Donegal's top ten Gaelic Footballers 2010-2020

Sports journalist Gerry McLaughlin has reported on countless games all over Donegal over the past decade, so is certainly well positioned to choose his top ten players in the county from 2010-2020. To narrow it down to ten is not the easiest of tasks. In this contribution, he gives his verdict.

Donegal’s top ten players from 2010-2020

Michael Murphy (Glenswilly)

The greatest player in the country and has been for the past few years and also Donegal’s greatest ever player.

And, the big mystery is why he has only been given two All Stars in a remarkable inter county career that began in July 2007 at the age of 17.

But it has not been easy for Murphy and this is why he is even more remarkable than many of his peers.

For, as a child he had a serious operation on his hip which meant had to work exceptionally hard to achieve the high goals he has attained.

Murphy is Donegal’s all-time top scorer, but that is only a fraction of his myriad talents.

He has rightly been his county’s captain since 2011, won an All-Ireland title and five Ulster titles and also captained his country twice in the Aussie Rules Series.

This modest towering figure is a leader of leaders, a great fielder, passer and marksman and is usually double or treble marked but does not complain.

He is also an absolute gentleman, a credit to himself, his parents and his county.

But he is also a ferocious competitor, who does not know the meaning of defeat.

Karl Lacey (Four Masters)

Anyone with four All Stars just has to be an exceptional player.

Karl Lacey won these gongs in 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2012 and that probably makes him the county’s greatest ever defender and he won Footballer of the Year also in 2012.

But that did not happen by chance, it happened because, apart from natural ability, Lacey had ferocious work rate with a burning desire to improve his game.

And he did just that as he excelled as a man marker and later became a very important play maker at the heart of the Donegal defence.

But the most remarkable thing about the colourful Karl is that he played in 41 consecutive championship matches for his county from 2004 to 2013 and that is a remarkable record 

The arrival of Jim McGuinness was most timely for Karl as indeed for many others as he then took his game to new heights

Like Murphy Lacey worked like a demon on his game, his level of preparation and fitness were always of the highest order.

And few will forget that great diagonal ball into Michael Murphy that created that most important goal against Mayo in that wonderful All-Ireland title victory in 2012.

Lacey was also a bit of a fashion icon with well-coiffed hair and an array of multi-coloured boots which masked a thin dark shard of a lad who had loads of steel and skill.

Neil McGee (Gaoth Dobhair)

Undoubtedly Donegal’s greatest ever defender and remains a remarkable force of nature at the age of  34.

Neil McGee has won three All Stars in 2011, 2012 and 2014 and that alone is recognition of his greatness.

But he is also an outstanding bulwark for his native Gaoth Dobhair and was a key part in their great victory in the Ulster Club Championship in 2018.

It took a while for his star to shine but he really revelled in those ferocious training sessions under Jim McGuinness.

He lost weight, went to the gym and built himself into one of the most physically formidable full-backs around.

That took a lot of dedication and determination, but the younger McGee bother has never lacked those qualities.

Apart from his resolute defending, Neil McGee has the power and stamina to link up in attacks at savage pace and has even got on the end of moves to hit scores, which is a rarity for a man in his position.

McGee has always played on the edge and his shoulder to shoulder clash with Stephen O’Neill a few years ago in Ballybofey was most memorable.

He is one of the few Donegal players to have five Ulster championships along with an All-Ireland medal.

And his longevity is also most noteworthy in the notoriously merciless modern game.

But then Neil McGee will always be an exceptional man on many counts.

Neil Gallagher (Glenswilly)

Neil is one of the great “old-fashioned” midfielders who morphed into one of the truly great modern midfielders.

There is no doubt that Donegal would not have won that All-Ireland final in 2012 in his absence.

For, the Glenswilly giant more than held his own against the high fielding giants of Kerry and Cork en route to that famous victory.

In particular, his display against Cork was especially noteworthy in that wonderful All-Ireland semi-final.

Neil has a modest calm demeanour, but underneath is the heart of a champion and an ultimate competitor who was also so very important in Glenswilly’s county title victories.

He has always been a leader and captained his county to a NFL title back in 2007, but like many others, his game took in many new dimensions after the arrival of Jim McGuinness.

In particular, his passing skills improved dramatically, and he learned to pass with both feet.

But it was his high fielding that was most vital for Donegal who had struggled to find such a player for many years.

However, they certainly got that in the soft -spoken droll Neil Gallagher, who will always be one of the true giants of Donegal.

Ryan McHugh (Kilcar)

They say an ounce of breeding is worth a ton of feeding and the second son of the great Martin McHugh has all of that in spades.

But, like his older brother Mark, Ryan is very much his own man.

Since 2013/14 he has been Donegal’s second most important player and his almost telepathic understanding with Michael Murphy is one of the great sights in the game.

This lithe lean dark arrow of destruction will always be remembered for those two great goals he scored against Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final of 2014, the last time the Dubs were defeated in the All-Ireland championship.

But he also scored a magnificent goal against Fermanagh in the Ulster final of 2018.

He has ferocious pace, brilliant ball skills, courage in spades and superb vision and is an even more ideal link between defence and attack, especially since the great Frank McGlynn called it a day.

Ryan is the complete modern player who is at home equally in defence or attack.

And you always know that something interesting is about to happen when he dips the left shoulder and takes off like a rocket.

One of Donegal’s true modern greats who shows that quality does not depend on size.

Frank McGlynn (Glenfin)

When Frank McGlynn retired last year, Brian McEniff said there “was no better man than Fran” and indeed there was not.

Indeed, he is right up there with Karl Lacey as one of the county’s greatest ever defenders.

Frank was an is modest and calm a cultured swarthy figure with the calm demeanour of a head bouncer in a night club.

But when it was necessary Frank could “take tae” with the very best and did so for many years.

Frank had superb balance, exceptional vision and was a wonderful passer of the ball.

He was the link between defence and attack and timed his runs to perfection.

Indeed, he got on the end of such a move in an Ulster final and hammered home a great goal.

He also had deceptively great ball skills and was a great leader in an outstanding Donegal team.

And, he was an is an absolute gentleman and single-handedly drove Glenfin to a Donegal Intermediate title in 2018.

One of Donegal’s true greats.

Colm McFadden (St Michael’s)

A big man and one of the county’s greatest scoring machines since back in 2004 when he was man of the match in a great victory over All-Ireland champions Tyrone.

Colm had a left foot that was worth a pot of gold and he certainly put it to good use from 2004 to his retirement in 2016.

He played for Donegal from 2002 to 2016 and he started very championship matches in Tir Conaill’s great championship run from 2011 to 2014.

Colm won an All Star in 2012 and was also top scorer in the All-Ireland championship of that year and was also nominated for Player of the Year which was won by team- mate Karl Lacey.

And he is the only Donegal player to finish twice as top scorer in the Ulster Championship.

He was also a great man for goals and his clever shimmy for that second goal for Donegal in the All-Ireland victory over Mayo was just pure magic.

But Colm Anthony was also an exceptionally strong physical player and could win his own ball and then score with deadly accuracy.

Paddy McBrearty (Kilcar)

The Kilcar maestro has been around a few years longer and is still most vital to Donegal’s chances of taking another Sam Maguire cup.

A very special talent who made his debut at the age of 17 in the Ulster Championship against Antrim in 2011.

And he has been at the heart of all that is good about Tir Conaill in the interim.

McBrearty is a powerful ball winner, has a left foot like the great ex Newcastle Utd - star Malcolm McDonald and can turn a match in a heartbeat.

Paddy is only in his 27th year, but has an All-Ireland medal along with five Ulster championships and is only approaching his peak.

On his day he is virtually unmarkable and can score from almost any angle and can take some of the pressure off Michael Murphy with his ball winning ability.

Has also shown himself to be an exceptional leader with Kilcar in captaining them to their first county championship since 1993 in 2017.

And his displays in the ensuing Ulster club championship were truly memorable.

McBrearty is a very important part of Donegal and has the ability to continue to be so for many more years.

Christy Toye (St Michael’s)

One of the most versatile, the most complete and one of the bravest players to ever represent his county, which he did with distinction from 2002 to 2017.

And he has made a record 65 championship appearances, a record he shares with Karl Lacey.

Like Noel Hegarty in a previous era, the towering Christy had a great ability to carry the ball at speed, running directly at defences and he always went route one which resulted in many goals.

And he certainly could hit some crackers against Meath and Armagh in the championship in 2002 and 2003 and another great goal against Kildare in that epic encounter in 2011 and also hit Donegal’s final equalising point before Kevin Cassidy’s magical late winner.

He has suffered severe injury, ranging from an Achillies tendon in 2009 to trigeminal neuralgia in 2013 but battled back to be named on the starting team against Kerry in the 2014 All-Ireland final.

A great all- rounder who could mix it in any company.

Paddy McGrath (Ardara)

The teak tough Ardara corner back has been in all of the Donegal campaigns right from 2010 and is currently battling a second cruciate ligament.

McGrath is a great man marker but also an excellent link between defence and attack and can also join up in attacks at pace and has a great talent for getting into wonderful scoring chances.

Paddy is the ultimate team player with no ego and no great desire to be in the limelight but he is still very vital to Tir Chonail's cause.

Along with Michael Murphy and Paddy McBrearty he is another survivor from the team that won the All-Ireland final in 2012.

Paddy may not be the tallest corner back, but he can spring for a high ball with there best of them and he grows bigger in the heat of battle.

For when the tough gets going McGrath is always there in the heart of the contest, a cool calm reassuring presence at the back with an ability to be a menace at the other end.

Definitely one of Donegal's true greats and makes the top ten from the last decade.