Neil Gallagher (born 18 August 1982) 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 for Glenswilly and the Donegal county team. He tended to play for his county at midfield, from 2004 until his injury-enforced retirement in 2017. He won two All Stars, one

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 ...

title, three

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 ...

titles and one

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

title. He was team

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 ...

when Donegal won the National Football League title in

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 ...

. Gallagher's haul of Ulster SFC titles was a joint county team record (alongside such past players as Anthony Molloy, Martin McHugh, Joyce McMullan and Donal Reid) for four years until Patrick McBrearty, Neil McGee, Paddy McGrath, Leo McLoone, Frank McGlynn, Michael Murphy and Anthony Thompson surpassed it in

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 ...

Playing career

Youth

Educated at St Eunan's College in

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...

, he warmed the bench during the College's 2000 McLarnon Cup victory.

Club

Gallagher was part of the Glenswilly team that won the 2011 Donegal Senior Football Championship (his team's first County Championship at senior level). Glenswilly defeated St Michael's by 1–8 to 0–9 in the final. He won his second Donegal Senior Football Championship with Glenswilly in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, scoring a goal in the final against Na Cealla Beaga. The team had a successful Ulster campaign, advancing to the final of the 2013 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship, where they lost to Ballinderry. He won a third Donegal SFC in 2016. He had retired by 2020.

Inter-county

Gallagher was first called up to the senior team by

Brian McEniff Brian McEniff (born 1 December 1942) is a former Gaelic football player, manager and administrator. McEniff played as a wing-back for the St Joseph's combination of clubs from Bundoran and Ballyshannon. He won seven Donegal Senior Football ...

for winter training in 2003. He made his senior debut for Donegal in 2004. That year his team made it to the Ulster final but were defeated by

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 ...

. 2005 was unsuccessful. Donegal reached the 2006 Ulster Senior Football Championship Final and he played in that match at

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) 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 headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

. In 2007, he was part of the Donegal team that won the county's first National Football League title. Donegal defeated Mayo in the final. He was the caption that day. He sustained a heavy knock to the head, one that required a bandage, but was still able to collect the trophy. Alongside Glenswilly teammate Ciaran Bonner, he was dropped by manager John Joe Doherty over a breach of discipline ahead of the 2009 All-Ireland SFC qualifier game against

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...

. By 2011, he had no career and was presumed finished. He was 28 years of age and a peripheral figure in manager

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 ...

's first season in charge. Then, quite suddenly, he became a linchpin of McGuinness's Donegal midfield, winning his first

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 ...

. He won his second Ulster SFC title in 2012. Though he did not play in the final against Down, he featured in earlier rounds and contributed a point in the quarter-final victory over

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 ...

. He was then part of the Donegal team that advanced through the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The best performance of his career with Donegal came 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; indeed, it is widely regarded as one of the all-time best in team history. He scored a point against Mayo in the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, as Donegal claimed the Sam Maguire Cup. He won an All Star and attended the Football Tour of New York. He also started for Donegal in the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final. He won his third and final Ulster SFC title in 2014. Under the management of McGuinness's successor,

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as "Ireland's first rock star", he is known for his virtuosic style of guitar playing and live performances. He has sometim ...

, he continued to feature for his county team. However, he was bedeviled by injuries. On

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

in 2017, he attended training at

Convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

— it was upon the Convoy turf that he broke down for the final time and relinquished his status as an inter-county footballer. Gallagher later described Gallagher as "very disappointed… He wanted to give it a go… He got the back re-scanned and tried to build it up". He announced his retirement from inter-county football at the age of 33 on 20 February 2017.

Business venture

In conjunction with teammate Michael Murphy, Gallagher opened the sports store "Michael Murphy Sports and Leisure" in Letterkenny in August 2014.

Personal life

Less than a week after the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, Gallagher attended the 2014 Ryder Cup in

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Honours

;Donegal *

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 ...

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 ...

* National Football League Division 1:

( c.) * National Football League Division 2:

;Glenswilly * Donegal Senior Football Championship:

Donegal Intermediate Football Championship The Donegal Intermediate Football Championship (abbreviated as Donegal IFC) is an annual football competition organised by Donegal GAA. Termon are the title holders (2024) defeating Naomh Columba in the Final. History The competition has been ...

: 2005 ;Individual * All Star: 2012, 2014 **Nominated in 2015 * ''

Donegal News The ''Donegal News'' (also known as ''Derry People/Donegal News'' and formerly ''Derry People'') is a twice-weekly local newspaper in the northwest of the island of Ireland, first published in 1902. Originally covering Derry, Northern Ireland, i ...

'' Sports Personality winner: August 2012

References

External links

Official profile
*
Neil Gallagher
at gaainfo.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Neil 1982 births Living people Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers Glenswilly Gaelic footballers People educated at St Eunan's College Sportspeople from Letterkenny Technicians Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football)