Donegal

Early years

Following the first Donegal County Board's formation in 1905, the county team's first football game was against Derry on 17 March 1906.

Donegal lost the 1933 "Home final" of the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship to Mayo (2–15 to 2–2), and the team then made its next appearance at Croke Park on Sunday 6 April 1952. The occasion was a National Football League semi-final and the opponent that day was Cork.

1960s

The sixties saw Donegal emerge as a footballing force, with victories to match their undoubted abilities. Unfortunately, they came into contact with a majestic Down machine that was also blistering the national stage with their prowess, becoming the first team from the North to win All-Ireland SFC titles in 1960, 1961 and 1968. Amazingly, Donegal's first appearance in an Ulster Senior Football Championship final was not until 1963, followed by a second appearance in 1966; Down won both. That was a vintage year for Donegal; in 1963, Declan O'Carroll started in five Ulster finals in what went down as a "great year" for Donegal.

McEniff years 1970s–1980s: Ulster and Under-21 success

The county came to the fore of Ulster football in the 1970s, winning its first Ulster SFC title in 1972. McEniff was player-manager of the 1972 team. The win coincided with the county's first All Star—in the form of McEniff himself—in the second year of the award's existence. Reigning All-Ireland SFC champion Offaly defeated the Ulster SFC champion in the 1972 All-Ireland SFC semi-final, on the way to a second consecutive All-Ireland SFC title.

A second provincial title followed for Donegal in 1974. McEniff was again player-manager. Galway — the All-Ireland SFC finalist from 1971 and 1973 — defeated Donegal in the 1974 All-Ireland SFC semi-final.

In 1979, Donegal reached the Ulster SFC final again, under the guidance of Sean O'Donnell, but lost to Monaghan.

In October 1982, Tom Conaghan managed Donegal to the 1982 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship title.

McEniff returned as senior manager, and Donegal won a third provincial title in 1983, with ten members of the 1982 under-21 team included in the panel. Seamus Bonner became the first player from the county to win the competition as a player on three occasions, having earlier won in 1972 and 1974. Again though, Donegal lost to Galway in the 1983 All-Ireland SFC semi-final, ahead of what would become a notorious 1983 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, known as the "Game of Shame".

Tom Conaghan took over as senior manager from McEniff after McEniff departed again in the mid-1980s.^[] Over the course of his time as senior manager during the 1980s, Conaghan fell out with players such as Declan Bonner, Manus Boyle, Matt Gallagher, Barry McGowan and Sylvester Maguire. Conaghan's spell as county manager ended with a heavy defeat to Tyrone.

Donegal won the 1987 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship title, a success which provided the basis for future prosperity in the county. The under-21 team defeated Kerry in the final. P. J. McGowan managed the 1987 under-21 team.

1990s: Sam Maguire Cup

McEniff returned as senior manager for a fourth time in September 1989. He led the county to another Ulster SFC title in 1990, restoring players who had gone by the wayside, such as Bonner, Boyle, Gallagher, McGowan and Maguire. Donegal lost to eventual All-Ireland SFC finalist Meath in the 1990 All-Ireland SFC semi-final.

However, Donegal would win the Ulster SFC title again in 1992. As a result of this victory a 1992 All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Mayo beckoned. Donegal overcame the men from Mayo to set up a 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final meeting with raging-hot favourites Dublin. Donegal's greatest footballing accomplishment yet was realised on 20 September 1992 when the senior team defeated the highly fancied Dublin, by a scoreline of 0–18 to 0–14, to take the Sam Maguire Cup for the first time. Brian McEniff, serving in his second spell as Donegal manager, pulled the strings. Man of the Match Manus Boyle scored 0–9 (four from play), while Gary Walsh pulled off a great save from Vinny Murphy at the end. This was the zenith of this great Donegal team which contested five successive Ulster SFC finals between 1989 and 1993. The Donegal team of this era also contested the final of the National Football League three times in a four-year period (1993 v. Dublin, 1995 v. Derry, 1996 v. Derry) without success. McEniff soon stood down as manager.

Martin McHugh wanted to take charge of Donegal after McEniff left the job. However, he was prevented from doing so by the Donegal County Board in a snub that would be echoed in Jim McGuinness's numerous later attempts to get the same job—McGuinness was, however, ultimately successful; after being rejected by the Donegal County Board on several occasions he would go on to be Donegal's most successful manager since McEniff. McHugh was hurt by his rejection, saying: "I thought there was another All-Ireland in Donegal and that's why I went for that job. I thought there was another All-Ireland there, and there was a lot of good players coming too. But anyway, that's the way it worked out".

It was 1987 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship-winning manager P. J. McGowan took over from McEniff in 1994. He lasted till 1997.

Declan Bonner (first term): 1997–2000

Declan Bonner managed the team between 1997 and 2000. He began on his 32nd birthday, within four weeks of retirement. He was informed of the decision to appoint him at 9.29 pm on 11 August 1997, after Anthony Molloy, past manager Conaghan and Pauric McShea all withdrew. Charlie Mulgrew and Matt Gallagher were part of Bonner's management team. Bonner led Donegal to the 1997–98 National Football League semi-final against eventual title winners Offaly and the 1998 Ulster SFC final against Derry — a last-minute Joe Brolly goal, accompanied by a few kisses to the crowd, put paid to that one.

John Joe and the Derrymen: 2000–2010

Mickey Moran was appointed manager on a three-year term in August 2000, succeeding Declan Bonner. Moran's first game in charge was a league victory at home to Offaly, a win achieved while fielding four debutants (Stephen Cassidy, Michael Doherty, Barry Monaghan and ... one other?). During his tenure selector Michael Houston quit after a public falling out with Moran. Moran's first year in charge of Donegal was a disappointing one, but 2002 was more successful, leading Donegal to the Ulster final (which the team lost to Armagh), and then to the 2002 All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against Dublin. However, in September 2002, he informed the county board he would not be staying for the third year of the term. All-Ireland SFC winning manager Brian McEniff took the reins for the 2003 season. His first game back in charge, an away league fixture to Galway in Tuam in February 2003, ended in defeat. However, McEniff guided Donegal to the 2003 All-Ireland SFC semi-final, the first time the team had played at this stage of the competition since 1992. The following year, Donegal reached another Ulster SFC final, again losing out to Armagh. McEniff stepped down after the 2005 season, to end his fourth and final tenure with his county.

Brian McIver was appointed manager in 2006. His tenure saw a slight improvement in the fortunes of the team, as he led Donegal into Division 1 of the National Football League. However, the county had been without a trophy for 15 years. The team had contested the 1993 and 1998 Ulster SFC finals, but lost to Derry on both occasions. Defeat to Armagh in the same contest in 2002, 2004 and 2006 meant another decade passed without a championship trophy. Donegal contested the 2006 Division 2 final, but lost to Louth. The famine came to an abrupt end in 2007 when the senior football team won the National Football League title for the first time in the county's history. Donegal overcame Mayo at Croke Park on Sunday 22 April 2007, winning by a scoreline of 0–13 to 0–10. En route to the final, Donegal defeated Cork, Mayo, Tyrone, Dublin, Kerry, Fermanagh and Kildare, while drawing with Limerick.

McIver stood down as manager after the 2007 championship; however, he was reinstated before the beginning of the 2008 championship. In 2008, at a county board meeting, a motion of no confidence was tabled by the St Eunan's and Gaoth Dobhair clubs; as a result McIver felt compelled to resign. Declan Bonner and Charlie Mulgrew were appointed "Joint Managers" when John Joe Doherty of the Naomh Columba club was said to have rejected the opportunity to become manager. However, Doherty entered negotiations before Bonner and Mulgrew were rubber stamped. He was later offered the job for a second time, which he accepted. Bonner and Mulgrew had contested that the procedure which led to the installing of John Joe Doherty as football manager in the county was flawed. The duo's case was heard November 2008, but had taken 13 days of deliberation for the DRA to reach a verdict. John Joe Doherty was appointed manager at the November county board meeting. Bonner, Mulgrew and Doherty had been joined by Michael Houston, Francie Martin and Jim McGuinness on the shortlist to become manager.

McGuinness: 2010–2014

In July 2010, Jim McGuinness, the then under-21 manager, was appointed as county senior manager, succeeding John Joe Doherty. McGuinness had guided Donegal's under-21 team to the 2010 All-Ireland Under 21 Football Championship final. He was appointed to the senior management on a four-year term, with a review after two years. His first year in charge brought Donegal the National Football League Division 2 title, promotion to Division 1, the county's first championship win in four years, the county's first provincial title in 19 years, and made Donegal the third team in the history of the GAA to win a provincial title from the preliminary round. His second season brought a second consecutive provincial title, also achieved from the preliminary round, as well as a defeat of Kerry at Croke Park and a win over Cork on 26 August to secure a place in the 2012 All Ireland Football Final.

In 2010, after a disappointing championship, in which Donegal lost at home to Down after extra-time, and to Armagh in Crossmaglen by nine points in the first round of the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers, John Joe Doherty resigned from his post as senior football manager. The only candidate to replace him was Jim McGuinness. Upon his appointment on 26 July 2010, McGuinness brought Kevin Cassidy and Michael Hegarty out of retirement, introduced many players from the under-21 side he had taken to the 2010 All-Ireland Under 21 Football Championship final, and introduced structure and discipline, a feature that many observers^[] claimed was lacking in many talented Donegal teams between 1993 and 2011.

McGuinness's first major success as senior manager was to win the National Football League Division 2, when Donegal defeated Laois by a scoreline of 2–11 to 0–16 at Croke Park. Donegal went unbeaten through the league season, except for the last league match proper, a loss to Laois. Before the Division 2 Final, Donegal had topped the Division 2 league, and the team was guaranteed promotion, having achieved four wins, two draws, and one loss.

After this victory, expectations for the county were high, with many pundits predicting that Donegal would win the Ulster SFC title. Donegal faced Antrim in the 2011 Ulster SFC preliminary round, winning that game by a scoreline of 1–10 to 0–7. This was the team's first championship win since 2007. This set up an away match against Cavan, from which Donegal once again emerged victorious, by a scoreline of 2–14 to 1–8. A more ominous test against Tyrone would follow this Cavan victory. The new defensive system developed by Jim McGuinness would be put to the test against a Tyrone team which had perfected the blanket defense tactic on the way to three All-Ireland SFC titles during the 2000s. Donegal fought their way to a 2–6 to a 0–9 win.

This set up an Ulster SFC final meeting against a heavily fancied Derry, which one week prior to Donegal's victory over Tyrone, put 3–14 past an Armagh team which had just overcome Down, the 2010 All-Ireland SFC runner-up.

On 17 July 2011, in Clones, Donegal played in a first Ulster SFC final for five years, and a sixth Ulster SFC final since 1992. In front of a crowd of 28,364 Donegal beat Derry by 1–11 to 0–08 points. This was only the third time in the history of the Ulster SFC that a team which played in the preliminary round would win the final, following in the footsteps of Armagh in 2005 and Cavan 66 years earlier. On 30 July 2011, Donegal travelled to Croke Park to play Kildare in the 2011 All-Ireland SFC quarter-final. In an absorbing contest, a Kevin Cassidy point deep into extra-time sealed Donegal's progression to a first All-Ireland SFC semi-final since 2003. The semi-final against Dublin, which Dublin eventually won 0–8 to 0–6, was to be regarded as one of the lowest scoring but most absorbing championship duels in living memory.

Then came the 2012 Ulster SFC. On 22 July 2012, Donegal retained the Ulster SFC title for the first time in history with a 2–18 to 0–13 victory over Down. On 5 August 2012, Donegal defeated Kerry in the 2012 All-Ireland SFC quarter-final. The first ever championship meeting between the sides at senior level, it was only the second time in history that Kerry had been defeated at the quarter-final stage. Ahead of the next match against Cork, few outside the county gave Donegal a chance, and Cork went into the game as heavy favourite to win the title itself (even though this was only the semi-final). Donegal endeavoured to swat aside a lacklustre Cork side with ease, and progressed to a first title decider since 1992. Tyrone's Mickey Harte, attempting to analyse the game for the BBC, expressed his shock: "To be honest, I could not see that coming. Donegal annihilated Cork, there is no other word for it." Martin McHugh, a member of the successful 1992 side, said it was the best ever performance by any Donegal team, including his own. Donegal then emerged victorious from the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final on 23 September 2012, to take the Sam Maguire Cup for a second time, with early goals from Michael Murphy and Colm McFadden ensuring that Mayo were never really in the contest. Donegal defeated Mayo, on a scoreline of 2–11 to 0–13. Man of the Match was awarded to Michael Murphy, who scored 1–4.

The 2013 season brought great expectation, with Donegal beginning it as the reigning All-Ireland SFC title holder. However, the team suffered relegation from Division 1 of the National Football League early in the year. In the 2013 Ulster SFC, Donegal dispatched Tyrone and Down to set up a provincial decider with Monaghan. The Monaghan team was unfancied coming into the game, with most of the pressure on the shoulders of the Tír Conaill men. Despite this, Monaghan defied the odds and emerged as winner by a scoreline of 0–13 to 0–7. After defeating Laois in a 2013 All-Ireland SFC fourth round qualifier, Donegal faced a Mayo team looking for revenge in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final. They got that revenge, and got it hard, with a 4–17 to 1–10 drubbing that ended Donegal's bid to retain the Sam Maguire.

2014 saw a resurgent Donegal claim promotion from Division 2 of the National League, alongside Monaghan. Donegal overcame Derry in a tense 2014 Ulster SFC quarter-final and Antrim in the Ulster SFC semi-final, to set up another Ulster SFC final clash with Monaghan. This time Donegal came out on top, by three points, to reclaim the Ulster SFC title. A meeting with Armagh beckoned in the 2014 All-Ireland SFC quarter-final. An Odhrán Mac Niallais goal proved crucial, in a 1–12 to 1–11 win. This set up a daunting semi-final clash with 2013 All-Ireland SFC winner Dublin. At the time, this Dublin team was seen by many as unstoppable, and was heavy favourites for the clash with Donegal. Bookmakers had Donegal as low as 7/1 to win the game. However, after surviving a first half onslaught, a Ryan McHugh goal gave Donegal the lead at half-time. In the second half, Donegal swept Dublin aside, running out six-point winners, with McHugh and Colm McFadden to the fore. Kerry provided the final opposition, and, despite Kerry's traditional dominance, Donegal went into the game as favourite after that semi-final defeat of Dublin. Kerry upset the form books though, to claim a 2–9 to 0–12 win, and a 37th All-Ireland SFC title. Jim McGuinness stepped down in the aftermath of the game, having led his county to three Ulster SFC titles and an All-Ireland SFC title in his four years at the helm.

McGuinness won 83.33 per cent of his SFC matches during his first spell as Donegal manager (20 wins from 24 games); this included defeats, over a four-year period, of Armagh, Cavan, Cork, Derry, Dublin, Down, Kildare, Kerry, Mayo, Monaghan and Tyrone.

Bonner–McGuinness interim: 2014–2017

McGuinness's former assistant Rory Gallagher took over for the 2015 campaign, and the year began brightly with Donegal reaching the National League semi-final, losing out to Cork. Starting in the preliminary round of the 2015 Ulster SFC, Donegal defeated Tyrone, Armagh and Derry to set up a third successive Ulster SFC final, with now bitter rivals Monaghan. After winning tough games against Tyrone and Derry, Donegal would have been seen as the slight favourite going into the game. However, Monaghan prevailed by a single point, to consign Donegal to the 2015 All-Ireland SFC qualifiers. Galway awaited Donegal there; Donegal put in an improved performance and won by a scoreline of 3–12 to 0–11. Donegal went in as the underdog to an All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against Mayo. So it proved, as Mayo won by a comfortable seven-point margin, to end Donegal's hopes for another year.

The 2016 season began with Donegal looking to reclaim the Ulster SFC title and make a serious assault on the All-Ireland SFC. The team again reached the semi-final of the National League, this time being defeated by Dublin. The team's 2016 Ulster SFC began with a tricky encounter against Fermanagh at MacCumhaill Park, which Donegal eventually won by four points after going down to 14 men. The team faced familiar foe Monaghan in the Ulster SFC semi-final. After two intense games of football, Donegal won out to advance to a sixth successive Ulster SFC final, a feat only matched by the great Down side of the 1960s. Donegal would be up against Mickey Harte's Tyrone, a team appearing in its first final since 2010. Two injury time points handed Tyrone a first provincial title since 2010, and again Donegal headed for the 2016 All-Ireland SFC qualifiers. However, the team continued its recent good form in the qualifiers with a three-point victory over Cork, with Patrick McBrearty achieving an individual haul of 0–11. Leinster and All-Ireland SFC title holder Dublin awaited Donegal in the 2016 All-Ireland SFC quarter-final. Dublin avenged the 2014 semi-final defeat, winning a close contest by a scoreline of 1–15 to 1–10. They required a late Paul Mannion goal to kill off the game and, with it, Donegal's championship aspirations for 2016.

A 2017 Ulster SFC semi-final capitulation to Tyrone and 2017 All-Ireland SFC exit to Galway at Markievicz Park and Gallagher was gone.

Declan Bonner (second term): 2017–2022

Five contenders for the senior manager emerged: minor manager Shaun Paul Barrett, Declan Bonner, Cathal Corey, Gary McDaid and Séamus McEnaney. Bonner was announced as manager on 22 September 2017, taking charge for a second time.

Donegal won the 2018 Ulster SFC title. Senior players Jason McGee and Niall O'Donnell were not part of this one, as they decided to drop down to play with the under-20 team instead, between league and championship.

Donegal won the 2019 Ulster SFC title.

Bonner was reappointed for another two-year term as manager at the end of August 2021, when no other candidates emerged to succeed him.

He left the role in mid-2022.

McGuinness: The Second Coming

In August 2023, it began to be widely reported that Jim McGuinness would be returning as Donegal manager. On 20 August, Donegal GAA brought forward its monthly county board meeting to the following evening, where the only thng on the agenda was about appointing the new manager. Finally, on the evening of Monday the 21st of August, the return of McGuinness was confirmed in sensational fashion at that meeting, year one of three (with an option of a fourth) beginning pronto. It was big news the length and breadth of the sport throughout the island, with James Horan's return to the Mayo fold that same evening having to settle for second place as Horan slipped in quietly amid all the fuss over McGuinness.