Donal Vaughan 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 played inter county football with

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 ...

. He plays club football for

Castlebar Mitchels Castlebar Mitchels is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the Castlebar area in County Mayo, Ireland. The club was founded in 1885 and is named after the nationalist John Mitchel (1815–1875). Though football is the club's dominant spor ...

since 2017 after leaving Ballinrobe.

Playing career

Vaughan started at centre back in two All-Ireland SFC finals: the 2012 decider, which Mayo lost by 0-13 to 2-11 against

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

and the 2013 decider, which Mayo lost by 1-14 to 2-12 against. He was sent off in the

2017 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 2017 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, the 130th event of its kind and the culmination of the 2017 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, was played at Croke Park in Dublin on 17 September 2017. The final was the fourth oc ...

after a reckless charge at John Small of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

after a free was awarded and Small was shown his second yellow of the match.

would go on to win afterwards. Many Mayo fans blamed Vaughan's sending off as the main reason why Mayo lost the final. A player often highly praised and admired in GAA circles, particularly outside his own county. Vaughan has been credited as an important influence in many of Mayo's more notable victories. While the appreciation of his style of play appeared to divide many within the Mayo GAA fan base, Vaughan has featured heavily in the latter stages of inter-county championship football in Mayo's finals era. In December 2017, Vaughan moved from his home club Ballinrobe to rivals

, a town where he lived and worked, following Ballinrobe's relegation to the Intermediate ranks, which caused much controversy. Vaughan has struggled for game time since the move. He announced his retirement from the inter-county game in January 2021.

Personal life

Vaughan owns his own shoe shop chain in his home county, which is named Vaughan Shoes.

References

External links

GAA.ie Interview 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan, Donal Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Ballinrobe Gaelic footballers Castlebar Mitchels Gaelic footballers Gaelic football backs Mayo inter-county Gaelic footballers Shoeshiners