Kevin "Slith" McGuckin (born 21 February 1981) 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 plays for the Derry county team, with whom he has 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. McGuckin was

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 ...

of the Derry team for 2007 and is currently the vice-captain. He is regarded as one of the best defenders in Ireland. McGuckin plays his club football for

Ballinderry Shamrocks Ballinderry Shamrocks GAC ( ga, Baile an Doire na Seamróga CLG) is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Ballinderry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of the Derry GAA and cater for gaelic football and camogie. ...

. He was part of the Ballinderry team that won the 2002

All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament which began in season 1970–71. It is the top-tier competition for the senior football clubs of Ireland and London. The current champions are Kilcoo of ...

, and he has also won four Derry Championships and an

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 ...

with the club.

Playing career

Inter-county

McGuckin made his Championship debut 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 ...

in the 2002 Ulster Championship semi-final. He was named Derry

for 2007, but missed most of the season after breaking his leg in a

against

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

in April of that year. He returned to come on as a substitute against

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

and started against

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 ...

in the All-Ireland quarter-final. He was 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 Count ...

in the final. McGuckin and Derry also 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.

Club

McGuckin lead Ballinderry Shamrocks to victory in October 2011 when he captained the side to their 11th County Derry title. McGuckin won his first

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 ...

in 2001 and Ballinderry went on to win that year's

, and the

the following March. He has won further Derry Championship medals with the club in 2002,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

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; ...

and 2012.

Province

McGuckin has been selected to play for

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 ...

and won a

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 ...

medal with the province in 2004. He was also part of the team that finished runners-up to

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

in the 2005 Railway Cup final.

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):

**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, 2011 **

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is usu ...

Winner (0) **Runner Up (1) 2011

Club

: **Winner (1): 2002 *All-Ireland Kilmacud Crokes Sevens Championship: **Winner (1): 1998?? **Runner up: 1999?? *

: **Winner (1): 2001 **Runner up:

Ulster Senior Club Football League The Ulster Senior Club Football League is an annual Gaelic football tournament played in Ulster GAA between clubs who choose to enter. It starts with a group stage, with the group winners (and for 2008 the best group runner-up) advancing to the ...

: **Winner (1): 2008 *

: **Winner (6): 2001, 2002,

, 2011 (c), 2012 **Runner up: 1999??, 2000, 2003 *Derry Senior Football League: **Winner (4): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011 C *Numerous underage competitions

Province

: **Winner (1):' 2004 **Runner up: 2005

Individual

*Derry Senior football captain: 2007 Note: The above lists may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.

References

External links

Interview with Ulster BankMeet the players - Laid-back interview with BBC OnlinePlayer profiles on Official Derry GAA website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGuckin, Kevin Living people 1981 births Ballinderry Gaelic footballers Derry inter-county Gaelic footballers Ulster inter-provincial Gaelic footballers