Micheál Donoghue (born 7 September 1974) is an Irish hurling manager and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

. He is the current

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

of the

Galway senior hurling team The Galway county hurling team ( ) represents County Galway, Galway in hurling and is governed by Galway GAA, the County board (Gaelic games), county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-co ...

. Donoghue was previously manager of the

from the end of 2015 until the summer of 2019. Donoghue began his hurling career at club level with

Clarinbridge Clarinbridge or Clarenbridge () is a village in south County Galway, Ireland. It is on the mouth of the Clarin River at the end of Dunbulcaun Bay, which is the easternmost part of Galway Bay. The village is 13 km south-east of Galway cit ...

. After breaking onto the club's top adult team he enjoyed his greatest success almost a decade later when he captained the club to the 2001 Galway Senior Championship. At inter-county level, Donoghue, along with his twin brother

Liam Liam is a short form of the Germanic name William, or its Irish variant Uilliam. Etymology The original name was a merging of two Old German elements: ''willa'' ("will" or "resolution"); and ''helma'' ("helmet"). The juxtaposition of these ...

, was part of the successful Galway minor team that won the All-Ireland Championship in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

before later winning an All-Ireland Championship with the under-21 team in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

. He also joined the Galway senior team in

. Donoghue's senior career was hampered by injuries, however, he made a number of National League and Championship appearances in a career that ended with his last game in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. His final season with the team saw him claim

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 ...

and Connacht Championship medals. After retiring as a player, Donoghue served as a selector with the Galway under-21 team, with whom he won All-Ireland Championships in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. He subsequently turned to management with his home club

and steered the team to the All-Ireland Club Championship in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. An unsuccessful spell as

Turloughmore Turloughmore ( ; ) is a village in County Galway, Ireland. The name means "the large lake," a notable feature of the area, together with the Clare River (''Abhainn an Chláir''). Turloughmore lies on the N63 national secondary road. It is a sm ...

manager was followed by a two-year tenure as statistician with the

Tipperary senior hurling team The Tipperary county hurling team represents County Tipperary, Tipperary in hurling and is governed by Tipperary GAA, the County board (Gaelic games), county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual ...

. Donoghue was appointed manager of the Galway senior team in December 2015. In his second season in charge he guided the team to a clean sweep of All-Ireland, Leinster Championship and National League titles.

Playing career

Clarinbridge

Donoghue joined the

club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. On 14 November 1992, he scored a point from left wing-back when Clarinbridge drew 1-08 to 2-05 with Castlegar in the Galway Minor Championship final. Donoghue lined out in the same position for the replay a week later and collected a winners' medal following a 1-09 to 1-05 victory. Donoghue subsequently progressed onto the Clarinbridge under-21 and senior teams. On 30 November 1997, he was named at centre-back when Clarinbridge lost out to Sarsfields by 1-11 to 1-06 in the final of the Galway Senior Championship. On 21 October 2001, Donoghue captained the club from centre-back to their very first Galway Senior Championship title following an 0-18 to 2-11 defeat of

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th-century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...

. Donoghue won a Connacht Club Championship medal on 18 November following a 2-18 to 1-06 defeat of Four Roads in the final. On 17 March 2002, he captained Clarinbridge to a 2-10 to 1-05 All-Ireland final defeat by Birr. A series of injuries brought Donoghue's club career to an end at the age of 28.

Galway

Minor and under-21

Donoghue was drafted onto the Galway minor team in advance of the 1991 All-Ireland Championship. He made his first appearance on 9 August when he lined out at left corner-back in a 1-16 apiece draw with

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

in the All-Ireland semi-final. Donoghue was switched to left wing-back for the All-Ireland final against

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

on 8 September. He ended the game with a winners' medal following a 1-13 to 2-04 victory. After joining the Galway under-21 team, Donoghue made his first appearance on 21 August 1993. He lined out at left wing-back in a 1-09 to 1-07 defeat of

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. Donoghue retained his position on the starting fifteen for the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny on 3 October. He collected a winners' medal following the 2-09 to 3-03 victory. On 11 September 1994, Donoghue lined out in a second successive All-Ireland final. He was selected at left wing-back for the 3-10 to 1-11 defeat by Kilkenny.

Senior

Donoghue was added to the Galway senior panel prior to the start of the 1993-94 National League. He made his first appearance on 31 October 1994 when he lined out at left wing-back in a 2-15 to 2-09 defeat of Down. On 7 May 1994, Donoghue was named amongst the substitutes when Galway faced Tipperary in the National League final. He was introduced for Tom Helebert in the 2-14 to 0-12 defeat. Donoghue made his first championship appearance in a 2-21 to 2-06 defeat of

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 All-Ireland quarter-final on 17 July. Donoghue suffered a series of injuries which hindered his inter-county career. A broken collarbone was followed by surgery to address a bulging disc in his lower. On 12 May 1996, Donoghue lined out at left wing-back when Galway qualified for the National League final. He ended the game with a winners' medal following the 2-10 to 2-08 defeat of Tipperary. Donoghue won a Connacht Championship medal on 6 July after Galway's 3-19 to 2-10 defeat of Roscommon in the final. Further injuries and surgeries brought his inter-county career to an end shortly after.

Managerial career

Clarinbridge

After being appointed manager of the Clarinbridge senior hurling team in 2009, Donoghue immediately brought success to the club. Under his guidance, the team qualified for the Galway Senior Championship final on 31 October 2010, however, the game ended in a 2-11 to 1-14 draw with

Loughrea Loughrea ( ; ), is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains and Lough Rea, the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the urban sk ...

. Clarinbridge defeated Loughrea by 0-18 to 0-15 in the replay on 21 November. Donoghue subsequently guided Clarinbridge to the All-Ireland Club Championship title on 17 March 2011 following a 2-18 to 0-12 defeat of O'Loughlin Gaels.

Turloughmore

Donoghue took charge of the

senior hurling team in 2012. In his first season in charge he guided the team to a semi-final appearance in the Galway Senior Championship, however, his side suffered a 1-12 to 0-07 defeat by

. Donoghue's second season as Turloughmore manager ended with a quarter-final defeat by Beagh.

Tipperary

Donoghue was drafted in by Eamon O'Shea to help out with a variety of coaching and statistics roles with the

in 2014. In his second and final season with the team Tipperary suffered a 0-26 to 3-16 defeat by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. Donoghue later said: "It was hard, very hard but like any job when you are asked to do something you just focus on the job that you are given. I suppose if you were going to get beaten then Galway were going to be the team you wanted to succeed and push on."

Galway

Under-21

Donoghue became a selector to the Galway under-21 team in 2005 under manager Vincent Mullins. As part of the management team he help guide the team to the

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

title following a 1-15 to 1-14 defeat of Kilkenny on 18 September 2005. Galway surrendered their All-Ireland title at the first hurdle in 2006, however, Donoghue was retained as a selector for a third season the following year. On 8 September 2007, Galway won a second All-Ireland title in three years following a 5-11 to 0-12 defeat of

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 ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. Donoghue's tenure as a selector ended on 24 August 2008 following a 2-14 to 1-13 defeat by Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final.

Senior

In December 2015 Donoghue succeeded

Anthony Cunningham Anthony Cunningham (born 16 June 1965) is a former hurler who has since managed various Gaelic football and hurling teams. He was manager of the Galway county hurling team between 2011 and 2015 and of the Roscommon county football team betwee ...

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 ...

manager starting in the 2016 Season. On 3 April 2016, Galway lost to

in a Division 1A Relegation Play-Off by 2-22 to 0-25 and were relegated to Division 1B for

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. On 3 July 2016, Galway lost the Leinster Final to

on a 0-22 to 1-26 scoreline after having a three-point lead at half-time. On 22 April 2017, Galway won the

2017 National Hurling League The 2017 National Hurling League was the 86th season of the National Hurling League for county teams. Clare were the defending champions, winning the title for the first time since 1977–78 after a 1–23 to 2–19 win against Waterford in a ...

after a 3-21 to 0-14 win against Tipperary in the final. On 2 July 2017, Galway won their second ever Leinster Senior Hurling title after a 0-29 to 1-17 win against

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

in the

. On 6 August 2017, Galway qualified for the 2017 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final after a one-point victory over Tipperary in the semi-final. On 3 September 2017, Donoghue and his Galway team were crowned All Ireland Champions after defeating

on a 0-26 to 2-17 scoreline in the

. This was Galway's first All Ireland senior hurling title since 1988. In November 2018, Donoghue was ratified for a further two years as Galway manager. In August 2019, Donoghue stepped down as Galway manager.

Dublin

In an unexpected announcement issued on the morning of 22 August 2022, Donoghue was appointed on a three-year term as

Dublin senior hurling team The Dublin county hurling team represents Dublin in hurling and is governed by Dublin GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Hurling ...

manager. Donoghue stepped down as Dublin manager on 8 August 2024, just under seven weeks after his side were knocked out of the

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

at the quarter-final stage by eventual runners-up

Galway

In August 2024, Donoghue was re-appointed as Galway senior hurling manager on a four year term.

Honours

Player

;Clarinbridge *

Galway Senior Hurling Championship The Galway Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Brooks Galway Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Galway County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the ...

(1): 2001 *Galway Minor Hurling Championship (1): 1992 ;Galway *

Connacht Senior Hurling Championship The Connacht Senior Hurling Championship, known simply as the Connacht Championship, was an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Connacht GAA, Connacht Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It was the highest inte ...

(1):

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

(1): 1995-96 *

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

(1):

All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship) is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Associ ...

(1):

;Connacht *

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

(1): 1994

Manager

;Clarinbridge *

All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Club Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-coun ...

(1):

(1): 2010 ;Galway *

(1):

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hur ...

(2):

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

(1):

(2):

;Connacht *

(1): 2004

Individual

Philips Sports Manager of the Year The Philips Sports Manager of the Year is an award for the person considered the most outstanding Irish sports manager or coach of a particular year. The award is contested by the twelve winners of the year's Philips Sports Manager of the Month ...

: 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donoghue, Micheal 1974 births Living people All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship winning managers Clarinbridge hurlers Connacht inter-provincial hurlers Galway inter-county hurlers Hurling managers Hurling selectors Tipperary county hurling team