John Gildea (born 27 March 1971) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for Naomh Conaill and the Donegal county team. He is originally from

Glenties Glenties () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is situated where two glens meet, north-west of the Bluestack Mountains, near the confluence of two rivers. Glenties is the largest centre of population in the parish of Iniskeel. Glenties has ...

Playing career

Gildea made his championship debut for Donegal as a substitute against Down in 1995.

Pat Ward Patrick or Pat Ward may refer to: *Patrick Ward (actor) (1950–2019), Australian actor *Patrick Ward (photographer) (born 1937), British photographer *Pat Ward (footballer) (1926–2003), Scottish footballer *Pat Ward (rugby union) (fl. from 1928) ...

and Michael Gallagher were county footballers when Gildea was "coming through". His early career was troubled; suffering a problem (which turned out to be a

Vitamin B12 Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism. It is one of eight B vitamins. It is required by animals, which use it as a cofactor in DNA synthesis, in both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. ...

deficiency) that affected his ability to train, he made no further championship appearances while P. J. McGowan was manager of the county. Gildea then played illegally under an assumed name for Donegal New York in 1997, the illegality due to him officially registering to play in Boston. He was suspended for one year, reduced to six months on appeal. Gildea credited McGowan's successor

Declan Bonner Declan Bonner (born 11 August 1965) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and manager. He played at senior level for the Donegal county team, winning an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1992. He later managed the Donegal county team for ...

for persisting with him through his difficulties. Fourteen hours after the suspension had ended, Bonner started Gildea in the 1997–98 National Football League semi-final at Croke Park; Gildea scored two points but his team lost the game 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, in h ...

. Gildea featured prominently for his county from 1998 onwards. Having played as a wing-forward against Offaly and against Antrim in the 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 ...

quarter-final, Bonner moved Gildea into the midfield position where he would make his name when Martin Coll was sent off early on against Cavan in the Ulster semi-final. Donegal won that game, with Gildea outmanoeuvring Dermot McCabe, but the county then lost the Ulster final to a late

Joe Brolly Joe Brolly (born 25 June 1969 Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland) is a Gaelic football analyst, former player and barrister who played at senior level for the Derry county team. Brolly played for Derry in the 1990s and early 2000s ...

goal. Gildea quit the panel in May 2001, shortly after Bonner's successor as manager,

Mickey Moran Mickey Moran is a former Gaelic footballer and manager-coach, who has been manager of Kilcoo since 2019, with a background as an inter-county manager who most recently managed the Leitrim county team. He played at senior level for the Der ...

, controversially substituted him during a championship loss to

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh ( ga, Fir Manach), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of a ...

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...

; the decision was part of why selector Michael Houston also quit, while Gildea went to the United States to play for

Donegal Boston Donegal Boston GFC is a Gaelic football club which was founded in 1988 in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston is the second largest division of the GAA on the North American continent, after New York. They train on Malibu Beach, Dorchester. Among ...

. He vowed to retire after 2002, but carried on. By 2003, Gildea was the most senior player in the county team. He started the first game of Brian McEniff's last spell as Donegal manager, a league defeat to

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...

in February 2003, during which he scored a point. That year he was an important player during a six-game championship run through the

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 ...

qualifiers. He played in the 2003 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final against Armagh. Gildea continued to play for his county until 2004. Gildea 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 2005, his club's first, which came after a replay. Gildea first met Stephen Rochford, who went on to work with Bonner in his second spell as Donegal manager, during two visits to Australia from twenty years previously. He is the father of two sons. He lives in

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gildea, John 1971 births Living people Donegal Boston Gaelic footballers Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers Donegal New York Gaelic footballers Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Naomh Conaill Gaelic footballers People from Glenties