Gary O'Donnell (born 6 January 1988) is an Irish sportsperson, who plays inter-county Gaelic football for Galway. He is a first cousin of double All-Ireland-winning former Galway footballer and two-time All Star Jarlath Fallon. O'Donnell's parents are both from County Mayo and he has uncles who have played football for that county at a number of levels.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Garraí Ó Domhnaill | ||
| Sport | Gaelic Football | ||
| Position | Centre Back | ||
| Born |
6 January 1988 Galway, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
2004–2008 2009– |
St. Colman's, Gort Tuam Stars | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | ||
2008–2021 | Galway | ||
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Connacht titles | 3 | ||
| NFL | 1 | ||
O'Donnell, who first played football with St Colman's, Gort, also played hurling in his youth and was on the same under-age teams as later Galway senior inter-county players Aidan Harte and Greg Lally. Gort's football team disbanded in 2009 and O'Donnell moved to Tuam Stars, as it was the club his cousins, the Fallons, played for.[1]
Having been an unused substitute in Galway's 2008 Connacht final victory over Mayo,[2] O'Donnell made his inter-county debut with in 2009. In 2016, O'Donnell was named Galway captain by Kevin Walsh, having previously captained the side on occasions when Paul Conroy wasn't available.[3] On 17 July 2016, Galway won the Connacht Championship, and O'Donnell became the first Galway player since Pádraic Joyce in 2008 to receive the J. J. Nestor Cup.[4][5]
References
edit- ^ a b "Hurling links and Mayo family roots but focus is on leading the Galway footballers". The42. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ "Gary O'Donnell and Galway all out to stop Mayo's drive-for-five". Irish Examiner. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ "Conroy injury blow for Galway Football". Connacht Tribune. 20 May 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ "Wait for a Connacht title 'far too long', says O'Donnell". Hoganstand.com. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ "Galway finally going places, says former captain Ray Silke". RTÉ Sport. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.