Frankie Donnelly was a
Gaelic footballer, who was part of
Tyrone's breakthrough era in the mid-fifties, claiming two
Ulster Championships in a row, with Donnelly being Ulster's top scorer in both those years. His prolific scoring has passed into legend, and holds the record for the highest individual scoring tally in an inter-county match, with 4–11 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 a ...
in the 1957
Dr Lagan Cup.
His contribution to his club,
Carrickmore St Colmcille's, is also gargantuan, having played for them for twenty four years,
during which time they secured four
Tyrone Senior Football Championship
The Tyrone Senior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the LCC Group ''Tyrone Senior Football Championship'') is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Tyrone GAA clubs. The Tyrone County Board of the Ga ...
titles.
His name is now mentioned in the same light as more recent Tyrone players who have won
All Star Awards (Donnelly played before the All Star merits were inaugurated), such as
Peter Canavan
Peter Canavan (born 9 April 1971) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer, manager and pundit.
He played inter-county football for Tyrone, and is one of the most decorated players in the game's history, winning two All-Ireland Senior Football Ch ...
, and
Frank McGuigan
Frank McGuigan is a former Gaelic footballer who played for the Ardboe O'Donnovan Rossa club and the Tyrone county team. Despite his playing career being cut short by a car crash, which broke his leg, he is considered a legend in Tyrone foo ...
.
He died on 14 March 2007, leaving behind a wife and four children.
References
1933 births
2007 deaths
Carrickmore St Colmcille's Gaelic footballers
Tyrone inter-county Gaelic footballers
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