Brendan "Benny" Coulter is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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 ...

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 ...

and player who plays for his local club

Mayobridge Mayobridge () is a village within Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland, lying on the small river Clanrye which divides the townlands of Mayo and Bavan. It is located within the Newry and Mourne District Council area - it had a population of 1,069 ...

and, previously, for the Down senior football team until his retirement in 2014; he also teaches kids about Gaelic in different schools around Northern Ireland.

Playing career

During his prime, Coulter was regarded as one of the best attackers in Gaelic football. He is

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

's leading Championship goal scorer of all-time. He won an Ulster Minor Championship Medal in 1999, and later that year won the

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it were replaced by an under ...

with Down he scored 1-02 in the All Ireland Final. Down manager

Pete McGrath Pete McGrath (born 6 June 1953) is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former manager of the Down senior football team. Professional career McGrath was employed for many years as a physical education teacher at St Colman's College, Newry. H ...

selected Coulter to make his debut for the senior team that year, despite his youth. He has since become one of Down's key players. He has captained Down, and has been described as the team's 'talisman'. Coulter was selected to represent

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in the

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team (s ...

five times, in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010. He has also won 4

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

s he has also won U-12, U-14, U-16, Minor and Reserve League and Championship, and also won an All-Ireland Under-16 Football Championship with St Marks Warrenpoint. Benny has won 8 county championship with his club Mayobridge and is one of the most iconic players to ever come from the Mourne county. Coulter has admitted to being targeted by sledging while on the field of play. Coulter supports

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

Benny was player/manager of

Mayobridge GAA Mayobridge Gaelic Athletic Association, also called Mayobridge Gaelic Athletic Club or Saint Patrick's Gaelic Athletic Social Club, is a Gaelic football and ladies' Gaelic football club based in Mayobridge, County Down, Northern Ireland. History ...

in the 2017 and 2018 campaign alongside Francie Poland. He now manages Longstone GAA. One of his controversial goals was against Kildare as Kildare players thought it was a square ball denying them a place in the All - Ireland Final

Managerial career

Coulter was appointed Down minor football team manager ahead of the 2023 season.

Honours

;Club * 8

Down Senior Football Championship The Down Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Down GAA clubs. The Down County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1903. Kilcoo are the title holders (2022) def ...

s (1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) * 6 Down Senior Football League Division 1s (1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010) ;Inter-county * 2 Down Minor Football Championships (1997, 1999) * 1

Ulster Minor Football Championship The Ulster Minor Football Championship is the Minor "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Ulster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ulster Council. The trophy for the winning side is Th ...

(1999) * 1

(1999) * 1 All Ireland Under 16 Vocational School's (1997) * 1 Ulster Under 16 Vocational School's (1997) * 1 Down Vocational School's (1996) ;Provincial * 4

s (2003, 2007, 2009, 2012) ;International * 3

International Rules International rules football ( ga, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed ...

(2004, 2008, 2009) ;Individual * 2 Down County Final Man of the Matches (2002, 2004) * 1 Ulster final Man of the Match award (2002) * 8 Down club Player of the Year awards (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) * 2 Irish News Ulster All Stars (2003, 2010) * 1 All Star (2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coulter, Brendan 1982 births Living people All Stars Awards winners (football) Down inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic football managers Irish international rules football players Mayobridge Gaelic footballers Ulster inter-provincial Gaelic footballers