2021 Donegal Senior Football Championship

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The 2021 Donegal Senior Football Championship was the 99th official edition of Donegal GAA's premier Gaelic football tournament for senior graded clubs in County Donegal. 16 teams competed, with the winner representing Donegal in the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship.

Season2021

ChampionsSt Eunan's (15th title)

Winning captainNiall O'Donnell^[1]

Man of the MatchShane O'Donnell^[2]

Quick facts Season, Champions ...

Donegal S.F.C.
Season	2021
Champions	St Eunan's (15th title)
Winning captain	Niall O'Donnell^[1]
Man of the Match	Shane O'Donnell^[2]
Winning manager	Rory Kavanagh
Matches	46^[3]
← 2020 2022 →

Naomh Conaill was defending champion after defeating Cill Chartha in a penalty competition held after extra-time of the 2020 final.

Naomh Conaill advanced to the 2021 final, but lost to St Eunan's.

Team changes

The following teams changed division since the 2020 championship season.

To S.F.C.

Promoted from 2020 Donegal I.F.C.

Aodh Ruadh - (I.F.C. Champions)^[4]

From S.F.C.

Relegated to 2021 Donegal I.F.C.

League stage

The competition began with a league stage.^[4] The draw for the first two rounds was held in June 2021, with the identity of the 2020 Championship winner still unknown, a first such event in the competition's history.^[5]

Table

More information Pos, Team ...


Pos	Team	P	W	L	D	F	A	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	CLG Chill Chartha	4	4	0	0	73	29	+44	8	Advance to Quarter-finals
2	Naomh Conaill	4	3	0	1	65	42	+23	7
3	Gaoth Dobhair	4	3	1	0	81	50	+31	6
4	St Eunan's	4	3	1	0	66	42	+24	6
5	CLG Naomh Náille	4	3	1	0	60	44	+16	6
6	St Michael's	4	3	1	0	59	59	+0	6
7	Aodh Ruadh Ballyshannon	4	2	1	1	63	26	+7	5
8	Seán Mac Cumhaills	4	2	2	0	62	52	+8	4
9	Gleann Fhinne	4	2	2	0	50	45	+5	4	Advance to Relegation Playoff
10	Gleann tSúilí	4	2	2	0	56	52	+4	4
11	Réalt na Mara	4	1	3	0	53	58	-5	2
12	CLG Na Cealla Beaga	4	1	3	0	47	67	-20	2
13	Ardara	4	1	3	0	45	69	-24	2
14	Milford	4	1	3	0	51	83	-32	2
15	Termon	4	0	4	0	40	75	-35	0
16	Four Masters	4	0	4	0	33	79	-46	0

^[6]

Fixtures

Round 1

12 September 2021 13:30	Na Cealla Beaga	1–7 — 1–13^[4]	Glenswilly	Eamonn Byrne Memorial Park Man of the Match: ???
				Eamonn Byrne Memorial Park Man of the Match: ???

12 September 2021 15:00	Ard an Rátha	1–10 — 2–6^[4]	Réalt na Mara	Pearse Memorial Park Man of the Match: ???
				Pearse Memorial Park Man of the Match: ???

12 September 2021 15:30	Gaoth Dobhair	4–21 — 2–7^[4]	Milford	Machaire Gathlán Man of the Match: ???
				Machaire Gathlán Man of the Match: ???

12 September 2021 18:00	St Eunan's	1–12 — 1–14^[4]	Kilcar	O'Donnell Park Man of the Match: ???
				O'Donnell Park Man of the Match: ???

18 September 2021 14:00	Naomh Conaill	0–11 — 0–08	Glenfin	Davy Brennan Memorial Park Man of the Match: ???
		National report Local report		Davy Brennan Memorial Park Man of the Match: ???

19 September 2021 14:00	St Naul's	1–11 — ?–??	Termon	Páirc Gearoid Ó'Gallochoir Man of the Match: ???
		Report		Páirc Gearoid Ó'Gallochoir Man of the Match: ???

19 September 2021 14:00^[7]	Four Masters	?–?? — ?–??	Aodh Ruadh	Páirc Tírconaill Man of the Match: ???
				Páirc Tírconaill Man of the Match: ???

19 September 2021 16:00	Seán MacCumhaills	2–06 — 1–11	St Michael's	Páirc Sheáin MhicCumhaill Man of the Match: Colm McFadden
				Páirc Sheáin MhicCumhaill Man of the Match: Colm McFadden

Round 2

^[4]

25 September 2021 15:00	Milford	1–15 — 1–13	Ard an Rátha	Moyle Park Man of the Match: ???
		Report		Moyle Park Man of the Match: ???

25 September 2021 15:30	St Michael's	1–08 — 2–17	Gaoth Dobhair	The Bridge Man of the Match: ???
				The Bridge Man of the Match: ???

25 September 2021 16:00	Termon	?–?? — ?–??	St Eunan's	Termon Man of the Match: ???
				Termon Man of the Match: ???

25 September 2021 16:30	Réalt na Mara	1–18 — ?–??	Na Cealla Beaga	Gaelic Park Man of the Match: ???
		Report		Gaelic Park Man of the Match: ???

26 September 2021 14:00	Glenswilly	?–?? — ?–??	Seán MacCumhaills	Páirc Naomh Columba Man of the Match: ???
				Páirc Naomh Columba Man of the Match: ???

26 September 2021 14:00	Glenfin	1–09 — 0–11	St Naul's	Páirc Tabhoige Man of the Match: ???
		Report		Páirc Tabhoige Man of the Match: ???

26 September 2021 14:00	Aodh Ruadh	1–10 — 2–07	Naomh Conaill	Fr Tierney Park Man of the Match: ???
		Report		Fr Tierney Park Man of the Match: ???

26 September 2021 17:30	Kilcar	1–17 — 0–03	Four Masters	Páirc Taobhoige Man of the Match: ???
		Report		Páirc Taobhoige Man of the Match: ???

Round 3

The Round 3 draw was made on 26 September, giving the following fixtures: Ard an Rátha v Kilcar, Seán MacCumhaills v Réalt na Mara, Naomh Conaill v Termon, St Naul's v Glenswilly, Gaoth Dobhair v Glenfin, Na Cealla Beaga v Milford, St Eunan's v Aodh Ruadh and Four Masters v St Michael's.^[8]

Ard an Rátha v Kilcar Report
Seán MacCumhaills v Réalt na Mara Report
Naomh Conaill v Termon Report
St Naul's v Glenswilly
Gaoth Dobhair v Glenfin Report Report
Na Cealla Beaga v Milford Report
St Eunan's v Aodh Ruadh
Four Masters v St Michael's

Round 4

The Round 4 draw was made in early October, giving the following fixtures: Kilcar v Gaoth Dobhair, Aodh Ruadh v Ard an Rátha, Réalt na Mara v St Eunan's, Termon v Seán MacCumhaills, Glenswilly v Naomh Conaill, St Michael's v Na Cealla Beaga, Glenfin v Four Masters and Milford v St Naul's. Three clubs had by then advanced to the knockout stages – Gaoth Dobhair, Kilcar and Naomh Conaill. Going into Round 4, played on the weekend of October 9, St Eunan's, Glenswilly, St Naul's, St Michael's and Aodh Ruadh sat in the remaining five places.^[9]

St Michael's 3–10 — 1–07 Na Cealla Beaga^[10]
Termon 1–12 — 1–18 Seán MacCumhaills^[10] Report
Milford 0–09 — 2–16 St Naul's^[10]
Réalt na Mara 1–07 — 0–14 St Eunan's^[10]
Glenswilly 0–15 — 1–15 Naomh Conaill^[10]
Aodh Ruadh 1–16 — 2–07 Ard an Rátha^[10] Report
Glenfin 0–20 — 0–06 Four Masters^[10] Report
Kilcar v Gaoth Dobhair ?

Knock-out stage

Quarter-finals

Gaoth Dobhair and Naomh Conaill, the last two clubs to win the competition, were paired with each other in the quarter-final draw. Seán MacCumhaills and Kilcar met in the other quarter-final on that side of the draw. On the other side of the draw St Eunan's and St Naul's played each other in one quarter-final, while St Michael's and Aodh Ruadh played each other in the other quarter-final.^[11]

16 October 2021 Quarter-final	Kilcar	1–17 — 0–02	Seán MacCumhaills	Pearse Memorial Park, Ardara Referee: Jimmy White (Killybegs) Man of the Match: ???
		Report

16? October 2021 Quarter-final	St Michael's	3–13 — 0–10	Aodh Ruadh	MacCumhaill Park Referee: James Connors Man of the Match: Michael Langan
		https://www.donegallive.ie/news/sport/678798/st-michael-s-see-off-aodh-ruadh-to-seal-semi-final-spot.html

17 October 2021 Quarter-final	St Eunan's	2–12 — 2–05	St Naul's	??? Referee: Mark Dorrian (Gael Fhánada) Man of the Match: ???
		Report

17 October 2021 Quarter-final	Naomh Conaill	1–10 — 0–08	Gaoth Dobhair	MacCumhaill Park Referee: Enda McFeely (St Mary's, Convoy) Man of the Match: ???
		Report

Semi-finals

The semi-final meeting of Kilcar and Naomh Conaill was shown live to a national audience on TG4.^[12] Naomh Conaill won, after a late Patrick McBrearty goal that would have brought the sides level, was ruled out.^[13]

23 October 2021 Semi-final	St Eunan's	0–10 — 0–05	St Michael's	MacCumhaill Park Referee: Mark Dorrian (Gael Fhánada) Man of the Match: Mark Dorrian
		Report

24 October 2021 Semi-final	Naomh Conaill	0–11 — 0–8	Kilcar	O'Donnell Park Referee: Enda McFeely (St Mary's, Convoy) Man of the Match: ???
		Report

Final

It was Naomh Conaill's fifth consecutive appearance in the final.^[11] The game was televised live on TG4.^[13] A minute's silence was held before the game in memory of Martin Griffin, whose sudden death occurred the previous day.^[1]^[14] St Eunan's won.^[1]

7 November 2021 3:15pm^[13] Final	St Eunan's	1–11 — 0–4	Naomh Conaill	MacCumhaill Park Referee: Enda McFeely (St Mary's, Convoy)^[1] Man of the Match: Shane O'Donnell^[2]
		Report

Relegation play-offs

Eight clubs (Glenfin, Glenswilly, Réalt na Mara, Ard an Rátha, Milford, Na Cealla Beaga, Termon and Four Masters) entered the draw for the relegation play-offs once the quarter-final line-up was confirmed.^[10]

Ulster Senior Club Football Championship

St Eunan's advanced to the 2021 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship.

Watty Graham's knocked St Eunan's out of that competition with an injury time point from Danny Tallon winning the game at O'Donnell Park, despite St Eunan's scoring the only goal and leading for much of the game and Shaun Patton saving a penalty.^[15]

Gradam Shéamuis Mhic Géidigh

Caolan Ward was named as the recipient of the annual Gradam Shéamuis Mhic Géidigh.^[16]

Television rights

The following matches were broadcast live on national television, unless otherwise indicated:

More information Round, RTÉ ...

Round	RTÉ	TG4
Semi-finals^[12]	—	Naomh Conaill v Kilcar
Final^[13]	—	St Eunan's v Naomh Conaill

Statistics

Top scorers

Top scorer overall^[3]

More information Rank, Player ...

Rank	Player	Club	Tally	Total
1	Kane Barrett	Milford	2–25	31
2	Michael Murphy	Glenswilly	0–28	28
2	Cian McEniff	Réalt na Mara	2–22	28
4	Oisín Gallen	Seán MacCumhaills	1–23	26
5	Gerard Ward	Glenfin	0–23	23
5	Philip Patton	Aodh Ruadh	0–23	23
7	Niall O'Donnell	St Eunan's	1–19	22
	Charles McGuinness	Naomh Conaill
	Patrick McBrearty	Kilcar
	Stephen McBrearty	Kilcar	0–22
11	Michael Langan	St Michael's	2–15	21
11	Daire McDaid	Termon	1–18	21
13	Eoin McGeehin	St Eunan's	3–10	19
14	Peadar Mogan	St Naul's	0–18	18
15	Stefan Boyle	Ard an Rátha	2–11	17
	C. J. Molloy	Ard an Rátha	2–11
	Colm A. McFadden	St Michael's	1–14
	Ryan McFadden	Termon	0–17

References

[1]
Campbell, Peter (7 November 2021). "St Eunan's overpower Naomh Conaill in Donegal SFC final". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
[2]
Bonner, Declan (16 December 2021). "Huge opportunity for Downings this weekend: Under 21 Final". Donegal News. p. 71. A special mention has to go to Shane O'Donnell, who scored 1–3 last Sunday [in the Under 21 Final]. I don't know if anyone has ever won man-of-the-match in a senior county final and in an Under 21 final in the one year before. It is a remarkable achievement.
[3]
Molloy, Edward (18 November 2021). "Donegal Senior Club Championship Scorers 2021". Donegal News. p. 66. Total Scored in 2021 Championship 82–1001 (1247pts) 2020 total was 98–956 (1250pts) Total games played = 46 (42 in 2020) Scoring average per match = 27.1pts (29.76pts in 2020) Total number different scorers = 226 + 2 Own goals by opponents (201 in 2020) Top scoring goalie is again Andrew Walsh Glenfin 0.04 Seven of last year's players feature this year in scoring charts. Six of current county senior panel make the [2021] list. [Ed: These seem to have been M. Murphy, O. Gallen, N. O'Donnell, P. McBrearty, M. Langan and P. Mogan, in descending order with 'Top 18 Scorers' given by Edward Molloy for 2021].
[4]
Roulston Mooney, James (9 September 2021). "Donegal Senior Football Championship 2021 – Preview, Fixtures, Odds". Retrieved 9 September 2021.
[5]
McNulty, Chris (8 June 2021). "Bumper summer teed up as Championship draws conducted". Retrieved 8 June 2021.
[6]
https://donegalgaa.ie/fixtures-results/?season=2021
[7]
"Aodh Ruadh club notes". Hogan Stand. 7 September 2021. Aodh Ruadh make their long-awaited return to senior championship this weekend. Four Masters will be the opposition for both our seniors and reserves. The seniors take on the Donegal town men in Tir Chonaill Park on Sunday at 2pm, with that game being followed by the reserves at 3.30pm.
[8]
McNulty, Chris (26 September 2021). "Here's the round 3 draw for the group stage of 2021 Donegal SFC". Retrieved 26 September 2021.
[9]
Roulston Mooney, James (4 October 2021). "Donegal GAA Senior Football Championship Round 4 Draw". Retrieved 4 October 2021.
[10]
"Donegal Senior Championship Results". Highland Radio. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
[11]
Connaughton, Gary (10 October 2021). "Draw For Donegal SFC Throws Up Massive Quarter-Final Clash". Retrieved 10 October 2021.
[12]
Craig, Frank (21 October 2021). "'This is where we want to be' — McNulty". Donegal News. p. 60. With fireworks expected to fly, it's no surprise that the live TG4 cameras are rolling into Letterkenny on Sunday for what is being billed as a grudge match between the two form sides in this year's Donegal SFC.
[13]
"Naomh Conaill defeat Kilcar to reach SFC final". 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021. Naomh Conaill will face St Eunan's in the final at 3.15pm on Sunday 7th November live on TG4.
[14]
"Sadness and pride shared at funeral of GAA legend Martin Griffin". 10 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
[15]
Bonnar, Dáire (21 November 2021). "Late heartbreak for St Eunan's in Ulster Championship". Retrieved 21 November 2021.
[16]
"Gradam Shéamuis Mhic Géidigh for St Eunan's Caolan Ward". Donegal GAA. This is the first time the award has been presented since 2019 due to the pandemic. Cathal Mac Grianna will present Caolan with the award at St Eunan's Annual Dinner Dance on Friday.