2016 Donegal county football team season

Donegal county football team

2016 season
Stadium	MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey
NFL D1	Semi-finalist
All-Ireland SFC	Quarter-finalist
Ulster SFC	Finalist
←  2015 2017  →

The following is a summary of Donegal county football team's 2016 season. ^{[1] [2]}

Personnel changes

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]}

Kit

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]

Competitions

Dr McKenna Cup

Main article: 2016 Dr McKenna Cup

National Football League Division 1

Main article: 2016 National Football League (Ireland)

The fixtures were announced on 16 November 2015. ^[11]

Table

  Compete in Division 1 semi-finals
  Automatic relegation to Division 2

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
Dublin	7	7	0	0	8-91	4-75	28	14
Kerry	7	5	0	2	5-109	5-77	32	10
Roscommon	7	4	0	3	9-98	8-77	24	8
Donegal	7	3	0	4	8-84	6-78	12	6
Mayo	7	3	0	4	5-88	7-91	-9	6
Monaghan	7	3	0	4	6-83	7-91	-11	6
Cork	7	3	0	4	9-89	9-105	-16	6
Down	7	0	0	7	2-60	6-108	-60	0

¹Donegal, Mayo, Monaghan and Cork are ranked by scoring difference.

Fixtures

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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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Ulster Senior Football Championship

Main article: 2016 Ulster Senior Football Championship

The draw for the 2016 Ulster Senior Football Championship took place on 15 October 2015. ^[12]

Bracket

	Preliminary round					Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
						Derry		0-12
						Tyrone		3-14
											Tyrone (R)		0-16 5-18
											Cavan (R)		3-07 2-17
						Cavan		2-16
						Armagh		0-14
																Tyrone		0-13
																Donegal		0-11
						Monaghan		2-22
						Down		0-09
											Monaghan (R)		0-14 2-10
											Donegal (R)		1-11 0-17
						Donegal		2-12
	Fermanagh		1-12			Fermanagh		0-11
	Antrim		0-9

Fixtures

12 June 2016

14:00

Quarter-Final

Donegal	2-12 – 0-11	Fermanagh
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)

MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey

Attendance: 15,908

Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)

25 June 2016

19:00

Semi-Final

Monaghan	0-14 – 1-11	Donegal
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)

Breffni Park, Cavan

Attendance: 16,287

Referee: Ciaran Branagan (Down)

2 July 2016

19:00

Semi-Final
Replay

Monaghan	2-10 – 0-17	Donegal
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)

Breffni Park, Cavan

Attendance: 17,174

Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)

17 July 2016

14:00

Final

Tyrone	0-13 – 0-11	Donegal
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)

St Tiernach's Park, Clones

Attendance: 33,433

Referee: David Coldrick (Meath)

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

Main article: 2016 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

30 July 2016 4.00 PM Round 4B	Cork	1-15 – 0-21	Donegal	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.

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6 August 6.00 PM	Dublin	1-15 – 1-10	Donegal	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	M Murphy (0-6 5f, 1 45), R McHugh (1-0), P McBrearty (0-3, 2f), A Thompson (0-1)

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Management team

• Selector: Brendan Kilcoyne ^[13]
• Coach: Jack Cooney ^[13]
• Strength and conditioning coach: Paul Fisher ^[14]
• Goalkeeping coach: James Gallagher ^[15]

Awards

All Stars

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	David Clarke	Mayo	1
RCB	Brendan Harrison	Mayo	1
FB	Jonny Cooper	Dublin	1
LCB	Philly McMahon	Dublin	2
RWB	Lee Keegan FOTY	Mayo	4
CB	Colm Boyle	Mayo	3
LWB	Ryan McHugh	Donegal	1
MD	Brian Fenton	Dublin	2
MD	Mattie Donnelly	Tyrone	2
RWF	Peter Harte	Tyrone	1
CF	Diarmuid Connolly	Dublin	2
LWF	Ciarán Kilkenny	Dublin	2
RCF	Dean Rock	Dublin	1
FF	Michael Quinlivan	Tipperary	1
LCF	Paul Geaney	Kerry	1

County breakdown

• Dublin = 6
• Mayo = 4
• Tyrone = 2
• Donegal = 1
• Kerry = 1
• Tipperary = 1

Notes

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]

References

1. Ferry, Ryan (16 August 2016). "A–Z of Donegal's 2016 season". Donegal News . Retrieved 16 August 2016.
2. Duggan, Keith (27 February 2016). "Donegal: where big names and youth collide". The Irish Times . Retrieved 27 February 2016.
3. "Brendan Kilcoyne joins Donegal Senior Backroom Team". Highland Radio. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
4. Walsh, Harry (13 November 2015). "Kilcoyne relishing new Donegal management role". Donegal News . Archived from the original on 16 November 2015. 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.
5. McNulty, Chris (11 November 2015). "Rory Gallagher to finalise Donegal panel this weekend as Kilcoyne recruited as selector" . Retrieved 11 November 2015.
6. Maguire, Gerry (24 November 2015). "Rory Gallagher puts his faith in youth with minor promotions". The Irish News . Retrieved 24 November 2015.
7. "FL1 semi-final: dazzling Dubs demolish disappointing Donegal". Hogan Stand . 10 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
8. O'Toole, Fintan (11 August 2015). "Donegal's Allstar goalkeeper set for move to Qatar putting inter county future in doubt". The42.ie . Retrieved 11 August 2015.
9. Keys, Colm (11 August 2015). "Durcan's Donegal future in doubt as he plans move abroad". Irish Independent . Retrieved 11 August 2015.
10. Bonner, Declan (9 January 2016). "Good start to McKenna Cup". Donegal News . Retrieved 9 January 2016.
11. "Football League fixtures: Down face Donegal on opening weekend". BBC Sport. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
12. "2016 Ulster Championship Draw". 15 October 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
13. Keys, Colm (4 January 2017). "Only six new inter-county gaelic football managers in 2017". Irish Independent . Retrieved 14 January 2017. 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.
14. 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.
15. McNulty, Chris (27 February 2016). "James Gallagher joins Glenswilly squad for 2016" . Retrieved 27 February 2016. 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.
16. Walsh, Harry (5 November 2016). "McHugh was in library when heard he had won an All Star". Donegal News . Retrieved 5 November 2016.
17. Heneghan, Conor (1 October 2016). "Here are the GAA/GPA Football All-Star nominations for 2016". JOE.ie . Retrieved 1 October 2016.
18. "Three Donegal players get All Star nominations". Donegal News . 6 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
19. McNulty, Chris (30 July 2016). "Superb second half sees Donegal minors reach All-Ireland semi-final" . Retrieved 30 July 2016.
20. O'Toole, Fintan (30 July 2016). "Donegal second-half comeback sees off 14-man Cork in All-Ireland quarter-final". The42.ie . Retrieved 30 July 2016.
21. Foley, Alan (21 August 2016). "Donegal minors lose to Galway in All-Ireland semi-final" . Retrieved 21 August 2016.
22. Gallagher, Ciarán (21 August 2016). "Galway account for Donegal to make minor decider". RTÉ Sport . Retrieved 21 August 2016.
23. "On This Day — August 21, 2016: Donegal minors have All-Ireland dreams ended by Galway at Croke Park". The Irish News . 21 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
24. Cannon, Chris (27 May 2018). "Niall O'Donnell joins Donegal U-20s panel" . Retrieved 27 May 2018.