2011 Ulster Championship,

First round, Celtic Park

Derry 1-18 Fermanagh 1-10

Having just missed out on promotion to Division one, this was John Brennan’s first championship game in charge of the Oak Leafers. Despite losing star forward Paddy Bradley to a knee injury suffered during a club championship match, Brennan’s team had the Erne men beat by half time. They had nine different scorers on the day, including Eoin Bradley with 1-4 and Conleith Gilligan with 0-3.

2011 Ulster Championship

semi-final, Clones

Derry 3-14 Armagh 1-11

The duo of Conleith Gilligan and Eoin Bradley destroyed the Armagh defence. They combined for a total of 2-10. John Brennan credited the win to the physical conditioning of the players but he also said that they had responded to his methods in the changing rooms. James Kielt said that they secret to Brennan’s management was that he trusted his players, and supported them in the decisions that they made. Unfortunately Derry would lose Eoin Bradley to injury, and Donegal defeated them in the final.

2013 All-Ireland qualifiers, round one, Owenbeg

Derry 0-15 Sligo 0-8

This was Brian McIver’s first year in charge. After losing to Down in the Ulster Championship, Derry were at a low point. Perhaps the memory of their Ulster final humbling at the hands of Donegal was still there. However in round one of the qualifiers they met a Sligo team who had lost to London in the first round of the Connacht Championship. That was London’s first win in the province in 36 years. Derry got the better start, and had a good spread of scorers including, Enda Lynn, Sean Leo McGoldrick and Ciaran McFaul.

2013 All-Ireland qualifiers, Round two, Celtic Park

Derry 0-13 Down 1-5

This was a remarkable draw as Derry had already played Down in the Ulster championship, and brought into light the rules regarding fixtures that didn’t protect against teams meeting twice in the championship. Derry would have home advantage the second time and that was regarded as a significant advantage. Ryan Bell had an outstanding game and he helped the Oak Leafers into their four point lead at half time. Patsy Bradley had a great game, and Eoin Bradley kept the pressure on Down in the second half. Derry would go on to lose to Cavan after extra time in round three.

2015 Ulster Championship,

round one, Celtic Park

Derry 0-12 Down 0-11

After suffering relegation out of division one, Derry headed into the championship with a level of trepidation. In 2014, the previous year they had lost to Donegal in Ulster, and Longford in the qualifiers. Brian McIver’s players headed out to play Down at Celtic Park, where they had beat them two years previous, and this time it was Eoin Bradley who had the final say. Derry had had the better start but Down, who had lost Conall McGovern to a red card in the second half, fought back. The Oak Leafers needed Bradley to tap over the winner in injury time.

2015 All-Ireland qualifiers, round two, Owenbeg

Derry 1-16 Wexford 0-10

After losing to Donegal in the Ulster semi-final, Derry faced into the qualifiers campaign and they were drawn against a Wexford team who had been beaten by Westmeath by nine points in the Leinster Championship. Wexford’s game plan was designed to bottle up the influence of Eoin Bradley. Fortunately for Derry, Cailean O’Boyle had a super game and enjoyed the free space that the double marking team on Bradley allowed him. Derry moved on to the next round, a clash with Galway, but they lost by six. That was notable because it was the game when Brian McIver resigned immediately afterwards citing his frustration with the refereeing of the game as his reason for doing so.

2016 All-Ireland qualifiers, round one, Owenbeg

Derry 1-18 Louth 2-10

This was Damian Barton’s first year in charge. Derry met Tyrone in round one of the Ulster Championship and lost by 21 points so the expectations going into the qualifiers were very low. Their opponents were Louth who had gained promotion out of division four, beaten Carlow in the preliminary rounds, and then lost to Meath. But a brilliant performance by James Kielt ended Louth’s participation, as he scored 1-9.

2016 All-Ireland qualifiers, Round two, Owenbeg

Derry 1-14 Meath 1-11

In a thrilling fight back, Derry beat Meath by three points. They were behind by seven points at half time, but big performances from James Kielt, Eoghan Brown, and Mark Lynch in particular led them to victory. Damian Barton said that his team had been a yard short physically and mentally, but a change in tactics in the second half when they pushed forward and attacked, made the difference.

2016 All-Ireland qualifiers, round three, Breffni Park

Cavan 0-18 Derry 1-17

An inspirational performance from Mark Lynch put Derry through to the final round of the qualifiers. He scored seven points to keep the Oak Leafers run alive. Barton had hit back at suggestions in the media that his team had not wanted to play for him, however the players showed great heart to win this third game on the trot. Tipperary would cause their downfall though, as they edge out a shoot out 1-21 to 2-17, a brilliant game but it was one that Derry could not keep with their opponents.

2017 All-Ireland qualifiers, round one

Waterford 0-13 Derry 1-17

After another meeting with Tyrone in the Ulster Championship, and another defeat, Damian Barton’s team headed for the Qualifiers again. They were matched up with Waterford who had lost to Cork by a single point in the Munster Championship. Damian Barton played an attacking side against Waterford and players such as James Kielt, Niall Loughlin, Ciaran McFaul, Danny Heavron, Danny Tallon and Emmet McGuckin plundered points. They played Mayo in the next match and that turned out to be a thriller. They game ended all square in normal time, but Mayo pulled away in extra time. Despite Barton’s appeals to have another term, he stepped away from the job and was replaced by Damian McErlain.

2019 All-Ireland qualifiers, round one, Wexford park

Wexford 0-10 Derry 4-16

Tyrone knocked Derry out of the Ulster Championship, the third time in four years they had met each other. Derry yet again headed into round one of the qualifiers. Wexford had lost to Louth in the preliminaries of the Leinster Championship. The Oak Leafers scored four goals in the first half of this game to kill it off. The men to score were Shane McGuigan, Ryan Bell, Benny Heron and Enda Lynn. Derry would lose to Laois in the next round.