| Tony Blake | |
| Sport: | Gaelic football |
| Clposition: | Goalkeeper |
| Icposition: | Goalkeeper |
| Birth Date: | 1971/2 |
| Code: | Football |
| Clyears: | 19??–200? |
| Clubs: | St Eunan's |
| County: | Donegal |
| Icyears: | 1991–2004 |
| Counties: | Donegal |
Tony Blake (born 1971/2) is an Irish Gaelic football coach and former player for St Eunan's and the Donegal county team.
He attended St Eunan's College, where he played for the school team.[1]
Donegal manager Brian McEniff called Blake onto his panel in 1991, though Blake soon departed for a career in association football. He was reserve goalkeeper for Sligo Rovers when they won a treble in the League of Ireland.[2]
Blake made his championship debut for Donegal after Paul Callaghan sustained a groin injury during Donegal's championship win over Antrim in 1998.[3]
He started Mickey Moran's first game in charge of Donegal, a league win at home to Offaly in October 2000.[4]
Blake won a Railway Cup in 2000.[5]
He never won the Ulster Senior Football Championship during his career.[6] He played throughout the 2002 Ulster Senior Football Championship as Donegal advanced to the final.[7] [8] [9] [10] He also featured in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final against Dublin.[11] It was his best campaign and he credits the assistance of former Donegal goalkeeper Gary Walsh for his part in this.[2]
He started the first game of Brian McEniff's last spell as Donegal manager, a league defeat to Galway in Tuam in February 2003.[12]
He played in the 2003 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final against Armagh.[13]
A persistent knee injury forced him to retire from inter-county football in May 2004. Donegal's manager at the time, McEniff (again), said of Blake's meeting with a surgeon: "when the test results came back it showed a lot of wear and tear behind the knee cap". Blake had worn a bandage on his knee before Donegal's 2004 Dr McKenna Cup final defeat to Tyrone. McEniff said: "I noticed it that day and it became apparent that he had a problem". Paul Durcan (who had just won a Sigerson Cup with Institute of Technology, Sligo) had been deputising for Blake in the 2004 National Football League.[14]
Since retiring, Blake has been a goalkeeping coach with Bonagee United and Naomh Colmcille.[2]