Conleith "Deets" Gilligan (born 17 December 1979) is a

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 ...

er who played for the Derry county team, with whom he won two

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

titles. Gilligan plays his club football for Ballinderry Shamrocks. He was instrumental in helping Ballinderry win the 2002

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 ...

, and he has also won four Derry Championships and an

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 ...

with the club. Gilligan usually plays as a playmaker in the forward line and his vision and ability to pick out pin-point passes is well renowned.

Playing career

Inter-county

Gilligan was a late addition to the Derry panel that won the 2000

. He joined the panel after the NFL final against

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

, which finished a draw and came on as a substitute in the final replay. He was instrumental in the 2008 National League, which Derry won, defeating Kerry in the final. He announced his retirement from inter-county football in November 2012.

Club

Gilligan won his first Derry Senior Football Championship in 2001 and Ballinderry went on to win that year's

, and the

the following March. He has won further Derry Championship medals with the club in 2002,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

(as

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

) and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. He has also won seven Derry Senior League medals with the club (1995, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008).

Post-playing career

Having assisted Mickey Moran to bring an All Ireland club title to Kilcoo in 2022 He joined the

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 ...

backroom management team in October 2023, ahead of the 2024 season, and was a key part of the set up that brought the Sam Maguire trophy to Armagh in July 2024 when they defeated Galway by one point.

Honours

Inter-county

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

: **Winner (2): 2000,

Dr McKenna Cup The Dr McKenna Cup is an annual Gaelic football competition played between Counties of Ireland, counties and List of universities in Northern Ireland, universities in the province of Ulster GAA, Ulster. It is the secondary Gaelic football compe ...

: **Runner up: 2005, more?

Club

: **Winner (1): 2002 *All-Ireland Kilmacud Crokes Sevens Championship: **Winner (1): 1998 **Runner up: 1999?? *

: **Winner (1): 2001 **Runner up:

* Ulster Senior Club Football League: **Winner (1): 2008 * Derry Senior Football Championship: **Winner (4): 2001, 2002,

**Runner up: 1999, 2000,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

*Derry Senior Football League: **Winner (7): 1995, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 *Numerous underage competitions

Individual

*Derry Senior Football Championship winning captain:

Note: The above lists may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.

References

External links

Player profiles on Official Derry GAA websiteBallinderry Shamrocks GAC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilligan, Conleith 1979 births Living people Armagh county football team non-playing personnel Ballinderry Gaelic footballers Derry inter-county Gaelic footballers