Gary 'Copper' McFadden (born 1980s) 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 who plays for Glenswilly and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team. He was a panel member when Donegal won the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. He normally plays as a midfielder or half forward.

Early life

McFadden was educated at

St Eunan's College St Eunan's College ( ; ga, Coláiste Adhamhnáin), known locally as The College to distinguish it from the cathedral and GAA club, is a voluntary Roman Catholic all-male secondary day school (and former boarding school) in County Donegal, Ire ...

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...

. Manus McFadden, so crucial in the foundation of Glenswilly's GAA club, is his uncle, as he is also the uncle of Glenswilly player Kealan McFadden.

Playing career

Club

McFadden

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

ed Glenswilly to their first

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 2011, with a 1–8 to 0–9 victory over St Michael's. He was also captain when the team reached the 2007 County Final and lost. McFadden won his second Donegal Senior Football Championship with Glenswilly in

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(he was not captain then). His team progressed to the final of the

Ulster Senior Club Football Championship The Ulster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition played between the top clubs in Ulster GAA. The trophy awarded to the winners is the Seamus McFerran Cup ( ga, Corn Shéamuis Mhic Fearáin). The winners and th ...

, which they lost to

Ballinderry Ballinderry () is a small civil and ecclesiastical parish on both sides of the County Londonderry / County Tyrone border in Northern Ireland. It is a rural parish of about 350 houses and lies on the western shores of Lough Neagh. The parish c ...

. He won a third Donegal SFC in 2016.

Inter-county

McFadden was first called up the Donegal senior team in December 2007, he made his debut in a home victory against the 2007 All Ireland champions Kerry in a league match played in Ballybofey in early 2008. He was called into the panel again ahead of the 2012 Dr McKenna Cup. He was a member of the Donegal panel that won the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final against

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 ...

. He made a substitute appearance in the 2013 National Football League game against

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 ...

, an easy win in

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

. Three days after the 2014 National Football League Division 2 Final 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 ...

at Croke Park, it was confirmed that McFadden was one of four players to have left the Donegal county panel, less than a month before the county's Ulster Championship game against Derry. In December 2014, it was reported that McFadden had returned to the Donegal set-up after opting out in 2013. He was still playing for Donegal as of 2015.

Honours

;Donegal *

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 ...

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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 ...

;Glenswilly *

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McFadden, Gary 1980s births Living people Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers Glenswilly Gaelic footballers People educated at St Eunan's College