Odhrán Mac Niallais

Odhrán Mac Niallais
Personal information
Irish name Odhrán Mac Niallais
Sport Gaelic football
Position Midfield/Forward
Born (1992-08-17) 17 August 1992
Letterkenny, Ireland
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Club(s)
Years Club
2009- Gaoth Dobhair
Inter-county(ies)
Years County
2011- Donegal
Inter-county titles
Ulster titles 1

Odhrán Mac Niallais (17 August 1992) is an Irish Gaelic footballer. He plays with C.L.G. Ghaoth Dobhair and the Donegal senior inter-county team. With one Ulster senior title to his name, Mac Niallais has been a prominent feature of the Donegal midfield since 2014.

Playing career

Mac Niallais was first called into the Donegal senior team as an 18-year-old in the winter of 2011 by manager Jim McGuinness. He played in the 2012 Dr. McKenna Cup but injuries hampered his progress that year for club and county.[1] He returned to training ahead of the next season and played in the 2013 Dr. McKenna Cup.[2][3] In the 2013 National Football League he made substitute appearances against Down in the second game and against Dublin in Donegal's final league game of the season, both in Ballybofey.[4][5][6] He also played in the under-21 team that lost to Cavan in the 2013 Ulster final.[7]

Mac Niallais arrived in 2014 having played around a half-an-hour of meaningful senior inter-county football for Donegal.[8] That year would bring his first league start -agaiainst Laois at O'Moore Park. He palmed home a goal in the twelfth minute and scored a point later in the same match.[9] The year also brought games in the Senior Championship for Mac Niallais for the first time. Called onto the field when Donegal were forced to make emergency reparations to the midfield following injuries to Rory Kavanagh and Neil Gallagher, Mac Niallais collected the man of the match award in the Ulster semi-final against Antrim at Clones.[1][10][11] He then won his first Ulster senior title, helping himself to three points in the final against Monaghan.[12]

Honours

References

  1. 1 2 Duggan, Keith (24 June 2014). "Odhrán MacNiallais now at the heart of Donegal's championship drive: Gweedore man repaying the faith Jim McGuinness has shown in him". The Irish Times (Irish Times Trust). Retrieved 24 June 2014. Yesterday, he was at the heart of Donegal's drive to a fourth consecutive Ulster final and finished his day in front of the television cameras accepting his first man-of-the-match award in the competition. [...] Both of MacNiallais's championship starts have had a touch of improvisation about them. Just as they did against Derry, the Donegal management was forced to make emergency reparations to its midfield after Rory Kavanagh was unable to recover full fitness and Neil Gallagher broke down after 17 minutes. [...] The Gweedore man was just 18 when McGuinness first called him into the squad and ran the eye over him in McKenna Cup games against Tyrone and Fermanagh in the winter of 2011. Injuries upset his progression that season, curtailing his club career also and it wasn’t until last year that he resumed county training.
  2. ↑ McNulty, Chris (January 2013). "Experimental Donegal for McKenna Cup". Donegal News. Retrieved January 2013.
  3. ↑ "Mac Niallais catches eye". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). 17 January 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "Donegal too good for Down". Donegal Democrat (Johnston Press). 9 February 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  5. ↑ "Donegal 1-10 Dublin 0-13". RTÉ Sport (RTÉ). 7 April 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  6. ↑ Keys, Colm (9 April 2013). "Donegal – the only team to embrace the drop". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  7. ↑ "Ulster U21 Final Live: Donegal 1-06 v Cavan 0-13". Donegal Now. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013. And the second half is underway. Odhran MacNiallais breaks through, but his goal chance goes wide. Donegal are looking a lot livelier already.
  8. ↑ McNulty, Chris (3 March 2014). "Odhrán MacNiallais now at home in Donegal's first XV". Donegal News. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  9. ↑ McNulty, Chris (6 February 2014). "Odhrán MacNiallais hoping for extended run in Donegal team". Donegal News. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  10. ↑ "Donegal 3-16 Antrim 0-12". RTÉ Sport (RTÉ). 22 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  11. ↑ McNulty, Chris (23 June 2014). "Odhrán MacNiallais taking his chance with Donegal". Donegal News. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  12. ↑ "Monaghan 1-09 Donegal 0-15". RTÉ Sport (RTÉ). 20 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.

External links

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