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]

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.^[3] Goalkeeping coach was James Gallagher.^[4]

Personnel changes

Brendan Kilcoyne replaced Gary McDaid on the management team.^[5]^[6]

Twelve players were added ahead of the season: Eoghan Bán Gallagher, Ciarán Thompson, Stephen McMenamin, Caolan McGonagle, Tony McClenaghan, Kieran Gillespie (Gaoth Dobhair), Michael Carroll, Stephen McBrearty, Jack O'Brien, Danny Rodgers (Dungloe; goalkeeper), Rory Carr (St Eunan's) and Caolan Ward. Ward was the eldest of those additions.^[7] O'Brien played for Donegal in the 2016 National Football League semi-final against Dublin at Croke Park.^[8]

Paul Durcan emigrated to Qatar at the end of the previous season.^[9]^[10]

Competitions

Dr McKenna Cup

National Football League Division 1

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

Table

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

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

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

Reports

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)	Páirc Esler, Newry Referee: D Gough

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)	Fr Tierney Park, Ballyshannon Referee: J McQuillan

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)	MacCumhail Park, Ballybofey Referee: B Cassidy

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)	O'Donnell Park, Letterkenny Referee: P Hughes

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)	St Tiernach's Park, Clones Referee: R Hickey

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)

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

Reports

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

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.	Croke Park Attendance: 27,615 Referee: P Neilan (Roscommon)

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 [1]	M Murphy (0-6 5f, 1 45), R McHugh (1-0), P McBrearty (0-3, 2f), A Thompson (0-1)

Management team

Strength and conditioning coach: Paul Fisher^[13]

Awards

All Stars

Ryan McHugh won an All Star, the county's 32nd.^[14] Paddy McGrath and Patrick McBrearty were also nominated.^[15]^[16]

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

References

^ Ferry, Ryan (16 August 2016). "A–Z of Donegal's 2016 season". Donegal News. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
^ Duggan, Keith (27 February 2016). "Donegal: where big names and youth collide". The Irish Times. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
^ Bonner, Declan (9 January 2016). "Good start to McKenna Cup". Donegal News. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
^ 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.
^ "Brendan Kilcoyne joins Donegal Senior Backroom Team". Highland Radio. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
^ Walsh, Harry (13 November 2015). "Kilcoyne relishing new Donegal management role". Donegal News. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
^ Maguire, Gerry (24 November 2015). "Rory Gallagher puts his faith in youth with minor promotions". The Irish News. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
^ "FL1 semi-final: dazzling Dubs demolish disappointing Donegal". Hogan Stand. 10 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
^ 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.
^ Keys, Colm (11 August 2015). "Durcan's Donegal future in doubt as he plans move abroad". Irish Independent. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
^ "Football League fixtures: Down face Donegal on opening weekend". BBC Sport. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
^ "2016 Ulster Championship Draw". 15 October 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
^ 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.
^ Walsh, Harry (5 November 2016). "McHugh was in library when heard he had won an All Star". Donegal News. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
^ Heneghan, Conor (1 October 2016). "Here are the GAA/GPA Football All-Star nominations for 2016". JOE.ie. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
^ "Three Donegal players get All Star nominations". Donegal News. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.

[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] Bonner, Declan (9 January 2016). "Good start to McKenna Cup". Donegal News. Retrieved 9 January 2016.

[4] 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.

[5] "Brendan Kilcoyne joins Donegal Senior Backroom Team". Highland Radio. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.

[6] Walsh, Harry (13 November 2015). "Kilcoyne relishing new Donegal management role". Donegal News. Retrieved 13 November 2015.

[7] Maguire, Gerry (24 November 2015). "Rory Gallagher puts his faith in youth with minor promotions". The Irish News. Retrieved 24 November 2015.

[8] "FL1 semi-final: dazzling Dubs demolish disappointing Donegal". Hogan Stand. 10 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.

[9] 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.

[10] Keys, Colm (11 August 2015). "Durcan's Donegal future in doubt as he plans move abroad". Irish Independent. Retrieved 11 August 2015.

[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] 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.

[14] Walsh, Harry (5 November 2016). "McHugh was in library when heard he had won an All Star". Donegal News. Retrieved 5 November 2016.

[15] Heneghan, Conor (1 October 2016). "Here are the GAA/GPA Football All-Star nominations for 2016". JOE.ie. Retrieved 1 October 2016.

[16] "Three Donegal players get All Star nominations". Donegal News. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.

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