2014 Donegal county football team season

Donegal county football team 2014 football season

Donegal county football team2014 season

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

← 2013

2015 →

The following is a summary of Donegal county football team's 2014 season.

The 2014 Donegal county football team season was the franchise's 110th season since the County Board's foundation in 1905. The team entered the season looking to improve on their poor 2013 run and return to prominence for the first time since winning Sam Maguire MMXII.

Jim McGuinness returned for his fourth season as the team's manager. Pioneer of the game's revolutionary tactic The System,[1] he entered the season with two Ulster titles (2011, 2012), and added a third this season,[2] before becoming the first manager in team history to lead his team to two All-Ireland Finals.[3][4]

## Personnel changes

[edit]

Manager Jim McGuinness installed a new backroom team, consisting of Damian Diver, Paul McGonigle and John Duffy.[5]

Ryan Bradley and Ross Wherity both emigrated after the 2013 season.[5]

Ciaran Bonner and Leon Thompson returned to the panel for the first time since 2009.[5] Christy Toye returned after missing the 2013 season due to illness.[5] Returning also were Thomas McKinley (Naomh Colmcille) and Antoin McFadden — both excluded in the early part of the 2013 season after featuring as part of the 2012 panel.[5] Conor Classon returned to the panel as well.[5][6]

Hugh McFadden joined the panel after manager McGuinness noticed him during the 2013 Donegal Senior Football Championship.[7][8] Also joining were Stephen McLaughlin (Malin) and Darach O'Connor.[5]

## Panel

[edit]

Team as per Donegal v Dublin, 2014 All-Ireland Semi Final, 31 August 2014

| No.  | Player  | Position  | Club

|
|
|

1  | Paul Durcan | Goalkeeper | The Four Masters
2  | Eamon McGee | Right corner back | Gaoth Dobhair
3  | Neil McGee | Full back | Gaoth Dobhair
4  | Paddy McGrath | Left corner back | Ard an Rátha
5  | Anthony Thompson | Right half back | Naomh Conaill
6  | Karl Lacey | Centre back | The Four Masters
7  | Frank McGlynn | Left half back | Glenfin
8  | Neil Gallagher | Midfield | Glenswilly
9  | Odhrán Mac Niallais | Midfield | Gaoth Dobhair
10  | Christy Toye | Right half forward | St Michael's
11  | Leo McLoone | Centre forward | Naomh Conaill
12  | Ryan 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  | Darach O'Connor | Substitute | Buncrana
18  | David Walsh | Substitute | Naomh Bríd
19  | Declan Walsh | Substitute | Malin
20  | Dermot Molloy | Substitute | Naomh Conaill
21  | Hugh McFadden | Substitute | Na Cealla Beaga
22  | Leon Thompson | Substitute | Naomh Conaill
23  | Luke Keaney | Substitute | The Four Masters
24  | Martin McElhinney | Substitute | St Michael's
25  | Martin O'Reilly | Substitute | Seán MacCumhaill's
26  | Rory Kavanagh | Substitute | St Eunan's

* v
* t
* e

Donegal – 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship finalist

* 1 P. Durcan
* 2 E. McGee
* 3 N. McGee
* 4 P. McGrath
* 5 A. Thompson
* 6 K. Lacey
* 7 F. McGlynn
* 8 N. Gallagher
* 9 O. Mac Niallais
* 26 R. Kavanagh
* 11 L. McLoone
* 12 R. McHugh
* 17 D. O'Connor
* 14 M. Murphy (c)
* 15 C. McFadden

Subs used
10 C. Toye for O'Connor
13 P. McBrearty for McHugh
24 M. McElhinney for Mac Niallais
18 Dav. Walsh for McLoone
20 D. Molloy for Kavanagh

Subs not used
16 M. Boyle
19 Dec. Walsh
21 H. McFadden
22 L. Thompson
23 L. Keaney
25 M. O'Reilly

Manager
J. McGuinness

Selectors
D. Diver
J. Duffy
P. McGonigle

## Competitions

[edit]

### Dr McKenna Cup

[edit]

Main article: 2014 Dr McKenna Cup

### National Football League Division 2

[edit]

Main article: 2014 National Football League (Ireland)

Donegal won promotion from Division 2.

2014 Division 2 table
Team  | Pld  | W  | D  | L  | F  | A  | Diff  | Pts  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Donegal | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 9-97 | 7-67 | +36 | 11 | Advanced to final and promoted to Division 1 for 2015
Monaghan | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3-107 | 3-78 | +29 | 11
Meath | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9-87 | 8-95 | –5 | 9

Round 1

Laois| 1-9 – 2-19| Donegal

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|

|  |

Round 2

Galway| 0-12 – 1-16| Donegal

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|  |

Round 3

Donegal| 2-11 – 0-10| Monaghan

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|

|  |

Round 4

Donegal| 1-12 – 1-12| Meath

|
|

|  |

Round 5

Down| 1-9 – 0-10| Donegal

|
|

|  |

Round 6

Donegal| 1-19 – 3-7| Louth

|
|

|  |

Round 7

Armagh| 1-8 – 2-10| Donegal

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|

|  |

27 April 2014

2:00 pm

Final

Monaghan| 1-16 – 1-10| Donegal

|
|

K Hughes 1-1, P Finlay (1f), C McManus 0-3 each, P McKenna, D Hughes 0-2 each, R Beggan ('45), D Mone, D Clerkin, C McGuinness, F Kelly 0-1 each | Report | M Murphy 1-4 (1 pen, 3f), C McFadden 0-4 (3f), P McBrearty, O MacNiallais 0-1 each

Croke Park, Dublin

Attendance: 38,841

Referee: David Gough (Meath)

### Ulster Senior Football Championship

[edit]

Main article: 2014 Ulster Senior Football Championship

Donegal won the Ulster Championship for a third time in four seasons.

| Preliminary round | | | Quarter-finals | | | Semi-finals | | | Final |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tyrone
(R) | 2-11
3-11 | | | |
| Down
(R) | 3-08
0-12 | | | Tyrone | 0-14 |
| | | | Monaghan | 1-12 |
| | | | | | | Monaghan
(R) | 0-14
1-18 |
| | | | | | Armagh
(R) | 0-14
1-13 |
| | | | Armagh | 1-12 | | | |
| | | | Cavan | 0-09 |
| | | | | Monaghan | 1-09 |
| | | | | | | Donegal | 0-15 |
| | | | Fermanagh | 3-13 | | | |
| | | | Antrim | 2-18 |
| | | | | | | Antrim | 0-12 |
| | | | | | Donegal | 3-16 |
| | | | Derry | 0-11 | |
| | | | Donegal | 1-11 |

25 May 2014

2.00pm

Quarter-final

Derry| 0-11 – 1-11| Donegal

|
|

M Lynch (0-04), E Bradley (0-03), B Heron (0-02), C McFaul, N Holly (0-01 each) | Report | L McLoone (1-01), M Murphy (0-04), K Lacey, A Thompson, C Toye, D O'Connor, P McBrearty, M McElhinney (0-01 each)

Celtic Park, Derry

Attendance: 15,883

Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan)

22 June 2014

2.00pm

Semi-final

Donegal| 3-16 – 0-12| Antrim

|
|

D O'Connor, L McLoone (1-02 each), D Molloy (1-01), O MacNialais (0-04), M Murphy (0-03), C Toye, C McFadden (0-02 each) | Report | T McCann, B Neeson (0-03 each), M Sweeney (0-02), C Murray, P McCann, K Niblock, P Cunningham (0-01 each)

St Tiernach's Park

Attendance: 11,795

Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry)

20 July 2014

4.00pm

Final

Monaghan| 1-09 – 0-15| Donegal

|
|

P Finlay (0-04), C McGuinness (1-00), R Beggan (0-02), V Corey, K Hughes, C McManus (0-01 each) | Report | C McFadden (0-04), P McBrearty , O MacNiallais (0-03 each), M Murphy (0-02), A Thompson, K Lacey, R McHugh (0-01 each)

St Tiernach's Park, Clones

Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)

### All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

[edit]

Main article: 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

Donegal reached the All-Ireland Final for the second time in three seasons.

9 August 2014

4.00pm

Quarter-final B

Donegal| 1-12 – 1-11| Armagh

|
|

M Murphy (0-05), O MacNiallais (1-01), C McFadden (0-03), P McBrearty (0-02), N McGee (0-01) | Report | T Kernan (0-04), A Kernan (0-02), A Mallon, A Forker, S Campbell, K Carragher, M Murray (0-01 each)
P Durcan (1-00 own goal)

Croke Park, Dublin

Attendance: 72,440

Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan)

31 August 2014

3:30pm

Semi-final

Donegal| 3-14 - 0-17| Dublin

|
|

R McHugh 2-02, C McFadden 1-03 (2fs), M Murphy 0-03 (2fs), P McBrearty 0-02, K Lacey, F McGlynn, O MacNiallais, R Kavanagh 0-01 each | Report | D Connolly 0-05 (1f), P Flynn 0-04, B Brogan 0-03 (1f), A Brogan, P Andrews 0-02 each, P McMahon 0-01

Croke Park, Dublin

Attendance: 81,500

Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan)

Main article: 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final

21 September 2014

Final

Donegal| v| Kerry

|
|

|  |

Croke Park, Dublin

Referee: Eddie Kinsella (Laois)

## Kit

[edit]

## Management team

[edit]

* Manager: Jim McGuinness
* Selectors: Damian Diver, John Duffy, Paul McGonigle
* Goalkeeping coach: Pat Shovelin
* Strength and conditioning coach: Paul Fisher[9]

## Awards

[edit]

### GAA.ie Football Team of the Week

[edit]

Included:

* 21 July: Ryan McHugh, Karl Lacey, Odhrán Mac Niallais, Patrick McBrearty[10]

### The Sunday Game Team of the Year

[edit]

The Sunday Game selected Paul Durcan, Neil McGee, Neil Gallagher, Ryan McHugh and Michael Murphy on its Team of the Year.[11][12]

### GAA/GPA Young Footballer of the Year

[edit]

Ryan McHugh won.[13]

### All Stars

[edit]

Donegal achieved four All Stars.

Pos. | Player | Team | Appearances

|
|
|

GK |  Paul Durcan | Donegal | 2
RCB |  Paul Murphy | Kerry | 1
FB |  Neil McGee | Donegal | 3
LCB |  Keith Higgins | Mayo | 3
RWB |  James McCarthy | Dublin | 1
CB |  Peter Crowley | Kerry | 1
LWB |  Colm Boyle | Mayo | 2
MD |  Neil Gallagher | Donegal | 2
MD |  David Moran | Kerry | 1
RWF |  Paul Flynn | Dublin | 4
CF |  Michael Murphy | Donegal | 2
LWF |  Diarmuid Connolly | Dublin | 1
RCF | Cillian O'Connor | Mayo | 1
FF |  Kieran Donaghy | Kerry | 3
LCF |  James O'DonoghueFOTY | Kerry | 2

County breakdown

* Kerry= 5
* Donegal= 4
* Dublin= 3
* Mayo= 3

## Notes

[edit]

A team managed by Declan Bonner, and including Eoghan Bán Gallagher, Jamie Brennan, John Campbell, Michael Carroll, Lorcan Connor, Ciaran Diver, Kieran Gillespie, Stephen McBrearty, Andrew McClean, Tony McClenaghan, Caolan McGonagle, Stephen McMenamin, Cian Mulligan and Ethan O'Donnell, advanced to the 2014 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship final on 21 September.[14][15][16][17]

## 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. ^ "Ulster Football Final: Donegal beat Monaghan in provincial decider". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
3. ^ "GAA: Donegal record stunning six-point victory over Dublin in All-Ireland SFC semi-final". Sky Sports. BSkyB. 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
4. ^ Harkin, Greg (31 August 2014). "Written off by everyone — but Donegal tear up the script". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
5. ^ a b c d e f g McNulty, Chris (29 September 2013). "Ciaran Bonner, Leon Thompson and Christy Toye among 'new' faces for Donegal". Donegal News. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
6. ^ Boyle, Donnchadh (1 October 2013). "Christy Toye recalled to Donegal panel after year out". Irish Independent. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
7. ^ "McFadden powers Killybegs into last four". Donegal Democrat. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013. "The difference between the sides was full-forward Hugh McFadden, who caused havoc in the MacCumhaill's defence and finished with a tally of 2–4 to put himself in the shop window for Jim McGuinness."
8. ^ McNulty, Chris (5 October 2013). "SFC: Jason Noctor and Killybegs aiming to make up for 'wasted chance'". Donegal News. Retrieved 5 October 2013. "…Hugh McFadden's cracking 2–4 against Sean MacCumhaills in the quarter-final bleeped on Jim McGuinness's radar."
9. ^ Watters, Andy (15 December 2020). "A level playing field? Donegal coach Paul Fisher laments lack of resources in quest to close gap on Dublin". The Irish News. Retrieved 15 December 2020. "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."
10. ^ "GAA.ie Football Team of the Week". 21 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
11. ^ "Five Donegal players named on 'Sunday Game' Team of the Year". 21 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
12. ^ "The Sunday Game football team of the year". RTÉ Sport. 21 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
13. ^ "Donegal forward Ryan McHugh wins Young Player award". BBC Sport. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
14. ^ Kelly, Niall (21 September 2014). "As it happened: Kerry v Donegal, All-Ireland MFC final". The42.ie. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
15. ^ Kelly, Niall (21 September 2014). "Kerry end 20-year wait for All-Ireland minor glory". The42.ie. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
16. ^ Cummiskey, Gavin (21 September 2014). "Kerry minors end drought to give Jack O'Connor another All-Ireland". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
17. ^ "Donegal are Ulster minor champions". 21 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.

* 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

* v
* t
* e

2014 GAA season

« 2013

2015 »

Football|

| Championship|

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

* All-Ireland qualifiers
* All-Ireland series
* Donegal–Dublin semi-final
* final

|

League (NFL)|

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

Preseason competitions|

* McKenna
* O'Byrne
* McGrath

Other competitions|

* International Rules Test
* Interprovincial Championships
* Sigerson

County team seasons|

* Donegal
* Down

Hurling|

| Championship|

* Leinster SHC
* final
* Munster Championship
* 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
* Waterford Crystal

Other competitions|

* Composite Rules Series
* Fitzgibbon
* Interprovincial Championships
* Ulster SHC

County team seasons|

* Tipperary

Football All Stars • Hurling All Stars
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