The following is a summary of

Donegal county football team The Donegal county football team ( ) represents Donegal in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Donegal GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the Al ...

's 2011 season. The 2011

season was the franchise's 107th season since the

County Board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...

's foundation in 1905. The team ended the season as Ulster champions after winning the

2011 Ulster Senior Football Championship The 2011 Ulster Senior Football Championship was the 123rd installment of the annual Ulster Senior Football Championship held under the auspices of the Ulster GAA. It was won by Donegal who defeated Derry in the final. It was their first Ulste ...

. It was their sixth title and a first since

Brian McEniff Brian McEniff (born 1 December 1942) is a former Gaelic football manager, administrator and player. McEniff played as a wing-back for the St Joseph's combination of clubs from Bundoran and Ballyshannon. He won seven Donegal Senior Football C ...

led the team to Sam MCMXCII.

Personnel changes

Ahead of the new season,

Jim McGuinness Jim McGuinness (born 16 November 1972) is an association football coach and former Gaelic footballer, coach and manager, who won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship as both player and manager with the Donegal county team. Having gu ...

was appointed as the team's manager, bringing to an end the era of John Joe Doherty. The arrival of McGuinness brought the first appearance of a soon-to-be revolutionary tactic The System. McGuinness selected

Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...

as Donegal team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, replacing

Kevin Cassidy Kevin Cassidy (born 1981) is an Irish-Scottish Gaelic footballer, businessperson, columnist and commentator. Though born in Glasgow, Scotland, he has been living in Gaoth Dobhair, County Donegal from a young age. Cassidy plays his club football ...

in the role.

Panel

New manager Jim McGuinness included Kevin Cassidy (who intended to retire at the end of the previous season) and Michael Hegarty (who was not involved in the previous season) in his squad for the

2011 Dr McKenna Cup The 2011 Dr McKenna Cup was a Gaelic football competition played under the auspices of Ulster GAA. The tournament was won by Derry, their first McKenna title in 12 years. They defeated Tyrone in the final. The final was postponed due to the dea ...

. Also named were several of the under-21s, including

Peter Boyle Peter Lawrence Boyle (October 18, 1935 – December 12, 2006) was an American actor. Known as a character actor, he played Frank Barone on the CBS sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' and the comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof ''Young Fra ...

Thomas McKinley Thomas Joseph McKinley (19 March 1888 – 8 July 1949) was an Australian politician. He was born in Maryborough in Victoria. In 1941 he was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly as a Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, ...

Daniel McLaughlin Daniel McLaughlin (born 1990) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for St Michael's and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team. With his club he has emerged from the shadows of the more experienced forwards Colm McFadden and Christ ...

Kevin Mulhern Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

and Antoin McFadden, and Johnny Bonner and

Marty Boyle Marty Boyle is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Naomh Conaill and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team. In 2005, Boyle played for his club in the final of the Donegal Senior Football Championship. He played (and scored) for hi ...

, stars of Naomh Conaill's run to the 2010 Ulster club football final. Johnny Bonner did not play in any of the league games. ;McKenna Cup panel Paul Durcan, Peter Boyle, Karl Lacey, Neil McGee, Barry Dunnion, Johnny Bonner, Tomas McKinley, Edward Kelly, Neil Gallagher, Rory Kavanagh, Christopher Murrin, Dermot Molloy, Michael Hegarty, Colm McFadden, Daniel McLaughlin, Marty Boyle, David Walsh, Adrian Hanlon, Michael Murphy, Paddy McGrath, Kevin Mulhern, Leo McLoone, Ryan Bradley, Kevin Cassidy, Frank McGlynn, Antoin McFadden. ;Details

Christy Toye Christy Toye (born 10 March 1983) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for St Michael's and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team. He captained his county in Brian McIver's first season in charge (2005). Along with his fellow club ...

( St Michael's) ;Championship panel

Competitions

League

Opener: win vs Sligo

Ulster Senior Football Championship

Kevin Rafferty Kevin Gelshenen Rafferty II (May 25, 1947 – July 2, 2020) was an American documentary film cinematographer, director, and producer, best known for his 1982 documentary ''The Atomic Cafe''. Background Rafferty was born in Boston on May 25, 194 ...

missed the Ulster SFC final with an abductor muscle injury.

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

Kit

Management team

Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Selector Selector may refer to: *Selector, electrical or mechanical component, a switch *''Selector'', music scheduling software for radio stations created by Radio Computing Services *Selector, of music, otherwise known as a disc jockey *Selector, a pers ...

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Due to his virtuosic playing, but relative lack of fame compared to some others, he has been referred to as "the greatest ...

Maxi Curran Maxi Curran is a Gaelic football manager from Downings, County Donegal. He attended Mulroy College in Milford for his secondary education. Curran succeeded McGuinness as Donegal under-21 football team manager on 19 January 2012. He has also b ...

Goalkeeping coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hun ...

Pat Shovelin Pat Shovelin (1975/6 – 21 October 2017) was a Gaelic football coach from Ardara, County Donegal. He was the goalkeeping coach for the Donegal county football team. He represented Ardara, his local club. Donegal won the 2012 All-Ireland Senior ...

Strength and conditioning coach A strength and conditioning coach (also known as an S&C coach) is a physical performance professional who uses exercise prescription to improve the performance of competitive athletes or athletic teams. This is achieved through the combination of ...

: Adam Speer *Surgical consultant: Kevin Moran * Team doctor: Charlie McManus *Team physio: Dermot Simpson *

Physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

s: Charlie Molloy, Paul Coyle,

Donal Reid Donal Reid ( ; born 1961 or 1962) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for Bundoran, Red Hughs and the Donegal county team. He played more than 100 times competitively for Donegal, appearing at all age levels and positions from midf ...

, JD.

Awards

All Stars

Donegal achieved three All Stars. ;County breakdown * Dublin = 6 * Kerry = 4 * Donegal = 3 * Mayo = 1 * Kildare = 1

References

{{GAA 2011 Donegal county football team seasons