Michael Donnellan (born 28 February 1977) is an Irish former
Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the
Galway county team. He is the son of former politician and footballer,
John Donnellan
John F. Donnellan (born 27 March 1937) is an Irish former politician and sportsman. He served as a Fine Gael Teachta Dála (TD) for twenty-five years and as a Minister of State from 1982 to 1987. He played Gaelic football for his local club Dun ...
and grandson of politician and footballer
Michael Donnellan. All of them
captained the Galway football team in their careers.
Playing career
Donnellan first came to prominence as a member of the talented
St Jarlath's College in
Tuam
Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...
team of the early nineties. He played a crucial role in their
Hogan Cup
The Hogan Cup ( ga, Corn Uí Ógáin), also known as the All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Senior A Football Championship, is the top level Gaelic football championship for secondary schools (sometimes referred to as colleges) in Ireland. The com ...
winning season of 1994, alongside future Galway team-mates
Declan Meehan, Tomás Meehan,
John Divilly, Tommy Joyce and
Pádraic Joyce
Pádraic Joyce (born 1 April 1977) is a Gaelic football manager and former player who played as a forward. He has been manager of the senior Galway county team since 2019.
Joyce won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship twice with Ga ...
. They reached the Connacht final the following year but lost out to their biggest rivals,
St. Patrick's College, Tuam. He would later once more star alongside Joyce with the
Tralee IT team that won the 1998
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. ...
.
In 1998, Donnellan won his first All-Ireland medal, as part of the
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...
side that won the
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...
in 1998. During the first half of the final against
Kildare
Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...
, Donnellan picked up the ball inside the heart of his own defence and proceeded to go on an amazing run, soloing the length of the field while exchanging a one-two with Kevin Walsh in the midfield. As he approached the Kildare goal, he laid the ball off to Derek Savage who passed to Sean Óg De Paor. De Paor slotted the ball over the bar. The score re-invigorated the Galway team, who were losing at the time. Donnellan's overall performance inspired Galway to their first football title in 32 years and completed a unique hat-trick of senior All-Ireland medals for his family, as he followed in the footsteps of his father John (1966) and his grandfather Mick (1925). The final score was 1–14 to 1–10. That solo run was later voted No.1 in the ''
Top 20 GAA Moments'', in 2003. He was named
Texaco Footballer of the Year that year.
After reaching another final in 2000, losing out to Kerry after a replay, Donnellan & Galway returned to win the
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...
. After losing to
Roscommon
Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads.
The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...
in the Connacht semi-final, Galway entered the newly introduced back-door qualifiers and defeated
Wicklow
Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has a ...
,
Armagh and
Cork to reach the quarter-finals. They gained revenge over Roscommon with 0–14 to 1–05 victory to reach the semi-finals, where they defeated
Derry by 3 points. In
the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, they outclassed a
Meath team by 0–17 to 0–08.
Donnellan went on to win an
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 ...
with his adopted club
Salthill-Knocknacarra
Salthill-Knocknacarra () is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the Salthill and Knocknacarra areas in Galway City, Ireland. The club is a member of the Galway GAA. Salthill-Knocknacarra GAA Club caters for huge numbers of young boys a ...
in 2005. He gave a man of the match performance in the final where Salthill narrowly edged out
Antrim club St Gall's.
After being hampered by injury in recent years, Donnellan pulled the curtain down on a career at the end of the 2006 season, a career during which he won nearly ever honour in the game.
In May 2020, the ''
Irish Independent'' named Donnellan as one of the "dozens of brilliant players" who narrowly missed selection for its "Top 20 footballers in Ireland over the past 50 years".
League of Ireland
In December 1999, Donnellan signed for
Don O'Riordan at
Galway United for the rest of the
1999-2000 League of Ireland season.
References
External links
Donnellan Retires
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnellan, Michael
1977 births
Living people
All Stars Awards winners (football)
All Stars Young Footballers of the Year
Association footballers not categorized by position
Michael
Dunmore McHales Gaelic footballers
Gaelic footballers who switched code
Galway inter-county Gaelic footballers
Galway United F.C. (1937–2011) players
Irish international rules football players
League of Ireland players
People educated at St Jarlath's College
Salthill-Knocknacarra Gaelic footballers
Texaco Footballers of the Year
Winners of two All-Ireland medals (Gaelic football)
Association football players not categorized by nationality