Declan Walsh (born 1989) 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 played for Malin (the northernmost GAA club in Ireland) and the Donegal county team. He was part of the Donegal team that won the

2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 126th edition of the GAA's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament, played between 31 counties of Ireland (excluding Kilkenny who only take part in the hurling championship), Lon ...

. He later transferred to a club in Monaghan.

Early life

Walsh's father was prominent in his local GAA club. He recalls his father coaching underage teams. As a young fella he played traditional music in one or two All Ireland Fleadhs.

Playing career

Walsh won the 2006

Ulster Minor Football Championship The Ulster Minor Football Championship is the Minor "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Ulster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ulster Council. The trophy for the winning side is Th ...

with Donegal. He played for Donegal throughout the

Ulster Under-21 Football Championship The Ulster GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Ulster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest int ...

in 2010, a competition which Donegal won, and in the semi-final of which (against

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'. Th ...

), Walsh scored a point. He then played in the final of the

2010 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship The All-Ireland Under 21 Football Championship is an under 21 Gaelic football inter county competition between the 32 counties of Ireland. Four competitions are contested in each province and the winners of each provincial championship enters the ...

, which Donegal (managed by

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 ...

) narrowly lost to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

(managed by Jim Gavin). Himself,

Antoin McFadden Antoin McFadden (born 1989/1990) is an Irish Gaelic football coach and player who has played for St Michael's and the Donegal county team. Pronounced , his forename is derived from the name of Roman great antiquity origin. Playing career Mc ...

, James Carroll and

Eamonn Doherty Eamonn Doherty (born 1990/1) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for St Eunan's and the Donegal county team. He is a secondary school teacher in Buncrana. Playing career Club Eamonn Doherty started his club's winning senior county final ...

transferred to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

for the summer in 2011. Walsh started for Donegal in their

2012 Ulster Senior Football Championship The 2012 Ulster Senior Football Championship was the 124th installment of the annual Ulster Senior Football Championship held under the auspices of the Ulster GAA. It was won by Donegal who defeated Down in the final to retain the title they won ...

match against

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Ba ...

. When

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 Sta ...

sustained an injury after two minutes against

Tyrone Tyrone may refer to: * Kingdom of Tyrone or Tír Eoghain, a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland * County Tyrone, a county in Northern Ireland * Earl of Tyrone, a title in the Peerage of Ireland * Tyrone (name), a male given name Places Canada * Tyrone, ...

in the semi-final, Walsh came on as a substitute to help his team through to the final. Walsh also made a substitute appearance 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, which Donegal won. Against

in the

2013 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2013 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 127th edition of the GAA's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament, played between 31 counties of Ireland (excluding Kilkenny), London and New York. The 2013 All-Ireland Senior F ...

he was concussed. He made a substitute appearance 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 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 ...

at Croke Park. As of 2019, Walsh had transferred to a club in Monaghan.

Honours

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship The GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the EirGrid GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association ...

runner-up: 2010 *

: 2010 *

: 2006

References

1989 births Living people Donegal Boston Gaelic footballers Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic football backs Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football) {{Donegal-gaelic-football-bio-stub