Anthony Thompson is a

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

er who plays for Naomh Conaill and, formerly, the Donegal county team. He plays at wing back. He won one

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

and four

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is usu ...

s with his county.

Playing career

Club

Playing alongside

John Gildea John Gildea (born 27 March 1971) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for Naomh Conaill and the Donegal county team. He is originally from Glenties. Playing career Gildea made his championship debut for Donegal as a substitute a ...

in midfield, Thompson scored three points, including two frees, in the final as Naomh Conaill won their first ever

Donegal Senior Football Championship The Donegal Senior Football Championship (abbreviated as Donegal SFC) 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 ...

in 2005. He was sent off in the final of the 2009 Donegal Senior Football Championship, which his team lost to St Eunan's. His club won the 2010 County Final and went on to reach the final of the 2010

Ulster Senior Club Football Championship The Ulster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition played between the top clubs in Ulster GAA. The trophy awarded to the winners is the Seamus McFerran Cup ( ga, Corn Shéamuis Mhic Fearáin). The winners and th ...

, knocking out

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

champions Kingscourt,

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

champions Clontibret and Tyrone champions Coalisland along the way. He played for his club in the final of the 2015 Donegal Senior Football Championship. They won. He played for his club in the final of the 2019 Donegal Senior Football Championship. They won, following a second replay. He played for his club in the final of the

2020 Donegal Senior Football Championship The 2020 Donegal Senior Football Championship was the 98th official edition of Donegal GAA's premier Gaelic football tournament for senior graded clubs in County Donegal. 16 teams compete with the winner representing Donegal in the Ulster Seni ...

. They won, following extra-time and a penalty shoot-out.

Inter-county

Thompson was a member of the Donegal squad that won the 2007 National Football League. Under the management of

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

, and in McGuinness's first season in charge, Thompson won 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 ...

, playing and scoring two points in the final against

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

. He played again when Donegal returned to the final in 2012. Donegal defeated Down in that game. Normally a quiet member of the team, in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final defeat of

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

on 5 August 2012, he knocked teammate

Patrick McBrearty Patrick McBrearty (born 5 August 1993) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Cill Chartha and the Donegal county team. He is usually selected in the full-forward line for his county, often flanking Michael Murphy with Colm McFadden (be ...

out of the game with his head. He played in the

2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 2012 All-Ireland Football Final, the 125th event of its kind and the culmination of the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, was played at Croke Park, Dublin, on 23 September 2012. Donegal and Mayo, widely considered "one of the mos ...

against

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

. Donegal won. Though nominated for an All Star he was not successful, but was selected as a replacement All Star for the Football Tour of New York when others such as

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 ...

and Frank McGlynn were unable to attend. Thompson won his third Ulster Senior Football Championship in

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, scoring one point against

in the final. He played 52 of the 54 league and championship matches under McGuinness's management, missing only two league games against Cork and Kerry due to injury; only goalkeeper

Paul Durcan Paul Durcan (born 16 October 1944) is a contemporary Irish poet. Early life Durcan was born and grew up in Dublin and in Turlough, County Mayo. His father, John, was a barrister and circuit court judge; father and son had a difficult and forma ...

played in more games under McGuinness. Under the management of

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 ...

, who succeeded McGuinness ahead of the 2015 season, Thompson continued to play for his county. For much of Donegal's 2015 campaign, he commuted from his work base in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England. He moved back to Ireland in 2016. His last appearance for Donegal during Gallagher's ill-fated managerial reign was against Dublin in the

2016 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2016 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 129th edition of the GAA's premier inter-county gaelic football tournament since its establishment in 1887. 33 teams took part. 31 of the 32 Counties of Ireland participated, with Kilke ...

quarter-final defeat at Croke Park, a game in which he scored one point. Thompson returned to the fore under the management of

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 tw ...

. He collected his fourth and final Ulster SFC in

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, appearing as a second half substitute for

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 ...

in the final against

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 al ...

. However, he did not return after the winter.

Style of play

Thompson has been considered by national media to be "an invaluable leader", a "selfless player" and "one of the most iconic number 5s in the county's history". His virtuoso performance in the

was highlighted by ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' which noted how he "seemed to shepherd the play exactly to his liking and moved through the fare in that unhurried, three-quarters pace style of his", at one stage "loitering in front of David Clarke's goal, a ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' full forward doing what good front men do: keeping quiet as a church mouse and waiting to be spotted". Despite playing at wing back, he was the first person to congratulate

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 ...

following his early goal in that game, having raced through to offer support to his full-forward team captain.

Honours

;Donegal *

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2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

* National Football League Division 1:

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

* National Football League Division 2:

;Naomh Conaill *

: 2005, 2010, 2015 ;Individual * All Star nomination: 2012 * ''Gaelic Life'' Ulster Club All Star: 2019

References

External links

Official profile

Cavan v Donegal - Ulster GAA Football Senior Championship Preliminary Round: 20 May 2012; Anthony Thompson, Donegal, in action against Damien Reilly, Cavan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Anthony 1986 births Living people Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Naomh Conaill Gaelic footballers Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football)