# 2018 Donegal Senior Football Championship

The 2018 Donegal Senior Football Championship was the 96th official edition of Donegal GAA's premier Gaelic football tournament for senior graded clubs in County Donegal. Sixteen teams competed, with the winner representing Donegal in the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship. The championship began with four groups of four, and continued with a knock-out format. The draws were made on 24 March 2018.
The defending champion was Cill Chartha, which defeated Naomh Conaill by a scoreline of 0–7 to 0–4 in the 2017 final. However, the club had to play the competition without two of its county stars, Patrick McBrearty and Ryan McHugh. On 26 September 2018, it was announced that McHugh had accepted medical advice and would be sidelined for the remainder of the year due to concussion. His injury came while playing for his club in a challenge match against Dublin champions St Vincents in Cavan in late August 2018 — he received a blow to the head during that match. Concussion had also caused McHugh to spend six weeks on the sideline following a 2018 National Football League game (against Kildare or Tyrone depending on which report you read) earlier that year. The injury meant he could take no part in the 2018 Donegal SFC (of which his club was defending champion), news which was worsened when taken in the context of the earlier loss of McHugh's club and county teammate McBrearty to a cruciate ligament injury.
This was the year Oisín Gallen made his senior club championship debut.
This was Milford's return to the senior grade following relegation in the mid-1990s, after claiming the 2017 Donegal I.F.C. title.
On 21 October 2018, Gaoth Dobhair claimed its 15th S.F.C. title by defeating Naomh Conaill by a scoreline of 0–17 to 1–7 at MacCumhaill Park.
Burt was relegated back to the 2019 I.F.C. after just two seasons in the top-flight, when losing its relegation final to newly promoted Milford.

## Team changes

The following teams changed division since the 2017 championship season.

## Format

The 2018 championship took the same format as previous championships, in which there were four groups of four clubs, with the top two clubs qualifying for the quarter-finals. The club finishing bottom in each group contested relegation play-offs to determine which team would be relegated to the 2019 Donegal Intermediate Football Championship.

## Group stage

All 16 clubs entered the competition at this stage. The top two clubs in each group advanced to the quarter-finals, while the club that finished bottom in each group entered a relegation play-off. This year, all clubs played one home match, one away match and one match at a neutral venue.

### Group A

| Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| Réalt na Mara | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 4 |
| Glenswilly | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 37 | +6 | 4 |
| Ard an Rátha | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 4 |
| Burt | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 41 | -9 | 0 |
| 9/9/2018 | Ardara | 2-6 - 0-10 | Glenswilly | Ard an Rátha Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 9/9/2018 | Réalt na Mara | 1-11 - 0-5 | Burt | Bundoran Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 16/9/2018 | Burt | 0-11 - 1-12 | Ard an Rátha | Burt Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 16/9/2018 | Glenswilly | 2-15 - 2-11 | Réalt na Mara | Glenswilly Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 23/9/2018 | Glenswilly | 1-9 - 1-5 | Burt | Glenswilly Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 23/9/2018 | Ard an Rátha | 4-3 - 2-12 | Réalt na Mara | Ard an Rátha Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |

### Group B

| Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| Gaoth Dobhair | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 20 | +12 | 6 |
| Naomh Conaill | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 27 | +19 | 4 |
| St Eunan's | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 26 | +6 | 2 |
| An Clochán Liath | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 47 | -27 | 0 |
| 8/9/2018 | Naomh Conaill | 4-16 - 0-6 | An Clochán Liath | Glenties Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 9/9/2018 | St Eunan's | 1-6 - 0-10 | Gaoth Dobhair | O'Donnell Park Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 15/9/2018 | An Clochán Liath | 0-4 - 1-11 | St Eunan's | An Clochán Liath Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 16/9/2018 | Gaoth Dobhair | 0-12 - 0-6 | Naomh Conaill | Gaoth Dobhair Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 23/9/2018 | Naomh Conaill | 1-9 - 0-9 | St Eunan's | Glenties Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 23/9/2018 | An Clochán Liath | 0-5 - 0-10 | Gaoth Dobhair | An Clochán Liath Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |

### Group C

| Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| St Michael's | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 24 | +38 | 6 |
| Four Masters | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 36 | -3 | 2 |
| Malin | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 47 | -9 | 2 |
| Termon | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 62 | -26 | 2 |
| 8/9/2018 | Termon | 0-9 - 3-16 | St Michael's | Termon Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 9/9/2018 | Four Masters | 1-10 - 0-6 | Malin | Pairc Tir Conaill Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 15/9/2018 | Malin | 3-12 - 1-7 | Termon | Malin Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 16/9/2018 | St Michael's | 0-13 - 0-4 | Four Masters | Dunfanaghy Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 22/9/2018 | Termon | 3-8 - 3-7 | Four Masters | Termon Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 22/9/2018 | St Michael's | 2-18 - 0-11 | Malin | Dunfanaghy Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |

### Group D

| Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| Cill Chartha | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 36 | +18 | 6 |
| Seán Mac Cumhaills | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 52 | +7 | 4 |
| Na Cealla Beaga | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 46 | -7 | 2 |
| Milford | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 59 | -17 | 0 |
| 8/9/2018 | Milford | 1-16 - 4-13 | Seán Mac Cumhaills | Milford Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 9/9/2018 | Na Cealla Beaga | 0-11 - 2-9 | Cill Chartha | Na Cealla Beaga Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 16/9/2018 | Seán Mac Cumhaills | 3-12 - 0-15 | Na Cealla Beaga | MacCumhaill Park Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 16/9/2018 | Cill Chartha | 2-15 - 2-6 | Milford | Cill Chartha Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 22/9/2018 | Milford | 0-10 - 1-10 | Na Cealla Beaga | ??? Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 22/9/2018 | Seán Mac Cumhaills | 1-10 - 1-15 | Cill Chartha | MacCumhaill Park Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |

## Knock-out stage
### Quarter-finals

| 29 September 2018 | Seán Mac Cumhaills | 2-10 - 0-13 | St Michael's | O'Donnell Park Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 29 September 2018 | Glenswilly | 0-12 - 0-5 | Four Masters | MacCumhaill Park Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 30 September 2018 | Cill Chartha | 0-6 - 1-9 | Naomh Conaill | Páirc Tír Conaill Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 30 September 2018 | Gaoth Dobhair | 8-13 - 3-12 | Réalt na Mara | MacCumhaill Park Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |

### Semi-finals

| 6 October 2018 | Naomh Conaill | 1-11 - 0-12 | Glenswilly | MacCumhaill Park Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 7 October 2018 | Gaoth Dobhair | 3-14 - 1-7 | Seán MacCumhaills | MacCumhaill Park Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |

### Final

| 21 October 2018 16:00 | Gaoth Dobhair | 0-17 - 1-7 | Naomh Conaill | MacCumhaill Park Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |

## Relegation play-offs
### Relegation semi-finals

| 30 September 2018 | An Clochán Liath | 1-12 - 0-8 | Burt | O'Donnell Park Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |
| 30 September 2018 | Termon | 2-14 - 1-13 | Milford | Dunfanaghy Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |

### Relegation final

| 6 October 2018 | Milford | 2-9 - 0-7 | Burt | O'Donnell Park Referee: ??? Man of the Match: ??? |

## Gradam Shéamuis Mhic Géidigh

Odhrán Mac Niallais was named as the recipient of the annual Gradam Shéamuis Mhic Géidigh.