Declan Walsh (born 1989) is an Irish

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 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 Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament, played between 31 counties of Ireland (excluding Kilkenny who only take part in t ...

. 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 T ...

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 in ...

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

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

), 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 th ...

, which Donegal (managed by

Jim McGuinness Jim McGuinness (born 16 November 1972) is a Gaelic football coach, and former player, who won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship as a player with, and later manager of, the Donegal county team. Since 2023, he has been manager, for ...

) narrowly lost to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

(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 is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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 wo ...

match against

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

. 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 Stars ...

sustained an injury after two minutes against 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 ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

in the All-Ireland semi-final, which Donegal won. Against Tyrone in the

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

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 Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA's premier inter-county Gaelic football since its establishment in 1887. 33 teams took part − 31 Counties of Ireland, counties of I ...

qualifier defeat of

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

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) () is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County (Gaelic games), County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Champions. Organised by the ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Declan 1989 births Living people Donegal Boston Gaelic footballers Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic football backs Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football)