, R Bradley, M McHugh, M McElhinney 0-2 each, David Walsh, D McLaughlin, P McBrearty, M Murphy 0-1 each

St Tiernach's Park, Clones

Attendance: 34, 696

Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan)

### All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

[edit]

Main article: 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

5 August 2012

16:00

Quarter-final

Donegal| 1-12 - 1-10| Kerry

|
|

C McFadden (1-00sl, 2f) 1-05 , M Murphy (2f) 0-03 , L McLoone, P McBrearty, C Toye, K Lacey 0-01 each | Report | C Cooper (2f) 0-04 , K Donaghy 1-00, A Maher 0-02, B Sheehan (1f), Declan O'Sullivan, J O'Donoghue, P Galvin 0-01 each

Croke Park, Dublin

Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo)

26 August 2012

15:30

Semi-final

Cork| 1-11 - 0-16| Donegal

|
|

C O'Neill 1-03, C O'Neill 0-03, P Kerrigan 0-02, D Goulding (f), P Kelly, A Walsh 0-01 each | Report | C McFadden (2f, 1 '45) 0-05 , M Murphy (3f) 0-03 , K Lacey 0-02, M McHugh, A Thompson, F McGlynn, D Walsh, M McElhinney, R Kavanagh 0-01 each

Croke Park, Dublin

Attendance: 55,169

Referee: David Coldrick (Meath)

Main article: 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final

23 September 2012

Final

Donegal| 2-11 - 0-13| Mayo

|
|

M Murphy (3f), C McFadden (3f) 1-04 each, R Bradley, N Gallagher, F McGlynn 0-1 each | Report | C O'Connor (5f) 0-05 , E Varley (1f), K McLoughlin 0-02 each, L Keegan, M Conroy, R Feeney, J Gibbons 0-01 each

Croke Park, Dublin

Attendance: 82,269

Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)

## Post-season

[edit]

Further information: Match for Michaela

Played under floodlights[3] at Casement Park in Belfast on Saturday 3 November 2012, this game was held in memory of Michaela McAreavey. Donegal, in their first outing as All-Ireland champions, played a team comprising players from the rest of Ulster in an event intended to raise funds for The Michaela Foundation.[4][5]

## Kit

[edit]

## Management team

[edit]

* Manager: Jim McGuinness
* Selectors: Rory Gallagher, Maxi Curran
* Goalkeeping coach: Pat Shovelin
* Strength and conditioning coach: Adam Speer[6]
* Surgical consultant: Kevin Moran
* Team doctor: Charlie McManus
* Team physio: Dermot Simpson
* Physiotherapists: Charlie Molloy, Paul Coyle, Donal Reid, JD.[7]

## Awards

[edit]

### Donegal News Sports Personality of the Month

[edit]

* Frank McGlynn: June[8]
* Neil Gallagher: August[9]
* Michael Murphy: September[10]

### The Sunday Game Team of the Year

[edit]

The Sunday Game selected Paul Durcan, Neil McGee, Frank McGlynn, Karl Lacey, Mark McHugh, Neil Gallagher, Colm McFadden and Michael Murphy on its Team of the Year.[11]

### All Stars

[edit]

Donegal achieved eight All Stars, a record for a single season in team history. Karl Lacey was named All Stars Footballer of the Year.

Pos. | Player | Team | Appearances

|
|
|

GK |  Paul Durcan | Donegal | 1
RCB |  Neil McGee | Donegal | 2
FB |  Ger Cafferkey | Mayo | 1
LCB |  Keith Higgins | Mayo | 1
RWB |  Lee Keegan | Mayo | 1
CB |  Karl LaceyFOTY | Donegal | 4
LWB |  Frank McGlynn | Donegal | 1
MD |  Neil Gallagher | Donegal | 1
MD |  Aidan Walsh | Cork | 2
RWF |  Paul Flynn | Dublin | 2
CF |  Alan Dillon | Mayo | 2
LWF |  Mark McHugh | Donegal | 1
RCF |  Colm O'Neill | Cork | 1
FF |  Michael Murphy | Donegal | 1
LCF |  Colm McFadden | Donegal | 1

County breakdown

* Donegal = 8
* Mayo = 4
* Cork = 2
* Dublin = 1

## See also

[edit]

* "Jimmy's Winning Matches", a song
* Jimmy's Winnin' Matches, a documentary

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Duggan, Keith (2 September 2014). "Neil McGee: pushing bodies on was key to Dublin upset — 'We went away to a training camp for four, five days and Jim more or less broke down their game plan and we exploited it'". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. p. 2. Retrieved 2 September 2014. "One of the lazier stereotypes about the Donegal defensive game — generally labelled 'the system' — is that it somehow does the work on its own. But McGee had plenty of moments in the spotlight with Brogan on Sunday and took his turn roaming forward like the other Donegal back six."
2. ^ O'Toole, Fintan (22 August 2012). "Sampling Gaelic football life with the Rebels and Tír Chonaill". The42.ie. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
3. ^ Bogue, Declan (25 October 2012). "GAA Match for Michaela squads announced". The Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
4. ^ Bogue, Declan (27 October 2012). "GAA stars to turn out for Michaela". The Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
5. ^ "Jim McGuinness names strong Donegal side to compete in Match for Michaela". The Score. 25 October 2012. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
6. ^ Craig, Frank (17 September 2020). "Devenney doesn't expect the decider to be a classic". Donegal News. p. 57\. "Devenney said [regarding the 2020 Donegal SFC final, ahead of its second postponement]: 'Kilcar are so well conditioned. They've Adam Speer in the background. He's a top man. He was with Donegal in 2012 and he knows how to get teams into that frame of physical fitness'."
7. ^ Craig, Frank. "Interview: Keepers deserve their 'Pat' on the back". Ardara. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. "As well as Pat, the hospital's surgical consultant, Kevin Moran; team doctor, Charlie McManus and team physio, Dermot Simpson, are all part of McGuinness' backroom team."
8. ^ McNulty, Chris (26 July 2012). "Frank McGlynn – June 2012 Donegal News Sports Personality Winner". Donegal News. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
9. ^ McNulty, Chris (10 September 2012). "Neil Gallagher – August 2012 Donegal News Sports Personality winner". Donegal News. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
10. ^ McNulty, Chris (19 October 2012). "Michael Murphy – September 2012 Donegal News Sports Personality Winner". Donegal News. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
11. ^ Maguire, Stephen (23 September 2012). "Donegal team clean up on Sunday Game Team of the Year". Retrieved 23 September 2012.

* v
* t
* e

Donegal county football team

* Honours
* All Stars
* Managers
* Players
* Captains
* Records and statistics

Stadiums|

* MacCumhaill Park
* O'Donnell Park

Key historical figures|

* Columba McDyer
* Seamus Hoare
* Brian McEniff
* Seamus Bonner
* Donal Reid
* Anthony Molloy
* Martin McHugh
* Matt Gallagher
* Martin Gavigan
* Declan Bonner
* Manus Boyle
* Barry McGowan
* Jim McGuinness
* Brian Roper
* Kevin Cassidy
* Colm McFadden
* Neil Gallagher
* Karl Lacey
* Frank McGlynn
* Neil McGee
* Michael Murphy

Rivalries|

* Cork
* Dublin
* Mayo
* Tyrone

Competitions|

* All-Ireland SFC
* Ulster SFC
* National League
* Dr McKenna Cup

All-Ireland SFCs|

* 1992
* 2012

Culture|

* Donegal Creameries
* Football Special

Media|

* Confessions of a Gaelic Footballer
* "Jimmy's Winning Matches"
* Jimmy's Winnin' Matches
* "Las Vegas (In the Hills of Donegal)"
* Until Victory Always: A Memoir

Related|

* Match for Michaela
* "The System"

* v
* t
* e

Seasons

* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979

* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999

* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009

* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

* v
* t
* e

2012 GAA season

« 2011

2013 »

Football|

| Championship|

* Ulster SFC
* final
* Leinster SFC
* final
* Munster SFC
* final
* Connacht SFC
* final

* All-Ireland qualifiers
* All-Ireland series
* final

|

League (NFL)|

* Division 1
* Division 2
* Division 3
* Division 4

Preseason competitions|

* McKenna
* O'Byrne
* McGrath

Other competitions|

* Match for Michaela
* Sigerson

County team seasons|

* Donegal
* Down

Hurling|

| Championship|

* Leinster SHC
* final
* Munster SHC
* final

* All-Ireland qualifiers
* All-Ireland series
* final

* Christy Ring Cup
* final
* Nicky Rackard Cup
* final
* Lory Meagher Cup

|

League (NHL)|

* Division 1A
* Division 1B
* Division 2A
* Division 2B
* Division 3A
* Division 3B

Preseason competitions|

* Walsh
* Kehoe
* Waterford Crystal

Other competitions|

* Composite Rules Series
* Fitzgibbon
* Ulster SHC

County team seasons|

* Tipperary

Football All Stars • Hurling All Stars
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