Gary McDaid

Gary McDaid is a Gaelic football manager and referee. He has three DSFCs: twice as manager (2011, 2013) and once as coach to Michael Canning (2016).[1]

Gary McDaid
Personal information
Irish nameAn Míol Mór
SportGaelic football
NicknameThe Whale
OccupationTeacher
Club management
Years Club
2011
2013–present		 Glenswilly
Glenswilly
Inter-county management
Years County
2017–2019 Donegal

Club

While overseeing Glenswilly, he has led that team to two Donegal Senior Football Championships (2011 and 2013).[2] They also won the 2013 All-County Football League Division Two title.[3] He took a year off in 2012.[4] He was part of Michael Canning's backroom team in 2016 as Glenswilly won their third county title.[5]

County

McDaid publicly criticised the county board in 2011.[6][7] He has been involved in coaching Donegal underage squads and has worked under the leadership of Joe McBrearty with Donegal's under-21 football team.[5]

In December 2014, it was announced that McDaid had joined the Donegal senior county team as a selector under the stewardship of Rory Gallagher. This coincided with introduction of Eamon Ward and Joe Gibbons from his home club Glenswilly, as well as the return of Gary McFadden, who had opted out in 2013.[8][9] He stayed for one season. In October 2015, he stood aside from the role, citing family commitments.[10]

In 2016, McDaid hit out a people sitting in armchairs. He was particularly sensitive to the criticism of Glenswilly when his club had ground out a win on a score of 3 points against the 2 points to which they had limited their opponents. "We'd 14 wides, five dropped short and we scored three... I saw a lot of stuff on social media that it's the end of football and [other stuff] about mass defences", McDaid told Gaelic Life.[11]

McDaid was considered a leading contender to succeed Gallagher as Donegal senior manager, though Declan Bonner accepted the post.[12][13][5] In November 2017, McDaid was ratified as the first manager of the new Donegal under-20 football team. Eamon McGee, Francie Friel and Brian Roper completed his back-room team.[14][15]

He carried on in 2018, developing players such as Jason McGee and Odhrán McFadden Ferry for Bonner's main team.[16]

But he gave up — unexpectedly — and, admitting "results had not been as good as they had hoped" (shifting the emphasis of blame onto others), announced his resignation in an interview he gave to Highland Radio on 28 September 2019. For him to complete his expected third year at the helm, McDaid would have had to "face an interview", the thought of which was too much for him.[17]

Referee

McDaid is also a referee.[18]

Personal life

McDaid teaches PE at St Eunan's College[19] to Transition Year students, as well as the new Leaving Certificate PE course which the College is currently piloting. McDaid has also been part of various Gaelic football teams during his time at St Eunan's, most notably hitching on the back of the MacLarnon Cup-winning team of 2014 after they reached the final.

As well as teaching, McDaid is an avid runner. His most noted achievement occurred when he broke the 20-minute barrier for five kilometres in the annual Glenswilly GAA 5k Road Race. The entire parish of "The Glen" came to a standstill as McDaid strode through the gates of Glenswilly GAA to complete the race.

References
  1. "Breaking Ball: Donegal Club Championships 2019". Donegal News. 6 September 2019. p. 46.
  2. "Donegal SFC final: Murphy delivers man-of-the-match display". Hogan Stand. 21 October 2013. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  3. McNulty, Chris (13 October 2013). "Glenswilly clinch Division Two title". Donegal Democrat. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  4. McNulty, Chris (14 January 2013). "McDaid returns as Glenswilly manager". Donegal News. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  5. McNulty, Chris (2 August 2017). "Donegal GAA – Who are the contenders to succeed Rory Gallagher?". Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  6. Cahill, Jackie (21 October 2011). "Glenswilly boycott threat over Murphy". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  7. "Donegal board won't postpone Glenswilly's league fixtures". Hogan Stand. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  8. McNulty, Harry Walsh (23 December 2014). "Gary McDaid joins Donegal backroom team". Donegal News. Archived from the original on 31 October 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  9. McNulty, Chris (17 July 2015). "Monaghan's Corbett sees the 'magic' of Murphy and Gallagher". Donegal News. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  10. "McDaid departs Donegal management team". Hogan Stand. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  11. Gartland, Niall (30 July 2016). "McDaid hits out at armchair critics". Gaelic Life. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  12. Craig, Frank (2 September 2017). "Managerial process needs to be fair and transparent – Molloy". Donegal News. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  13. Loughran, Neil (29 August 2017). "Five in the frame to succeed Rory Gallagher in Donegal hotseat". The Irish News. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  14. Campbell, Peter (24 November 2017). "Glenswilly's Gary McDaid set to lead Donegal U-20s in 2018". Donegal Democrat. Archived from the original on 29 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  15. "Gary McDaid on starting out as Donegal's u20 Manager". Highland Radio. 28 November 2017. Archived from the original on 28 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  16. Cannon, Chris (26 May 2018). "Donegal U-20s in good shape ahead of Cavan clash". Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  17. "Gary McDaid stands down as Donegal under-20 manager". Highland Radio. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  18. "Donegal GAA Adult Club Referees 2019". Archived from the original on 5 September 2019.
  19. McNulty, Chris (19 October 2013). "Manager's view: Heart and soul still there for Glenswilly boss Gary McDaid". Donegal News. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
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