Colm McFadden

Colm McFadden (Irish: Colm Mac Pháidín; born 1982/1983) is a Gaelic footballer who plays at full forward for Naomh Mícheál and Donegal. He is Donegal's all-time leading scorer and most-capped Championship player.^[1] He played an integral role in Donegal's successful 2011-2014 run of matches, starting every Championship game in that period.

Among other accolades, he has one All Star to his name (2012), one All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (2012), three Ulster Senior Football Championships (2011, 2012 and 2014) and one National Football League (2007). Top scorer in the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, he was subsequently shortlisted for All Stars Footballer of the Year, but the award went to team-mate Karl Lacey.

Early life

In 2000, McFadden was part of the victorious Saint Eunan's College team that brought the McLarnon Cup back to the school for a third time, the first win since 1979.^[2][3] His words of advice also helped the College to reclaim the McLarnon Cup in 2007, and to go on to compete in the All-Ireland B Colleges Final, which they subsequently lost.

That 2000 final victory over St Columb's of Derry at Casement Park has been described as "arguably the match that catapulted him to people's attention outside of Donegal". He scored a late goal to give the College victory by a scoreline of 1-11 to 1-9, 1-8 of which McFadden scored himself.^[2]

Soon he was off to the National University of Ireland, Galway, where he studied Financial Maths and Economics. There he won the All-Ireland Freshers and, two years after that, the Sigerson Cup, with the final held at Cork's Páirc Uí Rinn. He took his Postgraduate Certificate in Education at Liverpool Hope University, discussing football with a fellow teacher (and semi-professional footballer with a Conference team – name forgotten) during teaching practice at St Catherine's in Edge Hill.^[2]

Inter-county

Early years: 2002 - 2006

McFadden made his senior championship debut for Donegal in 2002. That year, Donegal drew against Dublin by a scoreline of 0-14 to 2-8 in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final held on August Bank Holiday Monday, Dublin eventually winning the replay. In the 2003 Championship, Donegal defeated Galway, the All-Ireland champions of two years previous, in the All-Ireland quarter-final replay at McHale Park in Castlebar. That victory qualified them for a semi-final against reigning All-Ireland Senior Football Champions Armagh, whom Donegal led with 14 men (after Raymond Sweeney was harshly sent off for a second yellow card) until a last minute penalty from Oisín McConville led to Donegal losing the game by a scoreline of 2-10 to 1-9. In the 2004 Championship, McFadden was the star against Tyrone in the Ulster semi-final but did not do as well against Armagh in the final at Croke Park.^[4] And so ended the high points of McFadden's early inter-county career.^[2] He missed the 2006 Championship due to his studies in Liverpool.^[5]

Middle years: 2007 - 2010

McFadden would return to play a vital part in the Donegal team that won their first National Football League title in 2007.^[6] He scored three points in the final against Mayo.^[7]

McFadden was asked by Donegal County Board officials to receive a presentation on his 100th inter-county appearance, a presentation the player thought inappropriate in light of a bruising defeat in the Ulster Senior Football Championship during which he had been replaced by Adrian Hanlon, of all people. RTÉ's television cameras caught McFadden grinning ironically at the timing of such a request - but all irony was lost in the scramble to condemn the player's attitude. McFadden considered retiring amid all the furore, the misunderstanding, the calls for his head.^[2]

Later years: 2011 - 2016

2011 brought the dawning of the Jim McGuinness managerial era, the most successful in the county's history. McFadden won his first Ulster title and Donegal progressed to an All-Ireland semi-final that year.^[8][9]

2012 would prove to be McFadden's most successful season for Donegal.^[10] In helping Donegal to back-to-back Ulster titles in 2011-2012, McFadden became the first Donegal footballer to twice finish top scorer in the Ulster Championship.^[11] He scored an unusual goal in the seventh minute of Donegal's All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final defeat of Kerry at Croke Park, later describing it as "fortunate".^[12] He was also involved in the semi-final victory over Cork.^[13] Then he scored Donegal's second goal of the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. Patrick McBrearty's attempt at scoring a point came crashing off the Mayo post after eleven minutes of the game, and Mayo's Kevin Keane fumbled, dropping the ball into the path of Colm McFadden who promptly slotted it into the back of the net.^[14][15] His goal helped Donegal win the Sam Maguire Cup and McFadden later added an All Star and was named 2012 Ulster GAA Player of the Year.^[16] He was shortlisted for All Stars Footballer of the Year, but the award went to team-mate Karl Lacey.^[17]

McFadden made his 51st championship appearance against Derry in the Ulster quarter-final on 25 May 2014, a team record which had until then been held by Michael Hegarty.^[18] McFadden's appearance in the 2014 Ulster final against Monaghan was his 152nd overall for Donegal, second only to Brian Roper's 159, and McFadden won his third Ulster title at the end.^[19] On August 06, 2016 McFadden announced his retirement from Inter-County football following Donegal's exit from the championship in the hands of Dublin.^[20] He retired with a total of 170 appearances for Donegal, 64 of those in the Championship, having scored a county record 25-434.^[21]

Personal life

McFadden was educated and is now a teacher at Saint Eunan's College in Letterkenny,^[22] where the success of the 2012 Donegal senior football team has lifted the spirits of staff, including mathematical whiz Edward Harvey - seen on RTÉ with an enormous grin on his face at the end of the semi-final against Cork. McFadden told the Irish Examiner, "Eddie Harvey said to me last year when he was in the leisure centre, he'd pop into the jacuzzi and everyone would be talking doom and gloom and the recession. Last summer and this year too, he said he could go in there and all anyone would talk about was football. It's great to hear."^[23]

McFadden is also manager of the school team.^[24] He is 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) and weighs 14 st 3 lb (90 kg).

McFadden's brother-in-law is his manager, Jim McGuinness. He married Levina Wilkie. Their daughter Maisie was born in April 2012.^[2] Their son Matthew was born in June 2013.^[25]

Club

McFadden's club have not had much success at senior level. They reached the final of the 2011 Donegal Senior Football Championship— their first ever senior final—but lost, though McFadden scored three points including one free.^[26][27]

Honours

• 1 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (2012)
• 3 Ulster Senior Football Championships (2011, 2012, 2014)
• 1 National Football League Division 1 (2007)

Individual

• 1 All Star (2012)
• 1 Irish News Ulster Player of the Year (2012)^[2]
• 1 The Sunday Game Team of the Year (2012)^[28]

References

External links

• Official profile
• Colm McFadden at gaainfo.com