Donegal are looking for a new senior gaelic football manager following confirmation on Wednesday evening that Declan Bonner is stepping down from his role after five years in charge.
Bonner presented his end-of-season report to delegates at Wednesday’s county board meeting in Convoy – and spoke to the media afterwards.
He informed the players of his decision in advance of the meeting.
Bonner spoke to Ocean FM Sport’s Ciaran Cannon after Wednesday evening’s county board meeting – and cited the Ulster final loss to Cavan in 2020 as his biggest disappointment.
He also described social media as a ‘scurge’ when it came to coverage of the county team during his tenure.
In all, Bonner had two stints as manager of Donegal, first in the late 1990s and then again in 2017.
During this second term, he guided Donegal to back-to-back Ulster senior titles in 2018 and 2019 as well as Division 2 league and McKenna Cup titles.
This season, Donegal were beaten by Derry in the Ulster football final and then Armagh in the qualifiers, a team they had beaten in the Ulster quarter-final.
Below is the text of Declan Bonner’s statement on Wednesday night:
I am stepping down with immediate effect from my role as Donegal Senior football manager. It has been a great honour to manage this team over the past 5 years, as it was to manage the teams from u16 level up in the 5 years before that. Highlights from my time in the role include competing in 4 Ulster finals and winning 2 of these, back to back, in 2018 and 2019. I am proud to leave the team playing league football in Allianz League Division 1 next year.
I would like to thank each and every player involved with the team over the past 5 years as well as every member of the management team during this period. Their commitment and work ethic was inspiring and working with them has been a privilege. Thank you to the County Board for their support throughout and in particular, our chairperson Mick McGrath for his support. We didn’t always agree on everything but both of us always had the best interest of Donegal at heart.
Club is the heart of the GAA and I would like to thank all 40 clubs in Donegal, in particular my own club Na Rossa who have been a brilliant support to me always. I would also like to thank the genuine Donegal supporters, most of whom I know personally. Many have travelled the length and breadth of the country with the team and I know they will be back in the stands and terraces supporting the team next year.
Thank you to my wife Catherine and our family Amara, Christian, Arianna and Cillian for their patience and support always.
Declan Bonner.
