Steven McDonnell (born 13 July 1979) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

former

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 played in the full-forward line for his home club Killeavy St Moninna's and at senior level for the Armagh county team. McDonnell is his county's top scorer in

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 ...

history, finishing his career with 33–282 (381) in that competition.

Playing career

Raised in

Killeavy Killeen"Killeen" is the official name of the townland. or Killean () is a small village and townland in the civil parish of Killeavy, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies about four miles (6.5 km) south of Newry, near the border with Co ...

, near Newry, Northern Ireland, the highlight of his career was his county's All-Ireland SFC winning victory over

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 ...

by a scoreline of 1–12 to 0–14 in the 2002 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 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 ...

, where he kicked the winning point. He also received the first of his three All-Stars for his performances that year. In 2003 he was named

GPA Footballer of the Year The GPA Footballer of the Year was awarded annually by the Gaelic Players Association, as part of the Opel Gaelic Players awards scheme, established in 2006. History The title was first awarded in 2001, at the foundation of the association, and w ...

, and the Ulster GAA Writers' Player of the Year. In 2006 he secured 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 ...

winning medal for his part in Armagh's easily won victory over rivals

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 2010 he captained Armagh to a

Division 2 title after beating Down in the final in

. In 2010 he was also named captain of the Ireland

International rules International rules football ( ga, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed ...

team. In 2011 he became the first ever player in the history of the International rules to score over 100 points. He finished his International career with a tally of 118 points. On 12 April 2012, McDonnell announced his retirement. He has been involved in both coaching and management.

Notes

References

* http://www.hoganstand.com/Armagh/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=47857

External links

*http://www.rte.ie/sport/2005/0710/ulster.html 1979 births Living people All Stars Footballers of the Year Armagh inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic football coaches Gaelic football forwards Gaelic football managers Irish international rules football players Killeavy Gaelic footballers Sportspeople from Newry Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football) {{Armagh-gaelic-football-bio-stub