Anthony Tohill (born 2 August 1971) is an Irish 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 ki ...

er who played for the Derry county team in the 1990s and early 2000s. He is a former chief executive of the

Mid Ulster District Council Mid Ulster District Council ( ga, Comhairle Ceantair Lár Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Mid Ulstèr Airts Cooncil'') is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Cookstown District Council, Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough ...

Early life and family

Tohill was born in Swatragh, a son of Hugh and Eileen Tohill. He has three brothers and four sisters. His brother, Hugh Martin Tohill, was also on the panel of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland winning team. His sister, Aileen, has had a very successful

camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

career with Swatragh and Derry and is the Ulster GAA Council Lifestyle & Wellbeing Manager. Tohill attended St John's Primary School in the village. His son,

Anton Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname) Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, a town and capital of th ...

, played one game of

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

for Collingwood in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling ...

in 2021.

Career

Inter-county

Tohill was an "outstanding minor" and played a prominent part in the 1989 Ulster Minor and

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it were replaced by an under ...

winning Derry Minor team. After returning home from Australia in 1991, he concentrated on Gaelic football. Tohill was part of Derry's

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 ...

winning team in 1992, scoring a late goal and a point to secure victory over Tyrone. That year he won his first

All Star award All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

for his performances during the year. In 1993, he won the Ulster Championship with Derry, before going on to win the 1993 All-Ireland Championship after a semi-final victory over

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

and final defeat of

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 again was awarded an All Star. Derry won back-to-back National Leagues in 1995 and 1996, with Tohill being prominent on both sides. Despite Derry only playing two Championship games in 1995, he was awarded his third All Star award. Tohill and Derry finished runners-up to

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, i ...

in the 1998 National League decider. He added a second Ulster Championship medal in 1998, before losing out to

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 ...

in the All-Ireland semi-final. Tohill captained Derry to another National League title in 2000 and received his fourth All-Star that year. At that stage he had received more All Star nominations that any other Ulster player ever. Tohill won Footballer of the Year at the 2000 Ulster GAA Writer's Association Awards. Tohill had another good season in 2001, when Derry reached the All-Ireland semi-final and his omission from the All Star nominations list caused great shock. He exited the county scene in 2003.

Club

Tohill played a major role in Swatragh's run to the 1993 Derry Championship final. The game was played on

St. Stephen's Day Saint Stephen's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Stephen, is a Christian saint's day to commemorate Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr or protomartyr, celebrated on 26 December in Western Christianity and 27 December in Eastern Chr ...

in the snow at Glenullin. Lavey narrowly defeated the Swatragh side. Tohill was top scorer in the 1993 Derry Championship with 2–26 (32 points). Prior to this he was part of Swatragh's first ever Derry Minor Championship winning side in 1988.

School, college, provincial titles

Tohill won

MacRory Cup The MacRory Cup is an inter-college (school) Gaelic football tournament in Ulster at senior "A" grade. The MacLarnon Cup is the competition for schools at senior 'B' grade. Players must be under nineteen at the start of the tournament. The winn ...

s and one

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 ...

s with his school

St Patrick's College, Maghera St. Patrick's College, also known as St. Patrick's Co-Ed Comprehensive College, is a co-educational 11–18 secondary school in Maghera, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It teaches within the Roman Catholic ethos. St Patrick’s’ Maghe ...

. He was also part of the 1993

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

team that won the

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. ...

. He was top scorer in the final with 0–06. He also won Railway Cup medals with Ulster.

Australian rules football

After leaving school and All-Ireland Minor and Hogan Cup success, Tohill was head-hunted by the

Melbourne Demons The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria, and plays its home ga ...

and after spent some time as a rookie player in

Australian Rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

. He would sometimes return home to play Gaelic football while there. After breaking his leg, he returned home from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

in 1991 to concentrate on Gaelic football.

International rules football

Tohill played for Ireland on four International Rules tours between 1998 (when the series was revived) and 2001. He made eight appearances for his country. In 2001, he captained Ireland in their victorious tour of Australia. He has since moved into the backrooms of the international setup, under manager

Seán Boylan Seán Boylan (born 12 December 1949) is an Irish former Gaelic football manager from Dunboyne, County Meath. He retired from his position as manager of the senior Meath county team on the evening of 31 August 2005 after twenty-three years in cha ...

. He was part of the 2006 backroom team, and was a selector for the 2008 Series, and with fellow selector,

Eoin Liston Eoin "Bomber" Liston (born 16 October 1957 in Ballybunion, County Kerry) is an Irish former sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Beale, his divisional side Shannon Rangers and at senior level for the Kerry county team be ...

, took charge of the training sessions. Observing Tohill taking the training sessions, ''

Irish News 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 ...

'' journalist Paddy Heaney has predicted a future in management for Tohill, stating he "shows all the signs of someone who remains an avid student of the game". In March 2010, he was named as manager of the Irish International rules team.

Soccer

Tohill played

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

for Derry City, and Manchester United Reserves, during a two-week trial at the club in 1995.

Honours

County

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 ...

– Winner (1): 1993 *

– Winner (1): 1989 *

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 majo ...

– Winner (4): 1992, 1995, 1996, 2000 *

– Runner up: 1998 *

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 ...

– Winner (2): 1993, 1998 *

– Runner up: 1992, 1997, 2000 *

Ulster Minor Football Championship The Ulster Minor Football Championship is the Minor "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Ulster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ulster Council. The trophy for the winning side is Th ...

– Winner (1): 1989

Club

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 Champio ...

– Runner up: 1993 *

Derry Minor Football Championship The Derry Minor Football Championship is an annual gaelic football competition between the top Derry GAA clubs. The winners qualify to represent Derry in the Ulster Minor Club Football Championship. Bellaghy have won the competition more than ...

– Winner (1): 1988

Province

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 ...

– Winner (6?): 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000

College

– Winner (1): 1993 *

– Runner up: 1992?, 1994? *

Ryan Cup The Ryan Cup is the tier 2 hurling championship for third level colleges, the Fitzgibbon Cup being the tier 1 hurling championship trophy. The Ryan Cup competition is administered by Comhairle Ard Oideachais Cumann Lúthchleas Gael (CLG), the GAA' ...

– Winner (1): 1992? *

– Winner (1/2?): 1989, 1990? *

– Winner (1/2?): 1989, 1990?

Individual

* All Star – Winner (4): 1992, 1993, 1995, 2000 * All Star – Nominated (runner up): 1996, 1997, 1999, more? * Irish News Ulster All Stars Team of the Decade (1995–2004) – Winner * Irish News Ulster GAA All-Star – Winner (5): 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 *Derry Senior football captain *In May 2020, the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' named Tohill as one of the "dozens of brilliant players" who narrowly missed selection for its "Top 20 footballers in Ireland over the past 50 years". Note: The above lists may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.

References

External links

QUB Profile

AFL.com article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tohill, Anthony 1971 births Living people Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Derry City F.C. players Derry inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic footballers who switched code Ireland international rules football team coaches Irish international rules football players Irish expatriate sportspeople in England League of Ireland players Manchester United F.C. players Members of Mid Ulster District Council Swatragh Gaelic footballers Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football) Association footballers not categorized by position Republic of Ireland association footballers