Michael Donnellan (Gaelic footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Mícheál Ó Domhnalláin | ||
| Sport | Gaelic Football | ||
| Position | Centre Half Forward | ||
| Born |
28 February 1977 Galway, Ireland |
||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| 1995–2003 2004–2007 |
Dunmore McHales Salthill-Knocknacarra |
||
| Club titles | |||
| Galway titles | 1 | ||
| Connacht titles | 1 | ||
| All-Ireland Titles | 1 | ||
| Colleges(s) | |||
| Years | College | ||
| IT Tralee | |||
| College titles | |||
| Sigerson titles | 1 | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | ||
| 1997–2006 | Galway | ||
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Connacht titles | 5 | ||
| All-Irelands | 2 | ||
| All Stars | 3 | ||
Michael Donnellan (born 28 February 1977) is a former inter-county Gaelic footballer for Galway. He is the son of former politician and footballer, John Donnellan and grandson of politician and footballer Michael Donnellan. All them have captained the Galway football team in their careers. Michael was one of the most exciting players in the GAA during his playing career.
Donnellan first came to prominence as a member of the talented St. Jarlath's College team of the early nineties. He played a crucial role in their Hogan Cup winning season of 1994, alongside future Galway team-mate Padraic Joyce. They reached the Connacht final the following year but lost out to their biggest rivals, St.Patricks. He would later once more star alone side Joyce with the Tralee IT team that won the 1998 Sigerson Cup.
In 1998, Donnellan won his first All-Ireland medal, as part of the Galway side that won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1998. During the first half of the final against Kildare, Donnellan picked up the ball inside the heart of his own defence and proceeded to go on an amazing run, soloing the length of the field while exchanging a one-two with Kevin Walsh in the midfield. As he approached the Kildare goal, he laid the ball off to Derek Savage who passed to Sean Óg De Paor. De Paor slotted the ball over the bar. The score re-invigorated the Galway team, who were losing at the time. Donnellan's overall performance inspired Galway to their first football title in 32 years and completed a unique hat-trick of senior All-Ireland medals for his family, as he followed in the footsteps of his father John (1966) and his grandfather Mick (1925). The final score was 1–14 to 1–10. That solo run was later voted No.1 in the Top 20 GAA Moments, in 2003. He was named All Stars Footballer of the Year and Texaco Footballer of the Year that year.
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