Hugh McFadden (Gaelic footballer)

Hugh McFadden is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Na Cealla Beaga and the Donegal county team.

Hugh McFadden
Personal information
Irish name Aodh Mac Pháidín[1]
Sport Gaelic football
Position Midfield/ Full Forward
Born Letterkenny, Ireland
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Occupation Primary school teacher
Club(s)
Years Club
2011–
 Na Cealla Beaga
Inter-county(ies)
Years County
2014–
 Donegal
Inter-county titles
Ulster titles 3

He can operate at midfield or full-forward.[2] He is Donegal's vice-captain, when Michael Murphy is absent.[3][4] As a youth he played association football.

Early life

McFadden played association football for St Catherine's. At the age of "16 or 17" he signed for League of Ireland team Finn Harps. He then signed a one-year scholarship with another League of Ireland team, Sligo Rovers, Rovers having won the 2012 League of Ireland Premier Division. According to McFadden, there was interest in him from other League of Ireland clubs too. But interest in Gaelic football was on the rise in his native county following the victorious 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. Donegal under-21 manager Maxi Curran called McFadden, who expressed an interest in joining, and senior manager Jim McGuinness called upon him around three months afterwards. "There are no regrets there. The way Gaelic football has taken off in Donegal — I wanted to be involved", McFadden said in 2015.[5]

Playing career

Club

McFadden reached the final of the 2013 Donegal Senior Football Championship with his club. Despite McFadden scoring a goal and pointing three frees, they lost to Glenswilly.[6]

Inter-county

McFadden's performances for his club in that 2013 championship run drew the attention of county manager Jim McGuinness. In September 2013, McGuinness called McFadden into the senior inter-county team for winter training after McFadden scored 2–4 for his club in their 2013 Donegal Senior Football Championship quarter-final defeat of Sean Mac Cumhaills.[2][7][8] He appeared as a substitute in the 2014 National Football League.[9] McFadden also played in the under-21 team that lost to Cavan in the 2014 Ulster final.[10] He remained as a panel member for the Championship campaign, as Donegal won the 2014 Ulster Senior Football Championship and advanced to the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. He did not play in the final.[4]

Following his appearance on the bench for 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, McFadden (still eligible for the competition) played in the 2015 Ulster Under-21 Football Championship final loss to Tyrone, scoring five points (including four frees).[11]

McFadden started Rory Gallagher's first match in charge of the county, a 2015 Dr McKenna Cup away defeat to Derry.[12]

Under the management of Declan Bonner, McFadden took on the captaincy during the 2018 National Football League in the absence of regular team captain Michael Murphy, including in games against Kerry in Killarney and Dublin at Croke Park.[13][14] He scored a point against Tyrone in the same competition.[15] McFadden started the final as Donegal secured the 2018 Ulster Senior Football Championship.[16] He had earlier scored a goal against Derry in the quarter-final.[17]

McFadden again captained Donegal during the 2019 National Football League in the absence of injured regular captain Murphy.[18] He started against Clare in the opening fixture of the competition in Ennis, scoring a point.[19] He also started the second, third, fourth and fifth fixtures against Meath, Tipperary, Fermanagh and Armagh.[20][21][22][23] He started and scored a point in both the sixth and seventh fixtures against Cork and Kildare.[24][25] Donegal qualified for the National Football League Division 2 final and McFadden started the game as Donegal defeated Meath to win the title.[26]

He scored a goal against Monaghan in the 2020 National Football League.[27]

Personal life

Mr McFadden is a teacher at Scoil an Linbh Íosa, a primary school near Donegal Town.[28]

Honours
Donegal
Na Cealla Beaga
gollark: It can, in fact, explode.
gollark: What do YOU think, based on my code?
gollark: Don't try and hold it down!
gollark: Sure it will! It can do anything! It can be anything it wants to be!
gollark: It's U N D E F I N E D, it doesn't have to behave consistently or like actual values.

References
  1. "Two changes for clash with Roscommon". Donegal News. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  2. McNulty, Chris (29 September 2013). "Ciaran Bonner, Leon Thompson and Christy Toye among 'new' faces for Donegal". Donegal News. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  3. McNulty, Chris (24 June 2019). "Declan Bonner pays tribute to Manus Kelly on day of 'mixed emotions'". Retrieved 24 June 2019. Murphy did not attend the homecomin[sic] with vice-captain Hugh McFadden carrying the Anglo-Celt Cup into Donegal Town and addressing the crowd.
  4. Rooney, Declan (19 May 2020). "Hugh McFadden: Donegal can get back to top". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  5. Foley, Alan (25 June 2015). "Hugh McFadden takes scenic route to Donegal set-up". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  6. "Donegal SFC final: Murphy delivers man-of-the-match display". Hogan Stand. 21 October 2013. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015.
  7. "McFadden powers Killybegs into last four". Donegal Democrat. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013. The difference between the sides was full-forward Hugh McFadden, who caused havoc in the MacCumhaill's defence and finished with a tally of 2-4 to put himself in the shop window for Jim McGuinness.
  8. McNulty, Chris (5 October 2013). "SFC: Jason Noctor and Killybegs aiming to make up for 'wasted chance'". Donegal News. Retrieved 5 October 2013. …Hugh McFadden's cracking 2–4 against Sean MacCumhaills in the quarter-final bleeped on Jim McGuinness’s radar.
  9. "Allianz NFL: Donegal v Armagh in Division 2 Final". Donegal Now. 6 April 2014. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014. Rory Kavanagh is down after a hit from Jamie Clarke as Hugh McFadden gets ready to come on.
  10. "Cavan seal a fourth successive Ulster U21 football title as they see off Donegal: The winners finished strongly in tonight's decider at the Athletic Grounds". MSN. 9 April 2014. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  11. Bannon, Orla (8 April 2015). "Tyrone footballers crowned Ulster Under-21 champions". RTÉ Sport. Archived from the original on 5 December 2018.
  12. McNulty, Chris (4 January 2015). "Report: Rory Gallagher's experimental Donegal well beaten by Derry". Donegal News. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  13. O’Toole, Fintan (28 January 2018). "Casey hits winning point, O'Shea fires 0-7 and 3 red cards shown in Kerry Donegal clash". The42.ie. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  14. O'Brien, Kevin (10 February 2018). "Dublin survive strong Donegal fightback to make it three wins from three". The42.ie. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  15. Bogue, Declan (10 March 2018). "Two-goal Tyrone move closer to safety with big win over Donegal in Omagh". The42.ie. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  16. Mooney, Francis (24 June 2018). "Energetic Donegal end Fermanagh's Ulster title dream". RTÉ Sport. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  17. Mooney, Francis (27 May 2018). "McBrearty excels to fire Donegal past Derry". RTÉ Sport. Archived from the original on 28 May 2018.
  18. "Hugh McFadden says improvement is needed for Meath". Highland Radio. 1 February 2019. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019.
  19. Lynch, Derrick (27 January 2019). "Missing a host of regulars, Donegal come away from Clare with victory". The42.ie. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  20. Campbell, Peter (2 February 2019). "Fortuitous goal sees Donegal come back to beat Meath". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  21. Fallon, John (10 February 2019). "Casey strikes late goal as Tipp come back to shock Donegal". The42.ie. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  22. Campbell, Peter (24 February 2019). "Fermanagh rally against 13-man Donegal to stay unbeaten in Division 2". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  23. Foley, Alan (2 March 2019). "Super sub Murphy makes decisive impact in narrow win for Donegal". The42.ie. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  24. Hurley, Denis (16 March 2019). "Cork on brink of drop to Division 3 as Donegal power home". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  25. Branigan, Peter (24 March 2019). "Murphy masterclass fires Donegal back to top flight". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  26. O'Brien, Kevin (30 March 2019). "Murphy masterclass helps Donegal to Division 2 glory after comeback win over Meath". The42.ie. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  27. Foley, Alan (1 March 2020). "McFadden and Ward hit the net as Donegal claim easy victory over Monaghan". The42.ie. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  28. McNamara, Siobhan (23 June 2018). "Good luck Mr McFadden – schoolchildren in county colours to support popular teacher". Donegal Now. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.