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 2019 season. Two players started all 18 matches in 2019: these were

Jamie Brennan Jamie Brennan (born 1996) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and Hurling, hurler who plays football for CLG Réalt na Mara, Réalt na Mara and the Donegal county football team, Donegal county team, and has hurled for C.L.G. Aodh Ruadh, Aodh Ruadh. F ...

and Hugh McFadden.

Niall O'Donnell Niall O'Donnell (born 1998) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for St Eunan's and the Donegal county team. The ''Irish Independents Colm Keys named O'Donnell among his "18 for 08: The brightest young talents" in Gaelic football, descri ...

played each match too, though only as a substitute in the championship meeting with

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh ( ga, Fir Manach), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of a ...

. Paul Brennan only missed one of the eighteen games, though he began just five of these.

Jason McGee Jason McGee (born 1997/8) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Cloich Cheann Fhaola and the Donegal county team. He is a former Australian rules football trialist. Playing career Minor McGee has an Ulster Minor Football Championship ...

played in all matches except for the 2019 National Football League fixture with

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, which he missed due to suspension.

Personnel changes

Oisín Gallen Oisín Gallen (born 1999/2000) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Seán Mac Cumhaills and the Donegal county team. He plays as a forward. Playing career Club 2018 was when Gallen first played for his club in the senior championship. ...

became an "impact sub" during the championship; this was despite him not being part of the Donegal panel at the start of the 2019 season. He was called up over the course of the McKenna Cup as Donegal were short on numbers.

Aaron Doherty Aaron Doherty is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Naomh Columba and the Donegal county team. He attended Coláiste na Carraige and Dublin Institute of Technology. He is from near Teelin, in the parish of Gleann Cholm Cille. He has al ...

began training with the panel in April, shortly after

Eoghan McGettigan Eoghan McGettigan (born 1997/8) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Naomh Conaill and the Donegal county team. Playing career Club McGettigan won a Donegal Senior Football Championship (SFC) with his club in 2015, appearing as a subst ...

joined. Cian Mulligan opted to depart from the panel. Conor Morrison played six games in the 2019 season before deciding to depart in March. In March, Martin McElhinney informed the team manager of his decision to withdraw from the panel, following the team's victory against

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

in the 2019 National Football League. McElhinney had been an unused substitute in that game and the game before, though he had played in three earlier games of that year's league. In April,

Martin O'Reilly Martin O'Reilly (1829–1904) was a blind Irish Uilleann pipes, piper.Francis O'Neill 1913. "Irish minstrels and musicians: with numerous dissertations on related subjectsThe Regan Printing House p. 239 Although associated with east County Ga ...

withdrew from the panel ahead of the 2019 Ulster Senior Football Championship after experiencing limited match time during the 2019 National Football League. Also opting to depart for the 2019 season were Kilcar trio

Mark McHugh Mark McHugh (born 22 August 1990) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and coach who plays for Cill Chartha and, formerly, the Donegal county team. He is the brother of Ryan and the son of Martin. He won one All-Ireland Senior Football Championshi ...

, Ciaran McGinley and Stephen McBrearty. Following the death of a clubmate in a car accident in January 2019,

Odhrán Mac Niallais Odhrán Mac Niallais (born 17 August 1992) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Gaoth Dobhair and the Donegal county team. With two Ulster Senior Football Championships to his name, Mac Niallais was a prominent feature of the Donegal ...

opted out of the Donegal panel. Michael Carroll returned to the panel after leaving the previous year.

Competitions

Dr McKenna Cup

The 2019 season started with a 0–21 to 0–11 defeat of Queen's in the 2019 Dr McKenna Cup at MacCumhail Park on 30 December 2018. Ciarán Thompson was man of the match and scored four of Donegal's points. Donegal qualified for the semi-final.

Fixtures

National Football League Division 2

Neil McGee Neil McGee (born 13 November 1985) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Gaoth Dobhair and, formerly, both the Donegal county team and the Ireland international rules football team. From Gweedore in County Donegal, he won three All St ...

equalled

Colm McFadden Colm Anthony McFadden ( ga, Colm Antóin Mac Pháidín; born 1982/3) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays at full forward for St Michael's and, from 2002 to 2016, for the Donegal county team. McFadden is Donegal's most-capped Championship ...

's record of 173 appearances for Donegal when he came on as a second half substitute in the final round of the 2019 National Football League, a victory over

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

. He then broke McFadden's record with his 174th appearance for his county against Meath as a substitute in the final at Croke Park, also won by Donegal. Donegal qualified for the Division 2 final, and won the game.

Table

Fixtures

Ulster Senior Football Championship

Donegal retained the Ulster title.

Bracket

Fixtures

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

Quarter-finals Group 1 table

Fixtures

Management team

:''Confirmed in November 2017, with replacements noted:'' *

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 ...

Declan Bonner Declan Bonner (born 11 August 1965) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and manager. He played at senior level for the Donegal county team, winning an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1992. He later managed the Donegal county team for ...

*Assistant manager: Paul McGonigle, not listed among November 2017 appointments *Head coach: John McElholm *

Coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

: Gary Boyle *

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 ...

: Stephen Rochford, replacing

Karl Lacey Karl Lacey (born 10 September 1984) is an Irish Gaelic football coach who plays for Four Masters and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team. His county's most decorated individual, his personal achievements include four All Star awards� ...

after 2018 season but Lacey actually carried on until the end of 2020 *

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 ...

: Andrew McGovern * Strength and conditioning coach: Paul Fisher *

Nutritionist A nutritionist is a person who advises others on matters of food and nutrition and their impacts on health. Some people specialize in particular areas, such as sports nutrition, public health, or animal nutrition, among other disciplines. In many ...

: Ronan Doherty *

Team physician The team physician for a sports team is the physician who is in charge of coordinating the medical staff and medical services for a sports team. They are also subject to activities involving team building The goal of a team physician is to improve p ...

: Kevin Moran *

Physio 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, patien ...

: Cathal Ellis *Psychology and performance manager: Anthony McGrath, previously involved with the minor team *Video analysis: Chris Byrne *

Logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

: Packie McDyre * Kitman: Barry McBride

Awards

Footballer of the Year

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 ...

GAA.ie Football Team of the Week

* 28 January:

* 25 March: Shaun Patton,

Ryan McHugh Ryan McHugh (born 11 April 1994) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Cill Chartha and the Donegal county team. He is the brother of Mark and the son of Martin. A former county minor, McHugh propelled himself onto the national stage ...

* 1 April:

Jason McGee Jason McGee (born 1997/8) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Cloich Cheann Fhaola and the Donegal county team. He is a former Australian rules football trialist. Playing