John Gildea (born 27 March 1971)[1] is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for Naomh Conaill and the Donegal county team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Seán Mac Giolla Dé | ||
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||
| Position | Wing-forward/midfield | ||
| Born | 27 March 1971[1] | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
19??–200? 1997 2001 |
Naomh Conaill Donegal New York Donegal Boston | ||
| Club titles | |||
| Donegal titles | 1 | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | ||
199?–2004 | Donegal | ||
Playing career
editGildea made his championship debut for Donegal as a substitute against Down in 1995.[3] Pat Ward and Michael Gallagher were county footballers when Gildea was "coming through".[4] His early career was troubled; suffering a problem (which turned out to be a Vitamin B12 deficiency) that affected his ability to train, he made no further championship appearances while P. J. McGowan was manager of the county.[2] Gildea then played illegally under an assumed name for Donegal New York in 1997, the illegality due to him officially registering to play in Boston.[2] He was suspended for one year, reduced to six months on appeal.[2] Gildea credited McGowan's successor Declan Bonner for persisting with him through his difficulties.[2] Fourteen hours after the suspension had ended, Bonner started Gildea in the 1997–98 National Football League semi-final at Croke Park; Gildea scored two points but his team lost the game to Offaly.[2]
Gildea featured prominently for his county from 1998 onwards.[3] Having played as a wing-forward against Offaly and against Antrim in the 1998 Ulster Senior Football Championship quarter-final, Bonner moved Gildea into the midfield position where he would make his name when Martin Coll was sent off early on against Cavan in the Ulster semi-final.[2] Donegal won that game, with Gildea outmanoeuvring Dermot McCabe, but the county then lost the Ulster final to a late Joe Brolly goal.[3]
Gildea quit the panel in May 2001, shortly after Bonner's successor as manager, Mickey Moran, controversially substituted him during a championship loss to Fermanagh in Enniskillen; the decision was part of why selector Michael Houston also quit, while Gildea went to the United States to play for Donegal Boston.[5][6] He vowed to retire after 2002, but carried on.[7] By 2003, Gildea was the most senior player in the county team.[8] He started the first game of Brian McEniff's last spell as Donegal manager, a league defeat to Galway in Tuam in February 2003, during which he scored a point.[9] That year he was an important player during a six-game championship run through the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship qualifiers.[7] He played in the 2003 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final against Armagh.[10] Gildea continued to play for his county until 2004.[3]
Gildea won a Donegal Senior Football Championship in 2005, his club's first, which came after a replay.[11]
Gildea first met Stephen Rochford, who went on to work with Bonner in his second spell as Donegal manager, during two visits to Australia from twenty years previously.[2]
Gildea is married to Sharon (née Rouse); they have two sons.[12][1] He lives in Letterkenny.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Maguire, Stephen (27 March 2021). "From midfield to midlife as former Donegal player hits 50". Donegal Daily. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h McNulty, Chris (21 November 2020). "John Gildea — Why Declan Bonner has perfect management to succeed with Donegal". Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d McNulty, Chris (22 July 2011). "1992–2011: The best XV not to win Ulster…". Donegal News. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020.
- ^ Craig, Frank (1 February 2020). "Gildea pays tribute to departing McLoone". Donegal News. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
When I was coming through Pat Ward and Michael Gallagher were the men you looked to. For us to have a county footballer back then was a huge deal. Myself and Jim (McGuinness) were then part of it at the same time and it was a big thing.
- ^ "Houston's big problem". BBC Sport. 30 May 2001. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2001.
- ^ "Donegal Boston come of age". Hogan Stand. 16 July 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
- ^ a b Keys, Colm (5 November 2003). "Royals' seal of approval puts pressure on Boylan". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020.
After commiting [sic] himself to retirement last year, he's determined not to make the same mistake twice. 'I'll see how the body is after Christmas', said Gildea, the driving force behind Donegal's six-game qualifier odyssey.
- ^ Crowe, Dermot (25 February 2007). "Former wild child wants football's natural high". Sunday Independent. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
In 2003, under McEniff, Fermanagh beat Donegal in the championship… [Kevin] Cassidy went along with the intention of having the dinner and slipping away… I rang John Gildea, he was the most senior player at the time.
- ^ Duggan, Keith (3 February 2003). "Meehan adds spark to Galway attack". The Irish Times.
- ^ "Armagh's double still alive". Irish Independent. 1 September 2003.
- ^ "Historic first title for Naomh Conaill". Irish Independent. 10 October 2005.
- ^ "Glenties Notes". Glenties.ie. 5 January 2009.