Kieran Donnelly (born 1975/1976) 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 ...

coach and former player. He has been

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 ...

of the Fermanagh county team since 2021.

Career

Donnelly played inter-county football for Fermanagh. He made his debut for Fermanagh under Tyrone native

Pat King Patrick John King (1944 – January 25, 2022) also known as Speedy King, was a Scottish bassist, best known for his association with Manfred Mann's Earth Band. History King was born in Aberdeen in 1944 and raised in Fraserburgh, Scotland. Afte ...

in 1996, and went on to win an All-Ireland Senior B Championship and a Dr McKenna Cup, went toe-to-toe with

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 ...

the year they won the 1997 Ulster Senior Football Championship Final, and played in Division 1 of the

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 ...

under managers Dominic Corrigan and

John Maughan John Maughan (born 1962) is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player who most recently managed the Offaly football team. He is a former manager of the Mayo, Clare, Roscommon and Fermanagh senior football teams. He is only the third ...

. After playing for Fermanagh, Donnelly managed the minor team and also helped train the senior side when

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 ...

was in charge. Donnelly worked under Canavan when Canavan was Fermanagh manager. Donnelly was in fact Fermanagh assistant manager when Canavan was there. Before he became Fermanagh manager, Donnelly managed

Scotstown Scotstown () is a village in the townland of Bough () in north County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Scotstown is located in the parish of Tydavnet, along the Monaghan Blackwater, Scotstown being the village closest to the river's sour ...

to the

2018 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship The 2018 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship was the 51st instalment of the annual competition organised by Ulster GAA. It was one of the four provincial competitions of the 2018–19 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship. Derry's ...

final. It is hard work being manager of Fermanagh. Fermanagh has not yet won an

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 ...

. Immediately before his appointment as Fermanagh manager, Donnelly was working with

Cavan Gaels Cavan Gaels is a Gaelic Athletic Association club from Cavan Town, County Cavan in Ireland. They are affiliated to Cavan GAA. The club was founded in 1957 following the merging of two clubs in Cavan Town, Cavan Harps and Cavan Slashers. They are ...

Personal life

Donnelly is a native of

Brookeborough Brookeborough (; Irish: ''Achadh Lon'', meaning 'Field of the Blackbirds') is a village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, at the westerly foot of Slieve Beagh. It lies about eleven miles east of Enniskillen, just off the A4 trunk road, and ...

. When he was appointed as Fermanagh manager in 2021, Donnelly was 45 years of age and had spent 21 years teaching at Omagh CBS. He has coached the school team.

References

1970s births Living people Fermanagh inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic football coaches Gaelic football managers People from Brookeborough {{Gaelic-football-bio-stub