Paul Durcan (born 22 April 1984) 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 ...

er and coach who plays as

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for Drumcliffe–Rosses Point and the Donegal county team. A member of the Donegal county team (senior) since 2004, he has also played soccer for

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...

in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

. Durcan has won two All Stars, one

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 ...

, three

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 ...

s (

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and

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) and one

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 ...

with his county. Until transferring to Ballyboden St Enda's in 2015, Durcan played his club football with Four Masters, with whom he won a

Donegal Senior Football Championship The Donegal Senior Football Championship (abbreviated as Donegal SFC) is an annual football competition organised by Donegal GAA and contested by the highest-level clubs, to determine the best team in County Donegal. Since 2016, it has been known ...

in 2003. With Ballyboden St Enda's Durcan won a

Dublin Senior Football Championship The Dublin Senior Football Championship (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the '' Go-Ahead'' Dublin Senior Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition between the top Dublin GAA clubs. The winners of the ...

and

Leinster Senior Club Football Championship The Leinster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament played on a knockout basis between the senior club championship winners of the competing counties in Leinster. The current holders of the Leinster title are Ba ...

(both 2015) and then 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 ...

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. He lives in

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

, and made his championship debut for the Drumcliffe–Rosses Point club in 2020.

Early life

His father John Durcan is a retired garda, originally from

Foxford Foxford () is a village 16 km south of Ballina in County Mayo, Ireland. It stands on the N26 national primary route from Swinford to Ballina and has a railway station served by trains between Manulla Junction and Ballina. Foxford lies o ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

. He watched his son rise through the ranks at Four Masters alongside

Karl Lacey Karl Lacey (born 10 September 1984) is an Irish Gaelic football coach who plays for Four Masters and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team. His county's most decorated individual, his personal achievements include four All Star awards� ...

and

Barry Dunnion Barry Dunnion is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Four Masters and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team. He plays at wing-back. Early life Dunnion is the son of Danny and Marian Dunnion and came from a family of three, includ ...

, winning numerous underage titles along the way. He said, "He was always an outfield player, until Martin McHugh made a goalkeeper of him for the U16 Ted Webb Cup in 1999. Although he was nine years younger than his brother Adrian and six younger than Sean, they always had Paul in goals, smashing shots at him. They never let him out!" Durcan's heroes include his fellow Donegal goalkeepers

Gary Walsh Gary Walsh (born 21 March 1968) is an English football coach and professional former footballer who was most recently head goalkeeping coach at EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. As a player, he was a goalkeeper from 1985 to 2006, not ...

Packie Bonner Patrick Joseph Bonner (born 24 May 1960) is an Irish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper and spent his entire career at Celtic. He earned a total of 80 caps for the Republic of Ireland national football team after making his debut on h ...

and

Shay Given Séamus John James Given (born 20 April 1976) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. With 134 caps, he is the second-highest capped Republic of Ireland player. Given started his career at Celtic, however he neve ...

. At the age of nine he watched Donegal win the

1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the deciding match of the 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland. The 105th All-Ireland SFC final, the e ...

, which he later described as the greatest game he had ever been to in any sport.

Playing career

Club

Durcan originally played his club football for Four Masters, sometimes playing outfield for the club. His club achievements include winning the 2003

. In 2015, he transferred to Ballyboden St Enda's, the paperwork going through on 10 April. That team also featured his cousin, Robbie McDaid. It was McDaid who put Durcan in touch with the Firhouse Road club. Durcan later explained: "I decided to play with Ballyboden to cut a bit of time coming and going from Donegal. I was up there all weekend for club and county but when I switched clubs I had more time around the weekends. I had been living on the northside but I had the connection with Ballyboden through Robbie. Then (manager)

Andy McEntee Andy McEntee is a Gaelic football manager. He has been the manager of the Antrim county team since 2022. He managed his native Meath between 2016 and 2022. Career McEntee managed Meath to the final of the 2012 All-Ireland Minor Football Champ ...

rang me himself. Robbie, I suppose, may have said something to him. I met Andy, I got on well with him and he brought me around the club." Durcan dislodged fellow goalkeepers Darragh Gogan and Conor Dooley to win Dublin and Leinster titles in 2015 and an All-Ireland Club Championship in 2016. He joined Drumcliffe–Rosses Point and made his championship debut against

Tubbercurry Tubbercurry or Tobercurry () is the second-largest town in terms of both population and land area in County Sligo, Ireland. It lies at the foot of the Ox Mountains, on the N17 national primary road. The village is twinned with Viarmes in Fran ...

at Connolly Park in

Collooney Collooney or Coloony () is a town in County Sligo, Ireland. Toponymy Collooney is thought to derive from . Reverend Terrence O'Rorke has previously also suggested ''Culmaine'', as Collooney is designated this way in such works as ''the annals ...

on 1 August 2020, playing in the club's first

Sligo Senior Football Championship The Sligo Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association club competition between the top Sligo clubs. The winners of the Sligo Senior Championship qualify to represent the county in the Connacht Senior Club Football Cham ...

final the following month (lost to

Tourlestrane Toorlestraun or Tourlestrane () is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. Village The village of Tourlestrane itself is the smaller of the two villages in the parish of Kilmactigue, the other being Aclare. It is a market centre for local dairy far ...

College

Durcan notably saved two penalties for

Sligo IT The Institute of Technology, Sligo (ITS; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta, Sligeach) was an institute of technology, located in Sligo, Ireland. In April 2022, it was formally dissolved, and its functions became part of Atlantic Technological U ...

during the 2005

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. ...

, the first in the semi-final and the second in the final.

Inter-county

Durcan was called up to the Donegal senior football team on the back of club success with The Four Masters. He made his inter-county debut in a 2004 league game against

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 crosses the River Erne. Incorporated in 1613, it is one of the oldest towns in Ireland. Location B ...

. At this time, Tony Blake was Donegal's established first choice goalkeeper. Durcan deputised for Blake and then saw off the challenge of Sean Sweeney to take over when Blake was forced to retire due to a persistent knee injury in May that year.

coached Durcan and Sweeney at this time, having been called in by Donegal manager Brian McEniff. Durcan played against

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

in the 2004 Ulster final at

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

. He played in the 2006 Ulster final against the same opponents at the same venue. He was part of the Donegal team that won the 2007 National Football League. Michael Boyle would later rival Durcan, occasionally taking his place on the first team. That was just what happened in a 2009 All-Ireland SFC qualifier — after Durcan fouled

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

player

Gary Brennan Gary Brennan is an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for the Clondegad club and at senior level for the Clare county team. He also plays club hurling for Ballyea. Playing career Club Inter-county On 31 July 2016, Brennan started in midfi ...

and conceded a penalty, Boyle was sprung from the bench at half-time. Boyle retained his starting place for the games against

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 ...

Markievicz Park Markievicz Park ( ga, Páirc Marcievicz) is the principal GAA stadium in County Sligo, Ireland, home to the Sligo Gaelic football and hurling teams. Built in 1955 in Sligo town (due mostly to Seán Forde who single-handedly gathered the funds ne ...

and

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. He played more league and championship matches under

Jim McGuinness Jim McGuinness (born 16 November 1972) is an association football coach and former Gaelic footballer, coach and Manager (Gaelic games), manager, who won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship as both player and manager with the Donegal ...

's management than any other player. On 30 June 2012, in the Ulster semi-final against Tyrone, Durcan received much credit after putting Donegal into the final with his outstretched foot. Donegal were three points ahead and it was practically the last action of the game. Durcan went low to his left and deflected

Martin Penrose Martin Penrose is a Gaelic footballer for the Tyrone county team. He won two All-Ireland Senior Football Championships with his county. Penrose plays club football for Carrickmore, although, until recently, he played with Aghyaran St Davog' ...

's shot out off the post for a 45'. The save was compared to that of

Gordon Banks Gordon Banks (30 December 1937 – 12 February 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he made 679 appearances during a 20-year professional caree ...

against

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...

at the

1970 FIFA World Cup The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May t ...

. Tyrone manager

Mickey Harte Mickey Harte (born 1952) is an Irish Gaelic football Manager (Gaelic games), manager and former player. He has been manager of the Louth county football team, Louth county team since 2020. Harte managed the Tyrone county football team, Tyrone ...

said Durcan's last-gasp goal-saving intervention had denied Tyrone a replay. Durcan would later describe it as the most important save of his career. It enabled Donegal to retain their Ulster title they had won in 2011 (a first back-to-back success in team history), and the team went unbeaten through the

2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 126th edition of the Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament, played between 31 counties of Ireland (excluding Kilkenny who only take part in th ...

, defeating

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

in the

2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 2012 All-Ireland Football Final, the 125th event of its kind and the culmination of the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, was played at Croke Park, Dublin, on 23 September 2012. Donegal and Mayo, widely considered "one of the mos ...

to claim the

Sam Maguire Cup The Sam Maguire Cup ( ga, Chorn Sam Mhic Uidhir), often referred to as Sam or The Sam , is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the main competiti ...

. Durcan won an All Star and attended the Football Tour of New York. In 2013, Durcan made his 100th appearance for Donegal in the county's third 2013 National Football League game against Tyrone at

Healy Park Healy Park (known as O'Neills Healy Park for sponsorship reasons) is a GAA stadium in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland and is named after a GAA clubman from Omagh, Michael Healy. Healy Park is the home ground of Omagh St. Enda's and the ...

. In the following game he contributed to Donegal's defeat of the mighty

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 ...

by saving a penalty. In the Championship he helped his team to a third consecutive Ulster final. 2014 brought a third Ulster senior title and another extended run of games in the Championship. Somewhat unusually, he scored an

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

in the 2014 All-Ireland quarter-final defeat of

. He was involved in a traffic collision during the 2015 National Football League campaign, though his injuries were not severe. After his team exited the 2015 championship, Durcan announced he would be moving to

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

. In 2019, Durcan returned home from Qatar sporting a long grey beard and rejoined the Donegal panel to contest for a place against Shaun Patton and Michael Lynch. He was reported to be living in Sligo since returning from Qatar.

Training regime

Though based in Dublin as a Quantity Surveyor with Errigal Contracts, Durcan tries to get back to Donegal several times a week for training. On several occasions he has made use of a passing helicopter to fly home. The journey by road is an eight-hour round trip and during the successful

era he would make this trip once every week then train at other times in Dublin with strength and conditioning coach Eugene Eivers. His influence has been likened to that of

Peter Schmeichel Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

. His restarts and shot stopping have been compared to those of

Stephen Cluxton Stephen Cluxton (born 17 December 1981) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who played as a goalkeeper at senior level for the Dublin county team. Cluxton made his senior debut for Dublin during the 2001 Championship. Since then he has established ...

. He regards Cluxton as the benchmark for goalkeepers and also admires

Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...

Coaching

In December 2020, it was announced that Durcan would serve as goalkeeping coach under newly appointed Sligo senior manager

Tony McEntee Tony McEntee (born 30 June 1977) is a Gaelic football manager and former player. He has managed the senior Sligo county team since 2020. McEntee played for the Crossmaglen Rangers club and at senior level for the Armagh county team. He won A ...

Personal life

Durcan is a former employee of construction recruitment firm, 3D Personnel.

Honours

;Donegal *

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 ...

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 ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

* National Football League Division 1:

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

* National Football League Division 2:

;Four Masters *

: 2003 ;Ballyboden St Enda's *

: 2015 *

: 2015 ;College *

: 2005, 2006 ;Individual * All Star: 2012, 2014 **Nominated in 2011, 2015 * ''Irish News'' Ulster All Star: 2012 * ''

The Sunday Game ''The Sunday Game'' is RTÉ's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ2 every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ2's longest-running shows, having been on air since 197 ...

'' Team of the Year: 2012, 2014

References

External links

Official profile
*
Paul Durcan
at gaainfo.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Durcan, Paul 1984 births Living people Alumni of the Institute of Technology, Sligo Ballyboden St Enda's Gaelic footballers Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers Drumcliffe–Rosses Point Gaelic footballers Four Masters Gaelic footballers Gaelic footballers who switched code Gaelic football goalkeepers Gaelic football goalkeeping coaches Irish expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Quantity surveyors Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football) Association football goalkeepers Finn Harps F.C. players League of Ireland players Republic of Ireland association footballers Sligo county football team