2021 Donegal county football team season
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ManagerDeclan Bonner
StadiumMacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey
| 2021 season | |
|---|---|
| Manager | Declan Bonner |
| Stadium | MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey |
| NFL D1 | Semi-finalist |
| All-Ireland SFC | Did not compete |
| Ulster SFC | Semi-finalist |
The following is a summary of Donegal county football team's 2021 season.
Paul Fisher departed as strength and conditioning coach and Antoin McFadden replaced him.[1][2] Karl Lacey also departed from the management team.[3] James Gallagher returned as goalkeeping coach (his second time in that role),[1][4] replacing Andrew McGovern.[5]
Competitions
Dr McKenna Cup
There was no McKenna Cup in 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games.[6]
National Football League Division 1 North
The 2021 competition was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]
Donegal qualified for the semi-finals.[8]
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Donegal |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 4 | Advance to NFL semi-finals |
| 2 |  Tyrone |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 37 | 34 | +3 | 3 | |
| 3 |  Armagh |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 36 | −1 | 3 | Advance to a relegation playoff; losers are relegated to Division 2 |
| 4 |  Monaghan |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 39 | −4 | 2 |
Fixtures
| 15 May 2021 Round 1 | Tyrone | 0-16 (16) – (18) 0-18 | Donegal | Omagh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17:00 | Venue: Healy Park | ||||
| Report | Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan)
|
| 22 May 2021 Round 2 | Donegal | 1–20 (23) – (23) 4–11 | Monaghan | Ballybofey | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17:00 | Venue: MacCumhaill Park | ||||
| Report | Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry)
|
| 29 May 2021 Round 3 | Armagh | 1-16 (19) – (19) 1-16 | Donegal | Armagh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:30 | Venue: Athletic Grounds | ||||
| Report | Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)
|
| 12 June 2021 Semi-Final | Donegal | 1-14 (17) – (21) 1-18 | Dublin | Cavan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:15 | Venue: Kingspan Breffni Park | ||||
| Report | Referee: Ciaran Brannigan (Down)
|
Ulster Senior Football Championship
The draw for the 2021 Ulster Championship was made on 22 April 2021.[9][10]
Bracket
| Preliminary round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||
| Armagh
| 4-15 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Antrim
| 0-14 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Armagh
| 2-21 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Monaghan
| 4-17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Monaghan
| 1-21 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Fermanagh
| 0-14 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Monaghan
| 0-15 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tyrone
| 0-16 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tyrone
| 1-18 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Cavan
| 0-13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tyrone
| 0-23 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Donegal
| 1-14 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Derry
| 0-15 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Down
| 1-12 | Donegal
| 0-16 | ||||||||||||||||
| Donegal
| 2-25 | ||||||||||||||||||
Fixtures
Preliminary Round
| Down | 1-12 - 2-25 | Donegal |
|---|---|---|
| Caolan Mooney (1-0), Barry O’Hagan (0-8), Liam Kerr (0-2), James Guinness (0-1), Darren O’Hagan (0-1) | Report | Patrick McBrearty (1-6), Jamie Brennan (1-1), Ryan McHugh (0-4), Michael Langan (0-4), Peadar Mogan (0-3), Michael Murphy (0-2), Ciaran Thompson (0-1), Niall O’Donnell (0-1), Eoin McHugh (0-1), Conor O’Donnell (0-1), Ethan O’Donnell (0-1) |
Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)
| 11 July 2021 16:00 Quarter-final |
Donegal |
0-16 - 0-15 | Derry |
MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey Attendance: 0[note 1] Referee: David Coldrick (Meath) |
| Paddy McBrearty (0-2f), Michael Langan and Niall O’Donnell 0-3 each, Caolan McGonagle, Jamie Brennan and Michael Murphy (0-2f) 0-2 each, Paul Brennan 0-1. | Report | Shane McGuigan 0-4 (0-2f), Ciaran McFaul 0-3, Benny Heron 0-2, Padraig Cassidy, Gareth McKinless, Conor Doherty, Conor Glass, Emmett Bradley and Niall Loughlin 0-1 each. |
| 18 July 2021 13:45 IST (UTC+1) Semi-final |
Tyrone |
0-23 - 1-14 | Donegal |
Brewster Park, Enniskillen Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan) |
| Darren McCurry (0-7, 3 frees), Kieran McGeary, Niall Sludden, Tiernan McCann (0-3 each), Mattie Donnelly (0-2), Peter Harte, Conor Meyler, Conor McKenna, Frank Burns (0-1 each), Cathal McShane (0-1 free) | Report | Paddy McBrearty (0-4, 2 frees), Caolan McGonigle (1-0), Jamie Brennan, Niall O’Donnell (0-2 each), Michael Langan (0-2, 1 free), Michael Murphy (0-2 frees), Ciaran Thompson, Peader Mogan (0-1 each) |
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games, there was no back-door route into the All-Ireland Championship. Therefore, because Donegal did not win the Ulster Championship, they did not qualify for the 2021 All-Ireland Championship.
Management team
- Confirmed in November 2017, with replacements noted:[5]
- Manager: Declan Bonner
- Assistant manager: Paul McGonigle,[11] not listed among November 2017 appointments
- Head coach: John McElholm[5]
- Coach: Gary Boyle[11]
- Selector: Stephen Rochford,[11] replacing Karl Lacey after 2018 season[12] but Lacey actually carried on until the end of 2020[13]
- Goalkeeping coach: James Gallagher, after 2020 season[1][4] replacing Andrew McGovern[5]
- Strength and conditioning coach: Antoin McFadden, who after 2020 season,[1] replaced Paul Fisher[14]
- Nutritionist: Ronan Doherty[5]
- Team physician: Kevin Moran[15]
- Physio: Cathal Ellis[15]
- Psychology and performance manager: Anthony McGrath,[5] previously involved with the minor team[16]
- Video analysis: Chris Byrne[5]
- Logistics: Packie McDyre[5]
- Kitman: Barry McBride[5]
Awards
GAA.ie Football Team of the Week
- 17 May: Shaun Patton, Neil McGee, Michael Murphy[17]
- 24 May: Michael Langan[18]
- 31 May: Ryan McHugh, Patrick McBrearty (McBrearty voted Footballer of the Week)[19][20]
- 28 June: Ryan McHugh, Patrick McBrearty[21][22]
- 12 July: Caolan McGonagle, Niall O'Donnell[23]
- 19 July: Eoghan Bán Gallagher[24]
All Stars
One nomination, for Michael Langan[25][26]