1: Michael Murphy

WE conducted a Twitter poll a few years back posing the question, is Michael Murphy the greatest player ever to come out of Donegal, and the answer was a resounding yes. A prodigy at underage level, the 6’2” titan delivered a magnificent performance as a 19-year-old when Donegal were hammered by Cork in the 2009 All-Ireland quarter-final. He then scored a magnificent goal in the first minute of the game against Mayo as he captained Donegal to only their second ever All-Ireland title in 2012. He’s the county’s all-time leading scorer, but it’s his leadership and composure on the ball that stands out above all else. The Glenswilly man has also won three All-Stars and five Ulster medals, and while we don’t want to go all gooey, it’s fair to say he’s a living legend in Donegal (oh yeah he’s captained the team for the last decade – almost forgot that one).

2: Karl Lacey

MURPHY was an automatic choice for the number one spot, but Lacey was a fairly obvious choice for the number two position. He was everything you want in a defender – tenacious, strong, athletic, and it’s a sign of his talent that he bagged himself two All-Stars in the pre-Jim McGuinness era, in 2006 and 2009. Lacey won four All-Stars in total, a record in Donegal, and also won the Footballer of the Year award in 2012. He was able to play anywhere in the back six and regularly popped up for a score (an insurance point in the All-Ireland quarter-final against Kerry in 2012 springs to mind). Struggled with knee and groin injuries in the latter part of his career, but did everything he could to stay involved and eventually retired in 2017. Another Donegal legend.

3: Neil McGee

THIS is where it starts to get tricky. Perhaps it’s McGee’s longevity that gets him the bronze medal, but there’s nothing wrong with that, is there? It’s also worth reminding ourselves that he has three All-Stars, deservedly won on the back of unyielding defensive performances against some of the best players in the game (who can forget his shoulder on Stephen O’Neill in 2013?) A physically imposing specimen, he’s made the full-back position his own for the last decade and is still going strong – he did a commendable man-marking job on Conor McKenna in last year’s championship clash against Tyrone in Ballybofey. He can be a niggly player but his actual discipline is pretty sound.

4: Colm McFadden

MAYBE some people wouldn’t have him so high up, but McFadden was absolutely integral to Donegal’s championship runs in 2012 and 2014. Was treble-marked in training during the McGuinness years, so actual matches must’ve been a bit of light relief to the St Michael’s man. He scored a mammoth 25-438 in 15 years of senior inter-county football, and is actually Donegal’s most-capped player. A beautiful striker of the ball who regularly curled over points from distance and acute angles, he also scored an important opportunist goal in the 2012 final against Mayo.

5: Frank McGlynn

The soft-spoken Glenfin man retired at the end of 2019 after a long and successful corner with Donegal, and the plaudits weren’t long in arriving. Brian McEniff said that “There was no better man, a rock and totally reliable, he gave some outstanding displays for his club and his county.

“And even for his club Glenfin against Aodh Ruadh in last year’s intermediate final, he just commanded the pitch like a general and was a brilliant reader of the game. Not only was he a great player but a great person a man of the highest character and integrity and he will be a big loss.” That says it all, but for the sake of completion we’ll mention that he made more than 100 appearances with Donegal, won an All-Star, five Ulsters and an All-Ireland. A brilliant corner-back who was always good for a score.

6: Neil Gallagher

ANOTHER of the heroes of 2012. A brilliant, if somewhat underrated midfielder, Gallagher gave one of the finest displays of the decade in Donegal’s All-Ireland semi-final victory over Cork in 2014 (the Rebels had no bad midfield themselves in those days). He was actually dropped in the wake of their embarrassing defeat to Armagh in 2010, and was something of a peripheral figure in the first year of Jimmy McGuinness’s tenure, but he became an integral part of the team and finished his career with two All-Star awards. Was plagued by injury in the final few years of his playing career and decided to call it a day after his body broke down in training in 2017.

7: Ryan McHugh

ONE of the most enjoyable players to watch in the game, McHugh’s evasiveness and attacking instincts has been a massive asset to Donegal since he came on the scene in 2013. The Kilcar man played an integral role in what was possibly Donegal’s finest ever performance, scoring two goals in the shock All-Ireland final win over Dublin in 2014. He’s still going strong and has formed a telepathic partnership with Michael Murphy over the years. Nobody would begrudge him if he won an elusive All-Ireland medal, but he’s still had a really successful inter-county career by the standards of most.

8: Christy Toye

Toye served his county with distinction for 15 years, but in a way he did his most impressive work as substitute in the latter parts of his career. Didn’t feature early on in 2011 as he’d been recovering from long-term injury, but made an immediate impact when sprung from the bench against Kildare, scoring a goal in 25 seconds (he’s actually Donegal’s record goal-scorer at Croke Park). Battled back from Trigeminal neuralgia, a horrific-sounding affliction that causes agonising facial pain, to play a part in Donegal’s run to the All-Ireland final in 2014. Always seemed to make a positive impact – accurate in front of the posts and braveness personified.

9: Paddy McGrath

McGrath is beloved by Donegal supporters and with good reason. His commitment to the cause has been exemplary over the last decade, and he even played in the All-Ireland U-21 final against Dublin in 2010 despite having a broken jaw. An accomplished corner-back who sticks to his task, he’ll retire with a treasure trove of medals whenever he does decide to hang up the boots. Perhaps his best ever performance was in the All-Ireland quarter-final victory over Kerry in 2012, an important win en route to the Sam Maguire.

10: Paddy McBrearty

McBrearty would be higher up this list only he’s been curtailed in the last number of years by injury, just when it looked like he was reaching his peak. A lethal corner-forward, McBrearty actually played a fairly selfless role in his early days. Was thrown into the deep end as a teenager by Jim McGuinness but it didn’t seem to do him any harm – he scored 1-3 in his debut against Cavan when he was only 17 years old, and was a starting member of the team which won the All-Ireland. Developed into one of the best forwards in the country and has made more than 100 inter-county appearances, ahd he’ll be hopeful of having a few more good seasons before he hangs up the boots.