Fergal Doherty (born 7 October 1981) is a former

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 for the Derry county team, with whom he won a

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

title. He was nominated for an All Star four times but narrowly missed out on each occasion. Doherty played his club football for Bellaghy Wolfe Tones. Doherty won the

Derry Senior Football Championship The Derry Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by the top sixteen Derry GAA clubs. The winners receive the John McLaughlin Cup and qualify to represent Derry in the Ulster Senior Club Football Champi ...

twice with the club, as well as winning the 2000

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 ...

. For both club and county Doherty usually played in

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

. He was highly regarded for impressive high-fielding skills and work-rate, often helping in attack and also tracking back to help in defence. His ability to win breaking ball, read the game and plug gaps was impressive.

Irish News 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 ...

journalist Paddy Heaney says of Doherty "The Bellaghy man does not seek headlines, just victories. He was at one point the Derry

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. On 3rd November 2022 Doherty appeared in court charged with manslaughter over the death of Aaron Law. Father of two Aaron Law, 34, was found lying unconscious on Main Street in the village of Portglenone in the early hours of 30th October 2022. He died later that day in Antrim Area Hospital

Playing career

Inter-county

Doherty made his Championship debut as a 19-year-old against Antrim in 2001. That year he put in some impressive performances in Derry's run to the 2001 All-Ireland semi-final, where they lost out to

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

. He was awarded the Bass Ulster Monthly Merit Award for August 2001, for his performances against Tyrone and Galway that month. He along with brother Gareth was nominated for an All Star in 2001. Doherty was again nominated for All Stars in 2004 and 2007. He had instrumental in the 2008 National League, which Derry won, defeating

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 ...

in the final. He scored a vital goal in the match and was awarded

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

. He received the Vodafone All Stars Footballer of the Month award for April 2008 for key performances against Tyrone,

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 Kerry en route to Derry's National League success. Doherty was Derry's lone All Star nominee in 2008, his fourth in total. He was appointed Derry captain for the 2009 season. Doherty and Derry again reached the National League final in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, but were defeated by Kerry. He left the county panel for four years, returning in 2014 then retiring from inter-county football in 2015.

Club

Among his club awards Doherty has won the Derry Championship in 1999??, 2000 and 2005. In 2000 the club also went on to win the

. He has also won the All-Ireland Kilmacud Sevens in 2002 and the 2002 Castlewellan Sevens with the club.

Honours

Inter-county

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

: **Winner (1):

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

**Runner-up:

Dr McKenna Cup The Dr McKenna Cup is an annual Gaelic football competition played between Counties of Ireland, counties and List of universities in Northern Ireland, universities in the province of Ulster GAA, Ulster. It is the secondary Gaelic football comp ...

: **Runner up: 2005, 2008, more?

Club

*All-Ireland Kilmacud Crokes Sevens Championship: **Winner (1): 2002 *Castlewellan Sevens: **Winner (at least 1): 2002, more? **Runner up: 2003 *

: **Winner (1): 2000 **Runner up: 2005 *

: **Winner (2?/3?): 1999??, 2000, 2005 **Runner up: 2001, 2004, 2007 *Derry Senior Football League: **Winner (2/3/4??): 1998??, 1999??, 2000, 2004 *Underage competitions

Individual

* All Star: **Nominated (runner up): 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008 * Irish News Ulster GAA All-Star: – Winner (?): 2007, more? *Ulster Tennent's Merit Award – Winner (1): August 2001 *

Final man of the match: –

Note: The above lists may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.

References

External links

Cul4kidz interview

Player profiles on Official Derry GAA website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doherty, Fergal 1981 births Living people Bellaghy Gaelic footballers Derry inter-county Gaelic footballers