The System (Gaelic football)

In Gaelic football, "The System" is the style of play pioneered by the Donegal senior football team during the 2010s. It is regarded as having caused a revolution in the sport, with establishment counties unable to comprehend it or work out how to deal with it. The System has been used to great effect during the managerial reign of Jim McGuinness, with Donegal smothering traditionally stronger counties to win two Ulster Senior Football Championships and one All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in the space of two years.

Donegal's winning of the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship is considered "one of the great GAA managerial coups" in history. Prior to this Donegal had had little success in the Championship since 1992. Now they are the "FC Barcelona of Gaelic football"—with Michael Murphy cast as the Lionel Messi of the team.Admirers of "The System" from other sports include Europe's 2014 Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley and the soccer manager Neil Lennon.

Joe Brolly said as early as 2011 that "Gaelic football has never seen anything like it." Malachy Clerkin, writing in The Irish Times on 27 December 2012, described Donegal as "the alpha, the omega and everything in between [...] just a sheer joy to watch".

Donegal didn't just dominate football in winning this year's All-Ireland. They reimagined it. They took a game that had been listing for a few years and made it a thrilling experience. In so doing, they interrupted the decision-making cycle of every team they met. Each game Donegal suited up for this summer was played on their terms, not the opposition's. When you consider the opposition – Cavan, Derry, Tyrone, Down, Kerry, Cork and Mayo – you can't but marvel at the achievement.

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