Brendan Devenney

Brendan Devenney
Personal information
Irish name Breandán Ó Duibheannaigh
Sport Gaelic football
Position Full Forward
Born 1976 (age 39–40)
Letterkenny, County Donegal
Nickname Dev
Club(s)
Years Club
1996–2009 Naomh Adhamhnáin
Club titles
Donegal titles 5
Ulster titles 0
Inter-county(ies)**
Years County Apps (scores)
1998–2009 Donegal 36[1]
Inter-county titles
Ulster titles 0
All-Irelands 0
NFL 1
**Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 15:51, 17 May 2008 (UTC).

Brendan Devenney (Irish: Breandán Ó Duibheannaigh) is a former Irish Gaelic footballer. Described as "mercurial",[2] he has played for Naomh Adhamhnáin in Letterkenny and the Donegal senior football team. He was a member of the Ireland international rules football team in 1998 and 2001. Educated at Saint Eunan's College in Letterkenny, Devenney has also previously played soccer for League of Ireland club Finn Harps and Irish League clubs Limavady United and Portadown.

Playing career

Club

In the final of the 1999 Donegal Senior Football Championship, Devenney broke Martin McHugh's record by scoring 0–14 of his team's 1–19 to their opponents Aodh Ruadh's 1–11.[3] Devenney punctured a lung while playing for his club against Clonoe of Tyrone in the Ulster Championship in 2008. He ignored his injury, sustained in the first half, and carried on until the end of the game—scoring four points and contributing to the decisive goal which won the game for his team—after which he was hospitalised.[4] He also captained his club.[5]

Inter-county

Declan Bonner gave Devenney his Championship debut in 1998.[2] His debut against Cork in the National Football League quarter-final at Croke Park in March 1998 was nothing short of sensational: he scored 2–2.[6]

He had a decent game against Armagh in the 2004 Ulster final at Croke Park.[7]

Devenney played Championship football until 2005. He came back in 2007.[2] During this time he played soccer with Portadown.[8]

He often played alongside Adrian Sweeney for Donegal,[2] and played a vital part in Donegal's winning of their first National League title in 2007, passing a late fitness test to play in the final against Mayo.[9]

Devenney was held largely responsible for Donegal winning their 2007 Ulster Championship first round match against Armagh on Sunday 27 May 2007. He scored the vital last-minute goal that saw off the Orchard County by a single point, 1-09 to 1–08, at MacCumhail Park in Ballybofey.[10] However, he never won the Ulster Senior Football Championship during his career.[2] Devenney confirmed his retirement from the top level of Gaelic football on 29 December 2009.

Since his departure Donegal have won an All Ireland Senior Football title in 2012 playing a dour brand of football. Devenney says,

“ I try not to look back. I try to blank it [the past] out. Because there are too many regrets. It hurts too much. There were good days and good bits, for sure, but the big things like an Ulster and All-Ireland that you were looking for, you never got to and that's why I'm afraid to look back. As I've grown older I'd be wild angry about it. We'd be knocked out of Ulster for playing conventional football, then out of Ulster we could play conventional football as good as anyone. We'd be in the qualifiers and tear through the Longfords and Tipperarys, beat the likes of Meath and Galway. They were the games that sustained you, that's why we played football. But see going up to Clones? I’d be dreading going in the door. There were times I'd be thinking, ‘What am I doing here?’ That was my mindset before a championship match. I didn't want to be there. How the hell was I going to perform? Looking back on it, there was no way it could go right. Because Armagh and Tyrone had us figured out. They’d lock down space. You look at Bernard and Alan Brogan against Dublin in that [All-Ireland] semi-final a couple of years ago. They looked like they wanted to walk off the pitch. Donegal messed with their heads. Bernard was in there on his own. He couldn't make a channel run. When he did get it, right away he was running into three boys. That was me for years.[11] ”

International rules

Devenney represented Ireland with distinction against Australia, and was his country's leading scorer in the 2001 International Rules Series as Ireland romped to victory in Australia.[12]

Nowadays

Devenney currently plays soccer for Gweedore United in the Donegal Junior Football League. He also coaches Naomh Adhamhnáin and does radio commentary for the BBC.[13][14] He has been critical of the qualifiers the GAA have brought into the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, saying they have "diluted the Championship season a bit."[15] He has also been involved in a national radio debate hosted by Marian Finucane on the topic of money.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Bogue, Declan (16 May 2008). "McGrane set for '60'". Gaelic Life.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Nulty, Chris (22 July 2011). "1992–2011: The best XV not to win Ulster…". Donegal News. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  3. ↑ "First Senior County Title". St. Eunan's website.
  4. ↑ "Donegal: a family at war". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). 5 November 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
  5. ↑ "All too easy for Eunan's". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). 5 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  6. 1 2 "Devenney's future in balance". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). 10 May 2002. Retrieved 10 May 2002.
  7. ↑ "Awesome Armagh destroy Donegal". RTÉ Sport (RTÉ). 11 July 2004. Retrieved 11 July 2004. Brendan Devenney was one of the few positives Donegal would take from the first half. He consistently won his duels with Enda McNulty and the many free kicks he earned suggested that Armagh's blanket defence was not totally impenetrable.
  8. ↑ "Return of the prodigals". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). 20 April 2007. Retrieved 20 April 2007.
  9. ↑ "Donegal claim the spoils". The Irish Times (Irish Times Trust). 22 April 2007. Retrieved 22 April 2007.
  10. ↑ Foley, Cliona (27 May 2008). "Devenney still waiting on call from McIver". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  11. ↑ Shannon, Kieran (25 May 2013). "Donegal are dancing to new tunes". Irish Examiner (Thomas Crosbie Holdings). Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  12. ↑ "All-Ireland Final Players". St. Eunan's website.
  13. ↑ Breheny, Martin (7 November 2012). "Brendan Devenney comments highlight the problem facing Gaelic football – Message to the public: 'Don't expect a good match'; Message to a player: 'You're not going to enjoy this'; Message to the GAA: 'You'll have empty stadiums'". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  14. ↑ Duggan, Keith (16 February 2013). "More than a club: the extraordinary dominance of the side from south Armagh". The Irish Times (Irish Times Trust). Retrieved 16 February 2013. “I have seen them play so much doing radio commentary with the BBC,” says Brendan Devenney. “And being honest, I have become a fan.” Devenney managed his club, St Eunan's, against the Armagh champions in the Ulster club quarter-final last November.
  15. ↑ "Devenney: Qualifiers diluting championship". Breaking News. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.

External links

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