Dessie Dolan (born 11 July 1979) is an Irish

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 ...

who has been manager of the senior Westmeath county team since 2022. He played for the

Garrycastle Garrycastle () is a barony in County Offaly (formerly King's County), Republic of Ireland. Etymology The name Garrycastle is from the townland Garrycastle (''Garraí an Chaisleáin'', "court of the castle"; located south of Banagher), the sit ...

club and for the Westmeath county team, as well as

international rules football 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 develope ...

for

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 ...

. He won a

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA ...

medal with Westmeath in 2004 and was given an All Star at the end of the year. He was his county's highest championship scorer until

John Heslin John Heslin (born 27 June 1992) is a Gaelic footballer who plays for the Westmeath county team and Australian rules footballer for the Irish Warriors. Heslin was drafted by Australian Football League club Richmond in 2011, with Pick #90 o ...

overtook him in the

2022 Tailteann Cup Final The 2022 Tailteann Cup Final was the inaugural final of the Tailteann Cup and the culmination of the 2022 Tailteann Cup. The match was played at Croke Park in Dublin on 9 July 2022, between Cavan and Westmeath. Westmeath won the match on a scor ...

(for which Dolan was a selector).

Playing career

University

Dolan played football for

NUI Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

while studying at the team's parent university. He was unable to play during the 2003

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. ...

winning game as a result of a torn

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupeds, ...

sustained during the quarter-final.

Inter-county

Dolan has been widely regarded as Westmeath's leading talisman throughout their ascension from GAA minnows to quality opposition. Despite the growth and promise demonstrated in their 1999 U21 All Ireland victory, Westmeath experienced their most successful GAA period of their history between 2001–2008. Largely due to virtually unmatchable talent in attack, Westmeath forced their way into GAA pundits' heads as upsetters and sometimes favourites. Two Division 2 league titles spearheaded by Dolan's attacking prowess and eventually, in 2004, Championship success in winning a

title finally showed the squad's promise. Westmeath reached three All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-finals since the revamped championship system of 2001, with Dolan starring each season (2001, 2004, 2006). In 2013, Dolan expressed concern about the gulf in class that had opened up between the Dublins and Westmeaths. In summer of 2014, Dolan announced his retirement from inter-county football following the subsequent exit to

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 ...

Club

At club level Dolan won numerous underage titles and back-to-back senior titles in 2005 and 2006 with club, Garrycastle. His last competitive game was a

Leinster Senior Club Football Championship The Leinster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament played on a knockout basis between the senior club championship winners of the competing counties in Leinster. The current holders of the Leinster title are Ba ...

semi-final defeat to Ballyboden St Enda's in November 2019.

International rules

Dolan was regularly selected for the

Ireland international rules football team :''This article concerns the men's team; for information on the Irish women's team, see Ireland women's international rules football team.'' :''This article concerns the hybrid sport of International Rules Football; for information on Ireland's n ...

until the series was suspended in 2006.

Managerial career

Dolan was appointed manager of the Westmeath senior football team on 21 September 2022.

Other interests

In 2017 Dolan and his wife Kelly participated in an episode of ''

Room to Improve ''Room to Improve'' is an Irish architectural renovation TV series broadcast on RTÉ One. It is also broadcast on the UK's Home channel. Format Presented by the architect Dermot Bannon, his aim is to improve his clients' living conditions by ...

'', series 10, episode 3, 'Moate'. Dolan participated in a marketing campaign for

Ireland West Airport Knock Ireland West Airport ( ga, Aerfort Iarthar Éireann Mhuire), officially known as Ireland West Airport Knock ( ga, Aerfort Iarthar Éireann Chnoc Mhuire), is an international airport south-west of Charlestown, County Mayo, Ireland. The vi ...

. He currently works as a pundit on ''

The Sunday Game ''The Sunday Game'' is RTÉ's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ2 every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ2's longest-running shows, having been on air since 197 ...

''.

Honours

;Garrycastle *

(1): 2011 *

Westmeath Senior Football Championship The Westmeath Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition organised by Westmeath GAA between the top Gaelic football clubs in County Westmeath. The winner of the Westmeath Championship qualifies to repre ...

(8): 2001, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2019 *Westmeath Division 1 Leagues (8): 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2018, 2019 ;Westmeath *

(1): 2004 * National Football League, Division 2 (3): 2001, 2003, 2008 *

All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship The GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the EirGrid GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association ( ...

(1): 1999 *

Leinster Under-21 Football Championship The Leinster GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Leinster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highes ...

(2): 1999, 2000 ;Individual * All Star (1): 2004

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20120213141318/http://www.garrycastlegaa.com/clubhistory.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, Dessie 1979 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Donegal Boston Gaelic footballers Gaelic football forwards Gaelic games commentators Garrycastle Gaelic footballers Irish international rules football players Irish schoolteachers University of Galway Gaelic footballers Westmeath inter-county Gaelic footballers