Niall O'Donnell
Niall O'Donnell (born 1998) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for St Eunan's and the Donegal county team. The "Irish Independent"'s Colm Keys named O'Donnell among his "18 for 18: The brightest young talents" in Gaelic football, describing him as "both elusive and skilful". Education. O'Donnell attended St Eunan's College, where he played for the school team. In 2016, following his Ulster minor title with Donegal, he became the eighth student from the school to win an Ulster Colleges All Star, succeeding — among others — Michael Murphy and Shaun Patton; O'Donnell played alongside Patton in  the school team. Playing career. Club. O'Donnell captained his club at under-21 level. He played in county finals at under-12, under-14, under-16, minor, under-21 and senior levels. He made his senior debut for his club as a replacement for John Haran in the remaining two minutes of the final of the 2015 Donegal Senior Football Championship, which his club lost by one point against Naomh Conaill. He later said: "I got one touch. I just laid it off. I was a bit young to be taking a big shot on then". O'Donnell's brother Conor also plays alongside him for  the club. As does his brother Shane. O'Donnell, a dual player, has also played hurling for his club. He captained his club to the 2021 Donegal Senior Football Championship, aged 23, scoring three points in the final. Inter-county. O'Donnell was joint-captain of the Donegal minor team with Jason McGee. O'Donnell first featured for his county at senior level under the management of Declan Bonner. He played against Kerry as a half-time substitute in the opening fixture of the 2018 National Football League at Fitzgerald Stadium. He did not feature on the pitch when Donegal won the 2018  Ulster Senior Football Championship, as, alongside Jason McGee, he had decided to drop down to play with the under-20 team instead. Donegal qualified for the 2019 National Football League Division 2 final and O'Donnell started the game and scored two points as Donegal defeated Meath to win the title. O'Donnell played for the first 42 minutes in the final of the 2019 Ulster Senior Football Championship against Cavan, scoring one point and claiming his first Ulster senior title. He had made a substitute appearance against Fermanagh in the quarter-final and started in the semi-final win over Tyrone. Personal  life. As of 2021, Permanent TSB in Letterkenny employed O'Donnell.