Neil Gallagher (born 1982/3) 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 kic ...

er who played for Glenswilly and the Donegal county team. He tended to play for his county at midfield, from 2004 until his injury-enforced retirement in 2017. He won two All Stars, one

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 ...

, three

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 ...

s and one

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 ...

. He was team

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 ...

when Donegal won the National Football League title in

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. Gallagher's haul of Ulster Senior Football Championships was a joint county team record (alongside such past players as Anthony Molloy, Martin McHugh, Joyce McMullan and Donal Reid) for four years until

Patrick McBrearty Patrick McBrearty (born 5 August 1993) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Cill Chartha and the Donegal county team. He is usually selected in the full-forward line for his county, often flanking Michael Murphy with Colm McFadden (be ...

Neil McGee Neil McGee (born 13 November 1985) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Gaoth Dobhair and, formerly, both the Donegal county team and the Ireland international rules football team. From Gweedore in County Donegal, he won three All St ...

Paddy McGrath Paddy McGrath (born 2 February 1989) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Ard an Rátha and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team. Though not from a footballing family, McGrath would equal his club's most famous player Anthony M ...

Leo McLoone Leo McLoone (born 1989) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Naomh Conaill and also, formerly, the Donegal county team. A versatile player, often employed as a forward, he has been an important source of goals for club and county. McL ...

, Frank McGlynn,

Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...

and Anthony Thompson surpassed it in

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Playing career

Youth

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 ...

, he warmed the bench during the College's 2000 McLarnon Cup victory.

Club

Gallagher was part of the Glenswilly team that won the 2011 Donegal Senior Football Championship (his team's first County Championship at senior level). Glenswilly defeated St Michael's by 1–8 to 0–9 in the final. He won his second Donegal Senior Football Championship with Glenswilly in

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, scoring a goal in the final against Na Cealla Beaga. The team had a successful Ulster campaign, advancing to the final of the 2013

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 ...

, where 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. He had retired by 2020.

Inter-county

Gallagher was first called up to the senior team by Brian McEniff for winter training in 2003. He made his senior debut for Donegal in 2004. That year his team made it to the Ulster final but were defeated by

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

. 2005 was unsuccessful. Donegal reached the 2006 Ulster Senior Football Championship Final and he played in that match 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 ...

. In 2007, he was part of the Donegal team that won the county's first National Football League title. They defeated

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 ...

in the final. He was the caption that day. He sustained a heavy knock to the head, one that required a bandage, but was still able to collect the trophy. Alongside Glenswilly teammate Ciaran Bonner, he was dropped by manager John Joe Doherty over a breach of discipline ahead of the 2009 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship qualifier game against

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

. By 2011, he had no career and was presumed finished. He was 28 years of age and a peripheral figure in manager

Jim McGuinness Jim McGuinness (born 16 November 1972) is an association football coach and former Gaelic footballer, coach and manager, who won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship as both player and manager with the Donegal county team. Having gu ...

's first season in charge. Then, quite suddenly, he became a linchpin of McGuinness's Donegal midfield, winning his first

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. He won his second Ulster SFC in 2012. Though he did not play in the final against Down, he featured in earlier rounds and contributed a point in the quarter-final victory over

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

. He was then part of the Donegal team that advanced through the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The best performance of his career with Donegal came against

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 ...

in the All-Ireland semi-final; indeed, it is widely regarded as one of the all-time best in team history. He scored a point against Mayo in the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final as Donegal claimed the

Sam Maguire Cup The Sam Maguire Cup ( ga, Chorn Sam Mhic Uidhir), often referred to as Sam or The Sam , is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the main competiti ...

. He won an All Star and attended the Football Tour of New York. He also started for Donegal in the

2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 2014 All-Ireland Football Final, the culmination of the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, was played at Croke Park in Dublin on 21 September 2014. Ulster champions Donegal, last champions in 2012 took on Munster champions Kerr ...

. He won his third and final Ulster SFC in 2014. Under the management of McGuinness's successor,

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Due to his virtuosic playing, but relative lack of fame compared to some others, he has been referred to as "the greatest ...

, he continued to feature for his county team. However, he was bedeviled by injuries. On

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

in 2017, he attended training at

Convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

— it was upon the Convoy turf that he broke down for the final time and relinquished his status as an inter-county footballer. Gallagher later described Gallagher as "very disappointed… He wanted to give it a go… He got the back re-scanned and tried to build it up". He announced his retirement from inter-county football at the age of 33 on 20 February 2017.

Business venture

In conjunction with teammate

, Gallagher opened the sports store "Michael Murphy Sports and Leisure" in Letterkenny in August 2014.

Personal life

Less than a week after the

, Gallagher attended the

2014 Ryder Cup The 40th Ryder Cup matches were held 26–28 September 2014 in Scotland on the PGA Centenary Course at the Gleneagles Hotel near Auchterarder in Perth & Kinross. This was the second Ryder Cup held in Scotland; it was previously at Muirfield i ...

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Honours

;Donegal *

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* National Football League Division 1:

( c.) * National Football League Division 2:

;Glenswilly *

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 ...

Donegal Intermediate Football Championship The Donegal Intermediate Football Championship (abbreviated as Donegal IFC) is an annual Gaelic football, football competition organised by Donegal GAA. CLG An Clochán Liath, An Clochán Liath are the title holders (2022) defeating CLG Naomh Co ...

: 2005 ;Individual * All Star: 2012, 2014 **Nominated in 2015 * ''

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, it ...

'' Sports Personality winner: August 2012

References

External links

Official profile
*
Neil Gallagher
at gaainfo.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Neil 1980s births Living people Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers Glenswilly Gaelic footballers People educated at St Eunan's College Technicians Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football)