Seamus Bonner (6 November 1948 – 11 October 2012) was an Irish

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 various clubs, as well as for the Donegal county team. Bonner played 129 games for his county between 1972 and 1985, initially in midfield and later at full forward. He made his championship debut against

Down Down most often refers to: * Down, the relative direction opposed to up * Down (gridiron football), in American/Canadian football, a period when one play takes place * Down feather, a soft bird feather used in bedding and clothing * Downland, a ty ...

at Ballybofey in 1972 and played his last Championship game against

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Letterken ...

in 1985. In 1974 he scored seven goals in four games, including one against

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city ...

in that year's All-Ireland semi-final. With

Michael McLoone Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

(1966), Bonner (1974) jointly holds the record for Donegal player with the highest score in the same match. In 1983, he became the first Donegal player to win three

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

s. He played his club football for Drumbar, then Four Masters, then Civil Service, captaining the last team to the 1980

Dublin Senior Football Championship The Dublin Senior Football Championship (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the '' Go-Ahead'' Dublin Senior Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition between the top Dublin GAA clubs. The winners of the ...

. He later won two more Ulster SFCs as a

selector Selector may refer to: *Selector, electrical or mechanical component, a switch *''Selector'', music scheduling software for radio stations created by Radio Computing Services *Selector, of music, otherwise known as a disc jockey *Selector, a pers ...

under the managerial reign of

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

, and was there in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

when Donegal won the

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

. He was at the time a selector with the Civil Service club, as was one of the Dublin selectors

Pat O'Neill Pat O'Neill may refer to: Sportspeople *Pat O'Neill (American football) (born 1971), American football player *Pat O'Neill (Dublin footballer) (born 1950), Dublin Gaelic footballer and manager *Pat O'Neill (Galway footballer) (born 1956), Galway Ga ...

. He later managed Leitrim for a short while. He was mentioned as a possible successor to

P. J. McGowan P. J. McGowan (born 1951/52) is an Irish Gaelic football manager and administrator. He succeeded Brian McEniff as Donegal manager in 1994 and lasted until 1997, thus preceding Declan Bonner's first spell in charge. He also managed Fermanagh. Ca ...

as Donegal senior manager in 1997. Originally from Donegal town, he died after a short illness in 2012. A retired Garda, he was the father of St Brigid's and Dublin footballer

Kevin Bonner Kevin Bonner is a Gaelic footballer who has played for the Dublin county team. The son of Donegal footballing legend Seamus Bonner, he plays his club football for St Brigid's. Career Early years: 2006 - 2008 Bonner made his championship debut ...

Honours

;Player *

: 1972, 1974, 1983 *

: 1980 ( c.) ;Selector *

: 1990, 1992

References

External links

Seamus Bonner
at gaainfo.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonner, Seamus Year of birth missing 2012 deaths Gaelic football managers Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers Four Masters Gaelic footballers Gaelic football selectors Garda Síochána officers