Columba McDyer

Columba McDyer
Personal information
Irish name Colm Mac Duibhir
Sport Gaelic football
Position Centre half-forward
Born Kilraine, County Donegal, Ireland
Occupation Teacher of Construction Studies
Club(s)
Years Club
?–?
 Glenties
Inter-county(ies)
Years County
1942–1947
 Cavan
Donegal
Inter-county titles
Ulster titles 3
All-Irelands 1
NFL 0
All Stars 0

Columba McDyer (13 January 1921 – 18 September 2001)[1] was a Gaelic footballer who played for Cavan and Donegal.

Playing career

McDyer was from Glenties, and played as a centre half-forward. He played with the Cavan team that won the 1947 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final at the Polo Grounds in New York City. This resulted in him becoming the first Donegal man to win an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medal.[citation needed]

Following his success with Cavan, McDyer returned to Donegal and his native Glenties where he coached the Donegal senior team for a number of years. He also collected a Railway Cup medal with Ulster in 1942 and he also played in the same competition with Connacht.[2][3]

Managerial career

McDyer managed Donegal. He was also an early influence on Jim McGuinness, Donegal's future All-Ireland winning manager. McGuinness described him as "an absolute gentleman to the fingertips, very well-educated… a very gentle, bubbly person".[4]

Honours

McDyer was inducted into the Donegal Sports Star Awards' Hall of Fame in 1987.[5]

References

  1. ^ "rootsweb". Archived from the original on 3 January 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  2. ^ "Celebrating 125 years of Footballing Excellence in Ulster: 125 - Donegal Player List". Irishnews125.blogspot.com. 13 February 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  3. ^ "Legendary Glenties Footballer". Glenties.ie. 10 August 2007. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  4. ^ Lawlor, Damian (16 September 2012). "Managing to move forward: Jim McGuinness has restored the belief to Donegal and his job is not finished yet". Sunday Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 16 September 2012. A Glenties man whose work as a schoolteacher had taken him around the country, McDyer was an All-Ireland winner with Cavan in the Polo Grounds in 1947 before coming back to live on home soil and later manage the Donegal team.
  5. ^ McNulty, Chris (17 January 2018). "Brian McEniff to enter Donegal Sports Star Awards Hall of Fame". Retrieved 17 January 2018. Among the other names from Gaelic Football to be inducted into the Hall of Fame include Tom Farren, Buncrana (1978); Bernard Coyle, Gweedore (1980); Columba McDyer, Glenties (1987); Hugh Tim Boyle (1990); Mick Melly, Ballyshannon (1991), Jim Gallagher Ballyshannon (2000),[sic]