| Na Cealla Beaga | |||||||||
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| Founded: | 1924 | ||||||||
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| County: | Donegal | ||||||||
| Nickname: | The Fishermen [1] | ||||||||
| Colours: | Red and White | ||||||||
| Grounds: | Eamonn Byrne Memorial Park | ||||||||
| Coordinates: | 54°38′17.62″N8°29′05.29″W / 54.6382278°N 8.4848028°W | ||||||||
| Playing kits | |||||||||
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| Senior Club Championships | |||||||||
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CLG na Cealla Beaga [2] is a GAA club based in Killybegs, County Donegal, Ireland.
They have won the Donegal Senior Football Championship on six occasions, most recently in 1996. [3]
They have an intense rivalry with Cill Chartha. [4]
Founded in 1924, [5] the club have had teams break up several times in their history. [5] They play football only, though — in the past — played hurling too.
From 1967, the team played at the coastal venue Fintra Park, subsequently renamed McDevitt Park; that year Donegal and Mayo played a game to mark its opening. [6]
They contested the Donegal SFC decider seven times between 1988 and 1996, winning five of them. [1] The first of the five was the defeat of local rivals Cill Chartha in the 1988 decider. [1] It ended a 36-year wait for the Donegal SFC and was only the second time the club had won the competition. [1] Of that team Manus Boyle, Barry Cunningham, John Cunningham, John Bán Gallagher, Barry McGowan and Conor White had won the 1987 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship the previous year, while Mark Boyle, Stephen Burke, Barry Cunningham Jnr and David Meehan had played for Donegal in the Ulster Minor Football Championship and also the Donegal under-21 football team. [1] Boyle, Barry Cunningham, John Cunningham and McGowan would go on to win the 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. [1] John Joe O'Shea, a Kerry native teaching at Killybegs Vocational School, was manager of the senior team in 1988 after a fruitful spell as underage manager. [7] The second final of the seven was a loss to Naomh Columba in 1990, the third a 2–11 to 2–9 victory over Red Hughs in 1991. [7] The fourth of the seven finals occurred in 1992 and involved Naomh Columba again, though this time Naomh Columba lost. [7] The fifth final was in 1993; Cill Chartha defeated them. [7] They then won consecutive Donegal SFCs for a second time in 1995 and 1996. [7] Jimmy White took over as player-manager from O'Shea at the beginning of 1991; he had no selectors and Michael Gallagher trained the team. [7] The 1996 Donegal SFC has been described as "probably the greatest ever championship in Donegal", with the club playing nine games to lift the trophy that year. [8]
In the midst of this successful run, the club reached the final of the 1991 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship. [1] Denis Carberry was team captain that year. [1] However, one third of the team were absent for the Ulster campaign due to employment in fishing in the North Atlantic: these were Carberry, Conor White, David Meehan, Rory McNelis and Mickey Campbell. [1] They were the away side in both the quarter-final and semi-final, defeating Derry champions Dungiven (featuring Joe Brolly) in the former and Down champions Downpatrick in the latter. [1] Ahead of the final in Omagh, John Bán Gallagher got injured. [1] Carberry, Meehan and White were flown back to the mainland to compete in the game. [1] However, the team lost to Castleblayney Faughs by a scoreline of 0–8 to 0–6. [1] Tony Hegarty had a late goal chance that would have won the game but it went inches wide. [7] Declan Boyle and Peter McGinley, who would later play under-21 and senior football for the county, also emerged aged 17 in 1991; Boyle played in all the club's games during the 1991 Donegal and Ulster Club SFC campaign, while McGinley only played in the three Ulster Club SFC matches. [7] Boyle drifted away from the game and ended up involved in association football, eventually making it as far as a reserve team in Scotland and was last heard of overseeing an under-17 team in that sport, but back in Ireland. [9] [10]
Forward Paul "Feet" Murrin was part of the team that won consecutive Donegal SFCs in 1995 and 1996, becoming one of the county's most recognisable sportsmen. [11] [12]
By 2002 the club had no senior representatives on the county team. [13] The club were thrown out of the 2002 Donegal Senior Football Championship at the semi-final stage after breaking the rules. [14]
They came from nowhere to reach the final of the 2010 Donegal Senior Football Championship, with Manus Boyle even coming out of retirement at the age of 44. [15] But Naomh Conaill defeated them, following a series of injuries in advance that made competing in that game all the more difficult for the Peter McGinley-managed team. [16] [17] A further final appearance came in the 2013 Donegal Senior Football Championship; this time they lost to Glenswilly. [18] Benny Boyle captained the club in that game. [19]
| Years | Manager |
|---|---|
| 1924–1980s? | — |
| c. 1988–1991 | John Joe O'Shea [7] |
| Early 1991–199? | Jimmy White [7] |
| c. 1996 | Pauric McShea (coach?) [21] |
| c. 1996–200? | — |
| ?–2008 | Manus Boyle and Barry McGowan [22] |
| 2008/09–? | — |
| c. 2010–? | Peter McGinley [17] |
| 201?–c. 2013 | Joe McBrearty [23] |
| c. 2013 | Martin "Slua" Boyle [23] |
| 201?–201? | — |
| 201?–202? | John Cunningham [24] [25] [26] [27] |
| 2022– | Shane Molloy and Antoine O'Hara [28] |
The Donegal County Board or Donegal GAA is one of 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Donegal.
The Donegal Senior Football Championship is an annual football competition organised by Donegal GAA and contested by the highest-level clubs, to determine the best team in County Donegal. Since 2016, it has been known as Michael Murphy Sports and Leisure Donegal SFC after its headline sponsor.
St Eunans GAA is a dual club which plays hurling and Gaelic football. Its home ground is O'Donnell Park in Letterkenny. It fields 35 teams, making it the biggest club in its county.
CLG Chill Chartha is a GAA club based in Kilcar, County Donegal, in Ulster, Ireland. They have won the Donegal Senior Football Championship on six occasions, the last in 2017. They regard themselves as being "down the trough".
Naomh Conaill CLCG is a GAA club for the Glenties parish in south-west County Donegal. As well as the town of Glenties, the club also covers the area to the village of Fintown and the areas of Kilraine, The Glen and Maas down to the Gweebara Bridge. Much of this area lies within the Donegal Gaeltacht area.
Leo McLoone is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Naomh Conaill and also, formerly, the Donegal county team.
Anthony Thompson is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Naomh Conaill and, formerly, the Donegal county team. He is a wing back.
Manus Boyle is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for Na Cealla Beaga and the Donegal county team. He writes a column for the Donegal Democrat and is a health coach.
Barry McGowan is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for Na Cealla Beaga and the Donegal county team.
St Michael's is a GAA club based in Creeslough/Dunfanaghy in County Donegal. Located in the north of the county, the club is affected by rural issues such as low population and emigration; despite this they play at the top level in the Donegal Senior Football Championship and opened a new clubhouse in 2010. The club colours are red and white.
Marty Boyle is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Naomh Conaill and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team. He played for his county during Jim McGuinness's first spell as manager.
Leon Thompson is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for Naomh Conaill and the Donegal county team.
Eoin Waide is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Naomh Conaill and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team.
The 2016 Donegal Senior Football Championship is the 94th official edition of the Donegal GAA's premier club Gaelic football tournament for senior graded teams in County Donegal. The tournament consisted of 16 teams, with the winner going on to represent Donegal in the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship.
CLG Naomh Columba is a Gaelic football only GAA club based in Gleann Cholm Cille, County Donegal, Ireland. The club fields both men's and ladies' teams from underage as far as senior level. They enjoy an intense rivalry with neighbours, Cill Chartha, although the rivalry has subdued somewhat in the last number of years as the clubs have played in different divisions.
John Cunningham is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for Na Cealla Beaga and the Donegal county team.
Peter McGinley is an Irish Gaelic football coach and former player for the Donegal county team.
Ciaran McGinley is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Cill Chartha and also, formerly, the Donegal county team.
The 2023 Donegal Senior Football Championship was the 101th official edition of Donegal GAA's premier Gaelic football tournament for senior graded clubs in County Donegal. 16 teams competed, with the winner representing Donegal in the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship.
Brendan McDyer is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Naomh Conaill and, formerly, the Donegal county team. He is one part of the "usually starting trio" for his club that also includes Leo McLoone and Anthony Thompson.
Declan Boyle came along and made it as far as Celtic. He had a stint with their reserves and he retired seven years ago…
The 44-year-old started training for a marathon, but the hard road was unforgiving and reignited a few old injuries. The sod of the club's field was more forgiving… Incredibly, he has featured off the bench in recent matches and he's likely to do the same tomorrow.
…Peter McGinley's injury-ravaged side were well beaten by Naomh Conaill… Matthew Smyth is just after a year training with the county squad… Noctor dabbles in soccer and has been on the books of both Finn Harps and Sligo Rovers in recent seasons… He was on the Donegal panel in 2011 himself, but pulled the pin after a season of little gametime.
Speculation as to [McGowan's] successor has already begun… Selectors from '92, Seamus Bonner and Micahel[sic] Lafferty have also been mentioned, as has Padraig[sic] McShea, a close associate and former playing colleague of McEniff's, who impressed when coaching Killybegs to a county title last year.
Along with Manus Boyle, McGowan co-managed Killybegs until last year.
Fintra on the evening of May 11, the alarm bells chimed in the head of the manager, Martin 'Slua' Boyle… Boyle was a late call-up to take the managerial reigns at Eamon Byrne Memorial Park. Promoted from Division 2 under Joe McBrearty's watch, the tap kept dripping on Killybegs' playing pool as several players answered emigration's beckon. Boyle says: 'There was a bit of a lull at the AGM and there didn't look to be any sign of a manager stepping forward. I had been there before and had been speaking to Sean Connor, who was free from his time in the League of Ireland, and Shea Murrin, so I decided to put my name forward. Joe done[sic] well to get them promoted, but they got promoted under a low ebb because we knew that we were losing players'… Boyle was a mentor to Peter McGinley that year [2010].
For the visiting Fishermen, it's about attempting to pick up the pieces and fast. John Cunningham's team had been looking forward to a return to Division 1 in 2020. But the Covid pandemic put the breaks[sic] on that.
John Cunningham, the Killybegs manager, arrived in Glenties with bodies light; the former Donegal player reckoning his injury count had entered double figures.
Shane Molloy has been one of the clubs[sic] leading players for well over a decade and Anthony Hara has been the clubs[sic] first team goalkeeper for a good number of years. In light of the fact the management team are only a few weeks in the job… Hugh McFadden is also a member of the management team. 'We are only three weeks in the job. There was a lot of toing and froing and there was nothing really happening. So myself [Shane Molloy] and Antoine said we would take it on behalf of the players and do the management end of things. I played last season and please God I'll be playing again before the end of the year… It is great to have Hugh on board as well…
