St Eunans GAA ( ; or ''Naomh Adhamhnáin'') is a dual club which plays

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

and

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

. Its home ground is O'Donnell Park in

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...

. It fields 35 teams, making it the biggest club in its county. One of the strongholds of

in County Donegal, the club has won the joint most

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 know ...

titles (along with

Gaoth Dobhair Gweedore ( , officially known by its Irish language name, ) is a Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) district, and parish, located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. It stretches some from Glasserchoo ...

, which has also won 15). Considered Donegal's most prolific club, it is renowned for its conveyor belt-like consistency in producing players of senior

inter-county Inter-county, is Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) List of Gaelic games terminology, terminology which refers to competitions or matches between County (Gaelic games), counties, as used in Gaelic games (differently from legal counties). The term c ...

quality, including numerous All-Ireland winners. Also renowned for its success at minor level, the club has won 19 minor football championships, with 3 minor championship wins and four final appearances in the four years from 2015 to 2018 they have toured abroad, particularly the United States in 1969 and 1998, and Glasgow in 1977. In 1980, it received an All-Ireland Club of the Year Award, at a ceremony in

Ballsbridge Ballsbridge () (from historic Ball's Bridge) is an affluent neighbourhood of the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The area is largely situated north and west of a three-arch stone bridge across the River Dodder, on the south side of the ...

, Dublin. It has a long-running boundary dispute with neighbouring club Letterkenny Gaels, which was founded in 1996 and has competed only in the Donegal Junior Football Championship. An agreement was signed between the two clubs that there would be no boundaries within the Town; however, this has not stopped Letterkenny Gaels in its pursuit of dividing the town along parish lines.

History

The club has won a total of 15

titles, the latest of which came on 2 November 2021, a comprehensive 1–11 to 0–4 victory against fierce rival Naomh Conaill in the final at

MacCumhaill Park MacCumhaill Park () is a GAA stadium in Ballybofey, County Donegal, Ireland. It is the home ground of the Seán MacCumhaills club and Donegal's Gaelic football and hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient ...

Ballybofey Ballybofey ( , ; ) is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn (County Donegal), River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Together with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn (County Donegal), River Finn, the ...

. The club is the most successful in the county at underage football, with more than fifty underage championships at under-14, under-16 and under-18 grades, as well as various under-13 and under-15 sport successes.

Early days

Frank "Steve" Donohoe and Mickey McGovern formed a club called the "Fag a Bailes" in 1917 during a meeting at McGovern's Public House on Letterkenny's Lower Main Street. This club would be important to the proper establishment of Gaelic football in East Donegal. The town's first Gaelic football playing field was located where Scoil Colmcille, Letterkenny currently is. Also in the team of that era were goalkeeper Johnny McClean and Fr John McMonagle of Glencar, who played at midfield. Letterkenny's next clubs were the Geraldines (established in 1924) and Letterkenny Rovers. Letterkenny Rovers won the town's first Donegal Senior Football Championship in 1927—beating Carrigans in a final uniquely held at

Newtowncunningham Newtown Cunningham, usually spelt Newtowncunningham or abbreviated to Newton (), is a village and townland in the Laggan district in the east of County Donegal, Ireland. It is located on the N13 road east of Letterkenny and west of Derry. At ...

—with a field selected, goalposts erected and admission fee of 6d.

1930–1947

1930 brought the foundation of the current club, with Geraldines and Rovers fading away. Glencar was the location of the club's first playing pitch. In its first year of existence the club reached the final of the 1930

, losing to Dungloe by a scoreline of 3–2 to 2–3. The club purchased the grounds for O'Donnell Park for £300 in the 1930s. The ground opened on Sunday 2 May 1937, when a hurling match between Donegal and Antrim and a football match between Donegal and

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

were divided by an address from GAA president R. O'Keeffe, and all were preceded by the Most Rev. Dr. McNeely, Bishop of Raphoe's Blessing of the Park. By the mid-1940s, it was Letterkenny's only GAA club—having also seen off both St Pat's and St Columba's—and the team reached the final of the Donegal Senior Football Championship in 1944, 1946 and 1947, losing to the four-in-a-row invincibles from

1948–1969

The club won their first Donegal Senior Football Championship in 1948, defeating old nemesis and previously invincible

by a scoreline of 1–7 to 2–1. The club made the final again in 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1952, eventually winning their second title in 1956, beating Ballyshannon by a scoreline of 0–8 to 1–2. In 1960 the club beat Gaoth Dobhair in the final again, this time by a scoreline of 0–11 to 0–3. In 1967 the club beat St Joseph's by a scoreline of 1–13 to 1–9, and beat the same team again in 1969, by a scoreline of 0–10 to 1–4 on that occasion.

1970s–1990s

In 1972 the club beat Clan na nGael—a previous incarnation of Four Masters—by a scoreline of 2–12 to 1–8 in the final at

. There followed a lull, broken in 1983, when the club defeated Ard an Rátha in the final by a scoreline of 0–8 to 0–3. There would be no further senior titles until 1999. The club fielded an ineligible player against Aodh Ruadh in the 1997 senior final, and were subsequently disqualified from the competition. The title was won on the pitch but taken away in the boardroom in controversial circumstances. The player in question had played championship football in America earlier in the year and despite St Eunan's being given the all-clear to field him the County title was subsequently stripped from the club. The club roared back against Aodh Ruadh in the 1999 final, with Brendan Devenney broke Martin McHugh's record by scoring 0–14 of his team's 1–19 to their opponents' 1–11.

21st-century

In the 2001 championship final the club defeated Four Masters by a scoreline of 1–10 to 0–8. In the 2006 final

beat them by 1–6 to 0–4 In 2007 they beat local rivals Glenswilly by a scoreline of 0–12 to 1–3. In 2008 they beat Termon, their neighbours on the other side of town, by a scoreline of 2–13 to 1–8 and went on to win a match in the

Ulster Senior Club Football Championship The Ulster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament organised by Ulster GAA. It is played between the Senior championship winners from each of the nine counties of Ulster. The competition was first held in 1968 an ...

for the first time, defeating Clonoe O'Rahilly's of Tyrone, the county that had just won that year's All-Ireland title, in the quarter-final. The 2008 team were the first from Donegal to win a match in the Ulster Club SFC for five years. However, Crossmaglen Rangers knocked them out in the semi-final. In 2009 the club achieved the three-in-a-row, defeating Naomh Conaill by a scoreline of 0–13 to 0–6. They would beat the same team in the 2012 final. 2011 brought minor football and hurling titles; in the football, they defeated Ardara 3–7 to 0–3, with Sean McBride, Lee McMonagle and Callum Keaveney getting the goals, while, in the hurling, they made history in July by winning their first ever minor hurling title, defeating Burt in a great contest highlighted by a stunning goal from Kevin Meehan. In 2013, a player was rushed to hospital with serious injuries sustained during a game against Naomh Conaill. They beat Glenswilly again in the 2014 final.

2012 season

Eunan's were crowned Donegal Senior Football Champions in 2012. The decisive goal in the final was scored by young Lee McMonagle in the 50th minute of the game, following a layoff from full-forward Ross Wherity, who received the ball via a long pass from Rory Kavanagh. The teams were level on many occasions until

Mark McGowan Mark McGowan (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian former politician and naval officer who served as the 30th premier of Western Australia from 2017 until his retirement in 2023. He was the leader of the Western Australian branch of the Austr ...

scored the winning point in freak circumstances. Brendan McDyre of opponents Naomh Conaill attempted to backpass to his goalkeeper Stephen McGrath only for the ball to drift out for a '45'. McGowan stepped up to punish. As the game ended he was photographed celebrating—stooped, wild-eyed with open mouth, sweat-soaked, bare thighs tensed, veins throbbing, mud-stained legs apart and clenched fists turned upwards.

2014 season

The club secured a 15th

on 2 November 2014 against local rivals Glenswilly at

, a 0–9 to 0–6 win, with John Haran at 38 years old putting in a man-of-the-match performance in the middle of the field. Manager was Maxi Curran, who was the first manager outside the club's membership in its history. The under-21 side defeated a Cill Chartha team, with a flurry of late goals in the final of the Donegal Under-21 Football Championship leading to a scoreline of 3–12 to 1–15. The club's hurlers won their first Donegal Under-16 Hurling Championship title, defeating Buncrana in the final. The under-15 boys experienced both county and provincial success in the seven-a-side og sport tournament. The club's footballers won the Donegal Under-13 Football championship.

2015 season

The under-14 hurlers and footballers both did the double in league and championship. The under-14 footballers won the Feile All-Ireland. The under-14 hurlers won the Feile Shield All-Ireland Title. The under-14 camogie team won the county title and All-Ireland Feile shield. The under-16 and minor footballers won county championships, with wins over Seán Mac Cumhaills and Naomh Conaill respectively. The club's hurlers won their first Donegal Under-21 Hurling Championship, defeating Setanta.

2016 season

The under-16 footballers won both county (defeating Seán Mac Cumhaills) and provincial titles (defeating

Warrenpoint Warrenpoint () is a small port town and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits at the head of Carlingford Lough, south of Newry, and is separated from the Republic of Ireland by a narrow strait. The town is beside the village ...

in Dromore 6–10 to 1–6).

2017 season

The club's minor and under-14 footballers both won county championships on September 16, with the club's minor team comfortably beating Cill Chartha by a scoreline of 5–10 to 1–8 and the club's under-14 team accounting for

An Clochán Liath ''An Clochán Liath'', known in English as Dungloe (sometimes misspelled as Dunglow; ), is a town on the west coast of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern Provinces of Ireland, province in Ireland. It is the main town in The Rosses and the l ...

by a scoreline of 3-12 to 1-6.

2018 season

The under-21 footballers defeated Glenfin by 5–11 to 1–8 to win the Donegal Under-21 Football Championship. The under-21 hurlers defeated Buncrana to win the club's second Donegal Under-21 Hurling Championship. The minor footballers won a record 19th Minor Football Championship, and a third in four years, with a 3–14 to 1–7 victory over Naomh Padraig from Muff under the

floodlight A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. It can provide functional area lighting for travel-ways, parking, entrances, work areas, and sporting venues to enable visibility adequate for safe task performance, ornament ...

s in Convoy. The minor hurlers won the Donegal Minor Hurling Championship, defeating

in the final. The minor ladies' team defeated a Moville side going for minor title number six-in-a-row in a high-scoring game at

2020s

Ahead of the 2020 season, John Haran, winner of 8 Donegal Senior Football Championships with the club, was named as the club's chairman after five years as the club's vice-chairman. Conall Dunne also took over as treasurer. In November 2020, Rory Kavanagh was appointed

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

of the club's senior team, and he won the Co Senior Championship in his first year in charge in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Notable players

;Football :A–F * Tony Blake — 2000

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () 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 and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

winner *

Eddie Brennan Edward Joseph Brennan (born 2 October 1978) is an Irish hurling manager and former player. His league and championship career with the Kilkenny senior team lasted twelve seasons from 2000 until 2011. Brennan was the manager of the Laois senio ...

—

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

and Donegal player * Paul Carr — 1982 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship and 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winner * Jim Clarke — county player at minor, under-21 and senior levels (full forward); captained the club to an under-21 county championship * Mark Crossan — 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and 2000

winner * Brendan Devenney — 2000

and 2007 National Football League winner; former

international rules football International rules football (; 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 to facilitate international represe ...

player—

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

's top scorer in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

* Eamonn Doherty — 2010 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship finalist,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and 2019 Ulster Senior Football Championship winner * Conall Dunne — 2007 National Football League winner * Sean Ferriter :G–L *

Conor Gibbons Conor Gibbons is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for St Eunan's and the Donegal county team. Playing career Gibbons has won three Donegal Senior Football Championships with his club: in 2009, 2012 and 2014. He made a substitute appeara ...

— has three senior championship medals with the club * Ciaran Greene — part of the 2000s three-in-a-row team and also a player of the foreign game *

John Hannigan John Hannigan (1938/9 – 22 April 2014) was an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for St Eunan's and the Donegal county team. A versatile player, Hannigan began his career in midfield but played everywhere from corner back to corner-forward. ...

* John Haran * Seamus Hoare — goalkeeper with four

medals * Michael Houston —

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 Cuala of D ...

medal with Thomond College, Limerick * Rory Kavanagh — 2007 National Football League and

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 t ...

winner * Brendan Kilcoyne —

player * James Larkin (Independent Fianna Fáil) — won five senior championship medals with the club :M * Noel McCole *

Sean McEwen Sean McEwen (born June 27, 1993) is a Canadian professional Canadian football, football offensive lineman for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). University career McEwen played CIS football for the Calgary Dinos ...

* Leslie McGettigan —

Hogan Cup The Hogan Cup (), 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 competition itself is re ...

medal with St Jarlath's College *

Paul McGettigan Paul McGettigan (born 1957/8) is a former Gaelic footballer, manager and barrister. He played inter-county football for Donegal and Galway. His club career included time with Donegal club St Eunan's and Galway clubs Salthill, St Grellan's and ...

— 1973

medal with Gormanston College; 1972 and 1974 Ulster Championship winner *

— scored the winner in the final of the 2012 Donegal Senior Football Championship * Seán McVeigh — inter-county hurler,

Lory Meagher Cup The Lory Meagher Cup (; often referred to as the Meagher Cup) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the fifth-tier of hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champio ...

and

Nicky Rackard Cup The Nicky Rackard Cup (; often referred to as the Rackard Cup) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the fourth-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champi ...

winner * Cillian Morrison — 2010 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship finalist and

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

soccer star * Charlie Mulgrew — 1982 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship and 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winner :N–Z * Conor O'Donnell Snr * Niall O'Donnell — 2016

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 T ...

and 2019 Ulster Senior Football Championship winner * Conor Parke — received a Donegal call-up under the management of

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as "Ireland's first rock star", he is known for his virtuosic style of guitar playing and live performances. He has sometim ...

in late 2014 * Shaun Patton —

and 2019 Ulster Senior Football Championship winner *

Kevin Rafferty Kevin Gelshenen Rafferty II (May 25, 1947 – July 2, 2020) was an American documentary film cinematographer, director, and producer, best known for his 1982 documentary '' The Atomic Cafe''. Background Rafferty was born in Boston on May 25, 19 ...

—

winner * Paddy Tunney —

medal with Gormanston College * Caolan Ward —

and 2019 Ulster Senior Football Championship winner * Joe "Dodo" Winston — 1972 and 1974

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...

winner * Ross Wherity — former

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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er ;Hurling * Seán McVeigh — part of 2019 Christy Ring Cup panelFerry, Ryan. "Hurlers rise to Christy Ring challenge". ''

Donegal News The ''Donegal News'' (also known as ''Derry People/Donegal News'' and formerly ''Derry People'') is a twice-weekly local newspaper in the northwest of the island of Ireland, first published in 1902. Originally covering Derry, Northern Ireland, i ...

''. 17 May 2019. Primarily an interview with McVeigh. Hilferty made his debut the previous week. Flood also came on. And "Parky", says McVeigh, is "flying in the corner". Mention is made in the report of work that the "Cathedral town club" are doing in promoting hurling. * Conor Parke — part of 2019 Christy Ring Cup panel

Managers

Chairmen

The following men have been chairman of the club.

Other

* Michael Houston, former manager * Michael McGeehin, former coach

Honours

;Football *

: 1948, 1956, 1960, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1983, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2021, 2024 * Donegal Junior Football Championship: 1980 * Donegal Senior B (Reserve) Football Championship: 1992, 1996, 2008, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021 * Donegal Under-21 Football Championship: 1976, 1977, 1990, 1997, 2003, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021 * Donegal Minor Football Championship: 1931, 1938, 1941, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018 ;Ladies' * Donegal Senior Ladies' Football Championship: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 * Ulster Ladies' Senior Club Football Championship: 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998 ;Hurling *

Donegal Senior Hurling Championship The Donegal Senior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Donegal GAA clubs. The County Final is usually played at O'Donnell Park in Letterkenny. Burt GAA, Burt are the title holders, defeating Setanta Hurli ...

: 1972, 2021 * Donegal Junior Hurling Championship: 2000, 2023 * Donegal Intermediate Hurling Championship: 2001 * Donegal Minor Hurling Championship: 2011, 2018, 2022 ;Individual John Horan gave Fergus Mac Aoidh a GAA President's Award in 2021.

References

External links

Official website
{{Letterkenny 1930 establishments in Ireland Gaelic games clubs in County Donegal Gaelic football clubs in County Donegal Hurling clubs in County Donegal Sport in Letterkenny