Martin Shovlin (born 1960/1) 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 ki ...

er who played for Naomh Ultan and the Donegal county team. He played against

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 ...

and scored a point in the 1990 Ulster final, won by Donegal. His performance led him to be awarded the Ulster GAA Writers' Player of the Year. He was part of Donegal's successful

1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 106th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament. The championship began on 17 May 1992 and ...

team. He started the semi-final 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 ...

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 ...

. However, he did not play in the final; he had sustained a stiff neck injury which was still affecting him on the morning of the final.

John Joe Doherty John Joe Doherty (born 1968) is a former Irish Gaelic footballer and manager who played for Naomh Columba and the Donegal county team, later managing Donegal. Biography He won the 1987 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship with Donegal. ...

took his place in the team. Donegal captain Anthony Molloy singled Shovlin out for a special mention in his victory speech. Earlier that year, ''

Hogan Stand Hoganstand.com is a news website and the online face of the monthly Gaelic games magazine ''Hogan Stand'', which is distributed throughout Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atla ...

'' indicated that: "Even objective observers of the game in Donegal recognised that the Shovlin,

Gavigan Gavigan is an Irish surname that claims its origins with different local chieftains depending upon the research performed. Etymology * From County Mayo, Ireland, a local Irish chieftain called "Gabhadhan", the old Gaelic might have been some ...

and

Reid Reid is a surname of Scottish origin. It means "red". People with the surname * Alan Reid (disambiguation) * Alex Reid (disambiguation), includes Alexander Reid * Amanda Reid, Australian Paralympic athlete * Amanda Reid (taxonomist), Australi ...

combination probably represented the best lie of defence in the country. The Dublin trio of

Curran Curran may refer to: People * Curran (surname) * Curran Oi (born 1990), an American figure skater Material * Curran (material) Places *Curran, community in Alfred and Plantagenet, Ontario, Canada ;Northern Ireland * Curran, County Londonderry ...

, Carr and Heery were the only other combination which vied for that tag, it was suggested". Shovlin was still playing for Naomh Ultan as recently as 2021.

References

External links

Martin Shovlin
lifts 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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shovlin, Martin 1960s births Living people Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football)