Donegal Boston Explained

Irish:	Dún na nGall Boston
Founded:	1988
Province:	Northeast Division
County:	Boston
Nickname:	The green and golds
Colours:	Yellow and Green
Grounds:	Irish Cultural Centre
F2:	1
F3:	5
Pattern B:	_greenhorizontal
Leftarm:	02a32d
Body:	ede609
Rightarm:	02a32d
Shorts:	02a32d
Socks:	02a32d

Donegal Boston GFC is a Gaelic football club which was founded in 1988 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Boston is the second largest division of the GAA on the North American continent, after New York.

They train on Malibu Beach, Dorchester.

Among the club's former players are: All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winners Diarmuid Connolly, Jim McGuinness and Martin Penrose; All Stars Kevin Cassidy, Dessie Dolan and John Lynch; All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship winner Liam Silke; Ireland international rules footballers Brendan Murphy and Colm Parkinson; former Australian Football League player Ray Connellan.

History

Donegal Boston Gaelic Football Club is known as Donegal GFC or Donegal Boston for short. The club was founded in 1988 by Irish immigrants.

They won the North American Intermediate Football Championship in 1995.

New York county manager Seamus Sweeney, whose team nearly defeated Galway in the 2010 Connacht Senior Football Championship, first became involved in U.S. football after emigrating to Boston as an 18-year-old in the early 1990s, and played for Donegal Boston.^[1]

They won their first Boston Senior Football Championship title in 2002. In the 2002 final they scored a late goal from a 21-yard free.

They won the Boston Junior Football Championship in 2005.

In 2008, they won the Boston Junior Football Championship and were Boston Senior Football Championship finalists.^[2]

They won the 2015 North-East Men's Senior Football Championship.^[3]

They won the 2018 Boston Senior Football Championship.^[4] They did so with Dublin All-Ireland winner Diarmuid Connolly, whose transfer stateside was covered by media nationally in Ireland.^{[5] [6] [7]}

Connolly's unsuccessful effort to play for Donegal Boston again in 2019, when a minor problem with his ESTA could not be fixed before transfer deadline day, was again covered extensively by media nationally in Ireland.^{[8] [9] [10] [11] [12]}

In 2019, Donegal Boston were seeking four consecutive championship titles. However, Aidan McEnespies defeated the club in that year's final.

Honours

• Boston Senior Football Championship: 2002,^[2] 2004, 2010, 2015, 2018^[4]
• Boston Junior Football Championship: 2005,^[2] 2008^[2]
• North American Senior Football Championship runner-up: 2002, 2003
• North American Intermediate Football Championship: 2005^[2]

Players

County players to have represented the club include the following:

• John Bingham (Louth)
• Ciaran Bonner (Donegal, i.e. the county)^[2]
• Declan Bonner (Donegal)^[2]
• Michael Boyle (Donegal)^[3]
• Mark Bradley (Tyrone)
• Ryan Bradley (Donegal)^[2]
• Glen Burke (Tipperary)^[2]
• Jamie Carr (Louth)^[2]
• Michael Carroll (Donegal)^[4]
• Shane Carthy (Dublin)
• Kevin Cassidy (Donegal)^{[2] [13]}
• Martin Caulfield (Donegal)^[2]

• Ray Connellan (Westmeath)
• Diarmuid Connolly (Dublin)^[14]

• Eamonn Doherty (Donegal)^[15]
• Dessie Dolan (Westmeath)^[2]
• Dermot Feely (Fermanagh)^[2]

• Raymond Gallagher (Fermanagh)^[2]
• John Gildea (Donegal)^[2]
• David Glennon (Westmeath)^[2]
• Denis Glennon (Westmeath)^[2]
• Cahir Healy (Laois)^[2]
• Rory Kavanagh (Donegal)^{[2] [3]}

• Barry John Keane (Kerry)
• John Lynch (Tyrone)^[2]

• Cormac McAdam (Fermanagh)^[2]
• Johnny McCafferty (Donegal)^[2]

• Jim McGuinness (Donegal)^[2]
• Antoin McFadden (Donegal)^[15]
• Eoin McHugh (Donegal)^[16]
• Kevin McMenamin (Donegal)^[2]

• Paul Mannion (Dublin)^{[17] [18]}
• Emlyn Mulligan (Leitrim)^[3]
• Brendan Murphy (Carlow)^[19]

• Ciarán Murtagh (Roscommon)^[20]
• Paul Noone (Roscommon)^[2]
• Colm Parkinson (Laois)^[2]
• Martin Penrose (Tyrone)^[2]

• James Ruane (Donegal)^[2]
• Keelan Sexton (Clare)^[21]
• Liam Silke (Galway)^[22]
• Matthew Smyth (Donegal)^[3]
• Adrian Sweeney (Donegal)^[2]
• Eoin Waide (Donegal)^[2]
• Declan Walsh (Donegal)^[15]
• Peter Witherow (Donegal)^[2]

Notes and References

1. News: On This Day: Galway given fright of their lives at Gaelic Park. Hogan Stand. 2 May 2020. 2 May 2020.
2. News: Donegal Boston come of age. Hogan Stand. 16 July 2009. 16 July 2009.
3. News: Alan. Foley. Donegal Boston seal North-East Men's Senior Football Championship. 30 August 2015. 30 August 2015.
4. News: Chris. McNulty. Diarmuid Connolly inspires Donegal Boston to Senior Championship title. 27 August 2018. 1 November 2019.
5. News: Connolly puts Donegal Boston into 'different financial realm'. RTÉ Sport. 2 July 2018. 2 July 2018.
6. News: Patrick. McCarry. Diarmuid Connolly absolutely unstoppable as Donegal win Boston championship. JOE.ie. 2018.
7. News: Patrick. McCarry. Diarmuid Connolly's Boston heroics captured in stunning, evocative video. JOE.ie. 2018.
8. News: Peter. Sweeney. Connolly faces 30 days out after transfer hits snag. RTÉ Sport. 1 July 2019. 1 July 2019.
9. News: Kevin. O'Brien. Donegal Boston confirm Diarmuid Connolly won't be joining them after visa issue. The42.ie. 1 July 2019. 1 July 2019.
10. News: Oisin. McQueirns. Donegal Boston Confirm Connolly Won't Be Joining Due To Visa Issues. Pundit Arena. 1 July 2019. 1 July 2019.
11. News: Phil. Egan. Connolly's summer in America in jeopardy. Today FM. 1 July 2019. 1 July 2019.
12. News: Frank. Roche. Diarmuid Connolly's USA switch off the table over visa issue. Irish Independent. 30 June 2019. 30 June 2019.
13. News: John. Fogarty. 'I hope he's well protected': Diarmuid Connolly will be a target in Boston, warns Cassidy. Irish Examiner. 13 June 2018. 13 June 2018.
14. News: Colm. Keys. Dublin leave door open for Diarmuid Connolly return ahead of five in-a-row bid. Irish Independent. 4 September 2018. 1 November 2019.
15. News: Chris. McNulty. SFC: Doherty keeps 'Eamon' high for St Eunan's. Donegal News. 13 September 2013. 13 September 2013. In 2011, Doherty headed to America. In his company were Antoin McFadden, James Carroll and Malin's Declan Walsh, who'll be an opponent in this weekend's quarter-final. In Boston, they had an enjoyable summer… Doherty says… 'It was great to get over to Donegal Boston to play football'..
16. News: 'I'm really enjoying it at the moment' — McHugh. Donegal News. 6 January 2019. 6 January 2019.
17. News: Michael. Verney. Former Dublin football star Paul Mannion transfers to Donegal Boston and heads to US for summer. Irish Independent. 3 June 2022. 3 June 2022.
18. News: Mannion makes Donegal Boston debut. Hogan Stand. 9 June 2022. 9 June 2022. Four-in-row chasing Donegal Boston have retained the services of Connolly's St Vincent's clubmate Shane Carthy and also include Kerry midfielder Darragh Lyne in their ranks this season..
19. News: Brendan Murphy: 'For me, this is the right time to go'. 11 May 2018. 11 May 2018.
20. News: Connolly-less Donegal Boston suffer defeat. Hogan Stand. 8 July 2019. 8 July 2019.
21. News: Split season makes American Dream a reality for players and clubs. RTÉ. Eoin. Ryan. 4 September 2022.
22. News: Chris. McNulty. Some big guns touch down as Donegal Boston begin Championship campaign. 2 June 2018. 1 November 2019.