2012 Donegal county football team season

The 2012 Donegal county football team season was the franchise's 108th season since the County Board's foundation in 1905. The team ended the season as All-Ireland champions after winning Sam Maguire MMXII.

Jim McGuinness returned for his second season as the team's manager. Pioneer of the game's revolutionary tactic The System,[1] he entered the season having won the 2011 Ulster Senior Football Championship in his first season at the helm. Consecutive Ulster titles were a possibility, a first in team history, and the 2012 Ulster Senior Football Championship duly followed. McGuinness then became only the second manager, after Brian McEniff at the helm of the fabled Sam MCMXCII side, to lead Donegal to the All-Ireland title.

Provincial Championship

Preliminary round
Cavan1-10 - 1-16Donegal
N McDermott 1-1 (1-0 pen, 0-1f), E Keating 0-5, D Givney 0-2, G McKiernan, J Brady 0-1 each Report C McFadden 1-6 (1-0 pen, 0-5f), R Kavanagh 0-3, M McHugh, L McLoone 0-2 each, N McGee, F McGlynn, N Gallagher 0-1 each
Attendance: 12,847
Referee: Cormac Reilly (Meath)
Quarter-final
Donegal2-13 - 0-9Derry
C McFadden L McLoone 1-0, M Murphy 0-3 (3f), P McBrearty, D Walsh 0-2 each, R Bradley, N Gallagher, A Thompson, F McGlynn 0-1 each. Report P Bradley 0-6 (5f), M Lynch, SL McGoldrick, E Bradley (’45) 0-1 each.
Attendance: 11,207
Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo)
Semi-final
Tyrone0-10 - 0-12Donegal
Stephen O'Neill, J McMahon (2f) 0-2 each, C Clarke, C Gormley (45), D Carlin, Sean O'Neill; Mark Donnelly, M Penrose 0-1 each Report M Murphy (3f), C McFadden (2f) 0-3 each, R Kavanagh 0-2, R Bradley, K Lacey, P McBrearty, M McHugh 0-1 each
Attendance: 17, 730
Final
Down0-13 - 2-18Donegal
L Doyle (2f) 0-4 , D O'Hare (1f) 0-2 , C Laverty, A Rogers, K McKernan, A Brannigan, C Maginn, D Hughes, E McCartan 0-1 each Report L McLoone, F McGlynn 1-0 each, C McFadden (3f) 0-6 , Declan Walsh, R Bradley, M McHugh, M McElhinney 0-2 each, David Walsh, D McLaughlin, P McBrearty, M Murphy 0-1 each
Attendance: 34, 696
Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan)

All-Ireland Championship

Quarter-final
Donegal1-12 - 1-10Kerry
C McFadden (1-00sl, 2f) 1-05 , M Murphy (2f) 0-03 , L McLoone, P McBrearty, C Toye, K Lacey 0-01 each Report C Cooper (2f) 0-04 , K Donaghy 1-00, A Maher 0-02, B Sheehan (1f), Declan O'Sullivan, J O'Donoghue, P Galvin 0-01 each
Semi-final
Cork1-11 - 0-16Donegal
C O'Neill 1-03, C O'Neill 0-03, P Kerrigan 0-02, D Goulding (f), P Kelly, A Walsh 0-01 each Report C McFadden (2f, 1 '45) 0-05 , M Murphy (3f) 0-03 , K Lacey 0-02, M McHugh, A Thompson, F McGlynn, D Walsh, M McElhinney, R Kavanagh 0-01 each
Attendance: 55,169
Final
Donegal2-11 - 0-13Mayo
M Murphy (3f), C McFadden (3f) 1-04 each, R Bradley, N Gallagher, F McGlynn 0-1 each Report C O'Connor (5f) 0-05 , E Varley (1f), K McLoughlin 0-02 each, L Keegan, M Conroy, R Feeney, J Gibbons 0-01 each
Attendance: 82,269

Post-season

Played under floodlights[2] at Casement Park in Belfast on Saturday 3 November 2012, this game was held in memory of Michaela McAreavey. Donegal, in their first outing as All-Ireland champions, played a team comprising players from the rest of Ulster in an event intended to raise funds for The Michaela Foundation.[3][4]

Panel

No. Player Position Club
1 Paul Durcan Goalkeeper The Four Masters
2 Paddy McGrath Right Corner Back Ardara
3 Neil McGee Full Back Gaoth Dobhair
4 Frank McGlynn Left Corner Back Glenfin
5 Eamon McGee Right Half Back Gaoth Dobhair
6 Karl Lacey Centre Back The Four Masters
7 Anthony Thompson Left Half Back Naomh Conaill
8 Neil Gallagher Midfield Glenswilly
9 Rory Kavanagh Midfield Naomh Adhamhnáin
10 Ryan Bradley Right Half Forward Buncrana
11 Leo McLoone Centre Forward Naomh Conaill
12 Mark McHugh Left Half Forward Cill Chartha
13 Patrick McBrearty Right Corner Forward Cill Chartha
14 Michael Murphy (c) Full Forward Glenswilly
15 Colm McFadden Left Corner Forward Naomh Mícheál
No. Player Position Club
16 Michael Boyle Substitute Termon
17 Martin McElhinney Substitute Naomh Mícheál
18 Marty Boyle Substitute Naomh Conaill
19 David Walsh Substitute Naomh Bríd
20 Christy Toye Substitute Naomh Mícheál
21 Stephen Griffin Substitute Naomh Naille
22 Daniel McLaughlin Substitute Naomh Mícheál
23 Martin O'Reilly Substitute Seán MacCumhaill's
24 Dermot Molloy Substitute Naomh Conaill
25 Declan Walsh Substitute Malin
26 Adrian Hanlon Substitute An Clochán Liath
No. Player Position Club
Antoin McFadden Panelist Naomh Mícheál
Gary McFadden Panelist Glenswilly
Peter McGee Panelist Gaoth Dobhair
Tommy McKinley Panelist Naomh Colmcille
Kevin Rafferty Panelist Naomh Adhamhnáin
Peter Witherow Panelist Naomh Mícheál

↑ Squad as per Donegal vs Mayo in the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final on 23 September 2012

Management

Kit

All Stars

Donegal achieved eight All Stars, a record for a single season in team history. Karl Lacey was named All Stars Footballer of the Year.

Pos.PlayerTeamAppearances
GK Paul DurcanDonegal1
RCB Neil McGeeDonegal2
FB Ger CafferkeyMayo1
LCB Keith HigginsMayo1
RWB Lee KeeganMayo1
CB Karl LaceyFOTYDonegal4
LWB Frank McGlynnDonegal1
MD Neil GallagherDonegal1
MD Aidan WalshCork2
RWF Paul FlynnDublin2
CF Alan DillonMayo2
LWF Mark McHughDonegal1
RCF Colm O'NeillCork1
FF Michael MurphyDonegal1
LCF Colm McFaddenDonegal1
County breakdown
  • Donegal = 8
  • Mayo = 4
  • Cork = 2
  • Dublin = 1

See also

References

  1. Duggan, Keith (2 September 2014). "Neil McGee: pushing bodies on was key to Dublin upset - 'We went away to a training camp for four, five days and Jim more or less broke down their game plan and we exploited it'". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. p. 2. Retrieved 2 September 2014. One of the lazier stereotypes about the Donegal defensive game – generally labelled ‘the system’ – is that it somehow does the work on its own. But McGee had plenty of moments in the spotlight with Brogan on Sunday and took his turn roaming forward like the other Donegal back six.
  2. Bogue, Declan (25 October 2012). "GAA Match for Michaela squads announced". The Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  3. Bogue, Declan (27 October 2012). "GAA stars to turn out for Michaela". The Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  4. "Jim McGuinness names strong Donegal side to compete in Match for Michaela". The Score. 25 October 2012. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  5. Craig, Frank (17 September 2020). "Devenney doesn't expect the decider to be a classic". Donegal News. p. 57. Devenney said [regarding the 2020 Donegal SFC final, ahead of its second postponement]: 'Kilcar are so well condiitioned. They've Adam Speer in the background. He's a top man. He was with Donegal in 2012 and he knows how to get teams into that frame of physical fitness'.
  6. Craig, Frank. "Interview: Keepers deserve their 'Pat' on the back". Ardara. Archived from the original on 2015-02-25. As well as Pat, the hospital's surgical consultant, Kevin Moran; team doctor, Charlie McManus and team physio, Dermot Simpson, are all part of McGuinness' backroom team.
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