Michael Donnellan (born 28 February 1977) is an Irish former

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 at senior level for the Galway county team.

Family

He is the son of a former politician and footballer,

John Donnellan John F. Donnellan (born 27 March 1937) is an Irish former politician and sportsman. He served as a Fine Gael Teachta Dála (TD) for twenty-five years and as a Minister of State from 1982 to 1987. He played Gaelic football for his local club Du ...

, and grandson of politician and footballer Michael Donnellan. All three of them

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 ...

ed the Galway football team during their careers.

Playing career

Donnellan first came to prominence as a member of the talented

St Jarlath's College St Jarlath's College () is a Catholic co-educational secondary school in Tuam, County Galway. The college was founded in 1800 and in 2009 absorbed St. Patrick's College, Tuam. The College, which operates under patronage of the Archbishop of Tua ...

Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...

team of the early 1990s. He played a crucial role in their

Hogan Cup The Hogan Cup (), also known as the All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Senior A Football Championship, is the top level Gaelic football championship for secondary schools (sometimes referred to as colleges) in Ireland. The competition itself is re ...

–winning season of 1994 alongside future Galway teammates Declan Meehan, Tomás Meehan, John Divilly, Tommy Joyce and

Pádraic Joyce Pádraic Joyce (born 1 April 1977) is a Gaelic football Manager (Gaelic games), manager and former player who played as a forward. He has been manager of the senior Galway county football team, Galway county team since 2019. Joyce won the All ...

. They reached the Connacht final the following year but lost out to their biggest rivals,

St Patrick's College, Tuam St Patrick's College (), known as Tuam Christian Brothers School until 1990, was a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys in Tuam, County Galway, Ireland. The college was named after St Patrick, as the foundation stone of the school was laid ...

. He would later once more play alongside Joyce with the Tralee IT team that won the 1998

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. T ...

Senior

In 1998, Donnellan won his first All-Ireland SFC medal as part of the

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 ...

side that won the 1998 championship. During the first half of the final against

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

, Donnellan picked up the ball inside the heart of his own defence and proceeded to go on an amazing run, soloing the length of the field while exchanging a one-two with Kevin Walsh in midfield. As he approached the Kildare goal, he laid the ball off to Derek Savage, who passed to

Seán Óg De Paor Seán Óg de Paor (born 24 December 1970) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Galway county team. De Paor comes from An Cheathrú Rua in the Connemara Gaeltacht, where he attended the local national schoo ...

. De Paor slotted the ball over the bar. The score re-invigorated the Galway team, who were losing at the time. Donnellan's overall performance inspired Galway to their first football title in 32 years and completed a unique hat-trick of senior All-Ireland medals for his family, as he followed in the footsteps of his father John (1966) and his grandfather Mick (1925). The final score was 1–14 to 1–10. That solo run was later voted No.1 in the '' Top 20 GAA Moments'' in 2003. Donnellan was named

Texaco Footballer of the Year The Texaco Footballer of the Year was a Gaelic football award, created in 1958, that honoured the achievements of a footballer of outstanding excellence. The award was part of the Texaco Sportstars Awards, in which Irish sportspeople from all fi ...

that year. After reaching another All-Ireland SFC final in 2000, lost to Kerry after a replay, Donnellan and Galway won the 2002 All-Ireland SFC title. After losing to

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

in the Connacht SFC semi-final, Galway entered the newly introduced back-door qualifiers and defeated

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...

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 ...

and

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 * ...

to reach the All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals. They gained revenge over Roscommon with 0–14 to 1–5 victory to reach the All-Ireland SFC semi-final, where they defeated

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 ...

by three points. In the 2001 All-Ireland SFC final, they outclassed a

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 ...

team by 0–17 to 0–08.

Club

Donnellan had a high-profile transfer to the Salthill–Knocknacarra club in 2005. He soon won an

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 ...

with his adopted club. He gave a man-of-the-match performance in the 2005 final, where Salthill narrowly edged out

Antrim GAA The Antrim County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association () or Antrim GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The county board is also responsible for t ...

club St Gall's.

Soccer

In December 1999, Donnellan signed for Don O'Riordan at

Galway United Galway United Football Club () is an Irish professional football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland Premier Division following promotion from the First Division in 2023. They were founded as Galway Rovers F.C. during the ...

for the rest of the 1999–2000 League of Ireland season. According to the

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

, he could play "in midfield or in attack".

Since

After being hampered by injury over many years, Donnellan decided to quit playing Gaelic football at the end of the 2006 season, ending a career during which he won nearly ever honour in the game. In May 2020, the ''

'' named Donnellan as one of the "dozens of brilliant players" who narrowly missed selection for its "Top 20 footballers in Ireland over the past 50 years".

References

External links

Donnellan Retires
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnellan, Michael 1977 births Living people All Stars Awards winners (football) All Stars Young Footballers of the Year

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

Dunmore McHales Gaelic footballers Gaelic footballers who switched code Galway inter-county Gaelic footballers Irish international rules football players People educated at St Jarlath's College Salthill-Knocknacarra Gaelic footballers Texaco Footballers of the Year Winners of two All-Ireland medals (Gaelic football) Association footballers from County Galway Galway United F.C. (1937–2011) players League of Ireland players Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Republic of Ireland men's association footballers