The 2023 Donegal Senior Football Championship was the 101st official edition of Donegal GAA's premier Gaelic football tournament for senior graded clubs in County Donegal. 16 teams competed, with the winner representing Donegal in the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship.
Naomh Conaill was defending champion after defeating St Eunan's in the 2022 final. Naomh Conaill again advanced to the 2023 final, where the club defeated Gaoth Dobhair to retain the title.
Cloich Cheann Fhaola's home defeat of Milford marked the first time in twelve years that the club had won a senior championship game. Two weeks after that, the club defeated Four Masters as well.
The competition's top scorer was Oisín Gallen, with 1–56.
Team changes The following teams changed division since the 2022 championship season.
To S.F.C. Promoted from 2022 Donegal I.F.C. An Clochán Liath - (I.F.C. Champions)
From S.F.C. Relegated to 2023 Donegal I.F.C. Réalt na Mara
League phase +TeamQualification or relegation1Aodh Ruadh Ballyshannon44004426 +188Advance to quarter-finals2St Eunan's43016226 +3773Naomh Conaill43016036 +2474Cill Chartha43016549 +1675Gleann tSúilí43106348 +156Advance to preliminary quarter-finals6Gaoth Dobhair43105040 +1167Seán Mac Cumhaills42116359 +458Cloich Cheann Fhaola42205049 +149Ard an Rátha42204471 -27410Four Masters41214043 -3311An Clochán Liath41304352 -9212Gleann Fhinne41304458 -14213St Naul's41305267 -152Advance to relegation playoff14St Michael's40312846 -18115Na Cealla Beaga40404363 -20016Milford40403857 -190
Preliminary quarter-finals Teams ranked 5–12 were paired up based on league phase ranking for the preliminary quarter-finals, which were played at neutral venues
Quarter-finals Controversially, there was no seeding used for the draw to determine the quarter-final pairings. This resulted in the clubs that had finished in the top four being drawn to play each other. Another issue was that two of the quarter-finals were played simultaneously, while the choice of neutral venues for this stage of the championship was also problematic, with certain clubs alleging that they had to travel further than their opponent to arrive at the venue.
St Eunan's defeated Aodh Ruadh by 1–13 to 2–5 in Convoy, while Gaoth Dobhair defeated Ard an Rátha by 5–14 to 3–11 in Falcarragh. Seán Mac Cumhaills had a surprise 1–17 to 1–14 victory against Glenswilly at O'Donnell Park (a game in which Oisín Gallen scored 1–9 of his club's total), while Naomh Conaill defeated Cill Chartha by 4–7 to 0–9 at Eamonn Byrne Memorial Park.
Semi-finals The draw for the semi-finals was held in Killybegs on 1 October 2023, following the conclusion of the Naomh Conaill and Cill Chartha quarter-final at Eamonn Byrne Memorial Park.
Naomh Conaill and St Eunan's were paired together in one semi-final, in what was a repeat of the 2022 final. The clubs had previously met in the Round 2 fixture held in Glenties, with that game ending level (0-9 for each). Naomh Conaill used 19 players in their semi-final, with 11 of those due to be at least 30 years old by the end of 2023.
Gaoth Dobhair and Seán Mac Cumhaills were paired together in the other semi-final. The clubs had previously met in the Round 1 fixture held at Magheragallon, which Gaoth Dobhair won 1–16 to 0–11.
Final Road to the final
Naomh Conaill Round 1: Na Cealla Beaga 1–5 Naomh Conaill 3–12
Round 2: Naomh Conaill 0–9 St Eunan's 0–9
Round 3: Milford 0–8 Naomh Conaill 1–12
Round 4 Naomh Conaill 0–15 Glenswilly 2–5
Quarter-final: Naomh Conaill 4–7 Cill Chartha 0–9
Semi-final: Naomh Conaill 0–11 St Eunan's 0–9
Gaoth Dobhair Round 1: Gaoth Dobhair 1–16 Seán Mac Cumhaills 0–10
Round 2: Aodh Ruadh 2–8 Gaoth Dobhair 0–9
Round 3: Gaoth Dobhair 1–10 Cloich Cheann Fhaola 0–8
Round 4: An Clochán Liath 0–8 Gaoth Dobhair 0–9
Preliminary quarter-final: An Clochán Liath 1–6 Gaoth Dobhair 0–10
Quarter-final: Ard an Rátha 3–11 Gaoth Dobhair 5–14
Semi-final:
Pre-match This was the first time the teams had met at this stage of the competition since the 2019 final, when three games were required to determine a winner. While the Naomh Conaill team was much the same, Gaoth Dobhair's team had changed much in that time. Ronan Mac Niallais was in his first year as manager of Gaoth Dobhair.
Naomh Conaill entered the game as the favourites.
Ahead of the game Marty Boyle, Stephen McGrath, Anthony Thompson, Leo McLoone and Eoin Waide were recognised for each making a 100th club championship appearance. McGrath finished the seven games with four clean sheets.
Match details Naomh Conaill, making a seventh consecutive appearance in the final, won a seventh title. If the two replays required to decide the 2019 title are counted, then the club was playing in its ninth final in seven years.
With a half-time lead of seven points, Naomh Conaill had ten different players scoring in the game. It was the club's fourth title in five years, meaning that their only championship defeat since the 2018 final was against St Eunan's in the 2021 final.
Ulster Senior Club Football Championship
Naomh Conaill advanced to the 2023 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship.
The club was drawn to play Gowna in the quarter-final. Naomh Conaill entered the match as favourite and duly delivered victory at Breffni Park, with Gowna conceding a late free which resulted in a goal scored with nearly the last kick of the match.
Relegation Milford lost the relegation battle after St Naul's won the final.
Relegation playoff semi-finals
Relegation playoff final
Gradam Shéamuis Mhic Géidigh On 13 December 2023, Oisín Gallen was named as the recipient of the annual Gradam Shéamuis Mhic Géidigh. RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta announced the decision. The award was given to Gallen on the same evening.
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