Christy Toye (born 10 March 1983) 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 ki ...

er who plays for St Michael's and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team. He

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 his county in

Brian McIver Brian McIver is a Gaelic football manager who has been in charge of two county teams and been part of another that played in an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final. He was the 2007 National Football League-winning manager. A Tyrone ...

's first season in charge (2005). Along with his fellow club mate

Colm McFadden Colm Anthony McFadden ( ga, Colm Antóin Mac Pháidín; born 1982/3) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays at full forward for St Michael's and, from 2002 to 2016, for the Donegal county team. McFadden is Donegal's most-capped Championship ...

, he would have been considered one of the mature elder statesman of the Donegal senior football panel, until his retirement from inter-county football in 2017. Among other accolades, he has 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 ...

(

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

), 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 us ...

s ( 2011,

and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

) 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 ma ...

(

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

). He captained Donegal in the 2006 Ulster Senior Football Championship Final 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 h ...

, appeared as a substitute for Leo McLoone 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 A ...

in the 2012 All-Ireland Final and was named to start 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 County ...

in the 2014 All-Ireland Final. He made a total of 65 Championship appearances, a record he shares with Donegal teammate

Karl Lacey Karl Lacey (born 10 September 1984) is an Irish Gaelic football coach who plays for Four Masters and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team. His county's most decorated individual, his personal achievements include four All Star awards� ...

College

ed a team to 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. ...

Inter-county

Toye's mother's name is Rosemary. Toye and

were in the same class at primary school; they played in (and won) the Ted Webb under-16 tournament, the same year they were part of the county minor team. He started the first game of

Brian McEniff Brian McEniff (born 1 December 1942) is a former Gaelic football manager, administrator and player. McEniff played as a wing-back for the St Joseph's combination of clubs from Bundoran and Ballyshannon. He won seven Donegal Senior Football ...

'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 ...

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. Toye burst onto the national scene with goals in the Championship against

Meath Meath may refer to: General * County Meath, Republic of Ireland **Kingdom of Meath, medieval precursor of the county ** List of kings of Meath ** Meath GAA, including the intercounty football and hurling teams ** Diocese of Meath, in the Roman Cath ...

in 2002 and

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 ...

in 2003, both at

. The goal against Armagh, in the

2003 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2003 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 117th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament. The championship began on 4 May 2003 and ...

semi-final, was the first goal conceded by the then reigning All-Ireland SFC champions in eight championship games going back to the previous year's semi-final, and gave Donegal a half-time lead; Toye accompanied it with a point but Donegal lost the game. He played for Donegal against Armagh in the 2004 Ulster Senior Football Championship Final at

, but went off injured and was replaced by Rory Kavanagh. He captained Donegal in the 2006 Ulster Senior Football Championship Final against the same opponents at the same venue. He was a member of the Donegal team that won the

in 2007, playing from the start to the end in the final against

. In 2009, while in the form of his life, Toye ruptured his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

during an All-Ireland qualifier against

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * C ...

MacCumhaill Park MacCumhaill Park ( ga, Páirc Sheáin Mhic Cumhaill) 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 teams. The ground is named after Se ...

. He was left as a spectator when Armagh knocked Donegal from the 2010 Championship in

Crossmaglen Crossmaglen (, ) is a village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,610 in the 2011 Census and is the largest village in South Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Ire ...

. However, Toye returned the following season, rejuvenated by the arrival of

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 ...

as manager. He did not feature in the NFL or Ulster campaign but was sprung from the bench in the 2011 All-Ireland quarter-final against

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cent ...

at Croke Park. Within 25 seconds of his first appearance in 25 months he had the ball in the back of the Kildare net, later making a further vital contribution by scoring the final equalising point of a game which Donegal went on to narrowly win through a memorable point from Kevin Cassidy in extra-time. Toye had previously scored a goal for Donegal at Croke Park in a 2003 All-Ireland semi-final. Indeed, with four goals, Toye is Donegal's record goalscorer at Croke Park — one goal each against Meath (2002), Armagh (2003),

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 ...

(2006), and Kildare (2011). He also scored a goal in the

2015 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2015 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 128th edition of the GAA's premier inter-county Gaelic football since its establishment in 1887. 33 teams took part − 31 counties of Ireland (excluding Kilkenny), London and New York. ...

qualifier defeat of Galway at Croke Park, finishing into the corner of the net in injury-time. He came on as a second-half substitute for Leo McLoone in the

2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 2012 All-Ireland Football Final, the 125th event of its kind and the culmination of the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, was played at Croke Park, Dublin, on 23 September 2012. Donegal and Mayo, widely considered "one of the mos ...

, won by Donegal. He missed the entire 2013 season while battling

trigeminal neuralgia Trigeminal neuralgia (TN or TGN), also called Fothergill disease, tic douloureux, or trifacial neuralgia is a long-term pain disorder that affects the trigeminal nerve, the nerve responsible for sensation in the face and motor functions such as ...

but was back in 2014 in time for another shot at the All-Ireland. On 20 September 2014, he was named to start against

in the following day's All-Ireland Final. In January 2017, Toye retired from the inter-county game.

Club

Toye's club have not had much success at senior level. They reached the final of the

2011 Donegal Senior Football Championship The 2011 Donegal Senior Football Championship was contested by senior Gaelic football clubs under the auspices of Donegal GAA. Glenswilly were 2011 Champions, their first ever title. St Michael's also made their first final appearance. First r ...

—their first ever senior final—but lost, though Toye scored three points. Previously, in 2004, they reached the final of

All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship is an annual gaelic football competition which began in 2003. The winners of the Intermediate Club Championship from each county enter the competition. Finals by year Winners by County S ...

, in which Toye scored a point.

Other work

Toye has been active in encouraging people to read more books.

Legacy

The "languid" style of

Michael Langan Michael Langan (born Providence, RI 1984) is an American film director. He grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, where he began his artistic career as a professional stage actor, and is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design. Langan's films typical ...

has been compared favourably to that of Toye. Also published as "We're very close to clicking — Langan" in the ''

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 ...

'' of 30 December 2021: p 54.

Honours

;Donegal *

: 2011,

* National Football League Division 1:

;St Michael's *

runner-up: 2004 *

Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship The Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament played between the hundreds of intermediate football clubs in Ulster. There are nine county championships between the nine counties of Ulster. The nine winn ...

: 2003 *

Donegal Intermediate Football Championship The Donegal Intermediate Football Championship (abbreviated as Donegal IFC) is an annual football competition organised by Donegal GAA. An Clochán Liath are the title holders (2022) defeating Naomh Columba in the Final. History The competit ...

: 2003

References

External links

Official profile

Christy Toye
at gaainfo.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Toye, Christy 1983 births Living people Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers St Michael's (Donegal) Gaelic footballers Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football)