He captained his county in 2005, Brian McIver's first season in charge; as well as in 2006, when Donegal contested the Ulster SFC final.[4][5]
Along with his fellow club mate Colm McFadden, he would have been considered one of the mature elder statesman of the Donegal senior football panel, until his retirement from inter-county football in 2017.[6]
Toye and Colm McFadden were in the same class at primary school; they played in (and won) the Ted Webb under-16 tournament, the same year they were part of the county minor team.[8]
He started the first game of Brian McEniff's last spell as Donegal manager, a league defeat to Galway in Tuam in February 2003.[9]
Toye burst onto the national scene with goals in the Championship against Meath in 2002 and Armagh in 2003, both at Croke Park.[10] The goal against Armagh, in the 2003 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final, was the first goal conceded by the then reigning All-Ireland SFC champions in eight championship games going back to the previous year's semi-final, and gave Donegal a half-time lead; Toye accompanied it with a point but Donegal lost the game.[11] He played for Donegal against Armagh in the 2004 Ulster SFC final at Croke Park, but went off injured and was replaced by Rory Kavanagh.[12] He captained Donegal in the 2006 Ulster SFC final, against the same opponent, at the same venue.[5] He was a member of the Donegal team that won the National Football League title in 2007, playing from the start to the end in the final against Mayo.[13]
In 2009, while in the form of his life, Toye ruptured his Achilles tendon during an All-Ireland SFC qualifier against Clare at MacCumhaill Park.[10] He was left as a spectator when Armagh knocked Donegal from the 2010 Championship in Crossmaglen.[10] However, Toye returned the following season, rejuvenated by the arrival of Jim McGuinness as manager. He did not feature in the NFL or Ulster SFC campaign, but was sprung from the bench in the 2011 All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against Kildare at Croke Park. Within 25 seconds of his first appearance in 25 months, he had the ball in the back of the Kildare net, later making a further vital contribution by scoring the final equalising point of a game which Donegal went on to narrowly win through a memorable point from Kevin Cassidy in extra-time.[10] Toye had previously scored a goal for Donegal at Croke Park in the 2003 All-Ireland SFC semi-final.[14] Indeed, with four goals, Toye is Donegal's record goalscorer at Croke Park — one goal each against Meath (2002), Armagh (2003), Cork (2006), and Kildare (2011).[15] He also scored a goal in the 2015 All-Ireland SFC qualifier defeat of Galway at Croke Park, finishing into the corner of the net in injury-time.[16]
In January 2017, Toye retired from the inter-county game.[22]
Club
Toye'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 Toye scored three points.[23][24]
^ abMcNulty, Chris (1 February 2013). "Roisin follows a proud tradition". Donegal News. Retrieved 1 February 2013. Seven years after her cousin Christy — son of her aunt, Rosemary — took the armband during Brian McIver's first year in Donegal…
^O'Kane, Cahair (23 May 2022). "McCole finding his way". The Irish News. Retrieved 23 May 2022. In captaining the team, McCole added his name to those of Jim McGuinness and Christy Toye as winning Sigerson captains to hail from Donegal.
^"Awesome Armagh destroy Donegal". RTÉ Sport. 11 July 2004. Retrieved 11 July 2004. Rory Kavanagh replaced the injured Christy Toye just before the break as two more McKeever points extended Armagh's lead to eight — 1–9 to 0–4.
^Foley, Alan (23 August 2011). "A Toye's own story". Donegal Democrat. Retrieved 23 August 2011. The goal was the 28-year-old's fourth at Croke Park in championship football — following strikes against Meath in 2002, Armagh a year later and then Cork in 2006 — which is a feat matched by no man from the county.
^Craig, Frank (7 January 2022). "Langan: We're very close to clicking". Gaelic Life. Retrieved 7 January 2022. In such a structured environment, there is often very little room or even encouragement in modern Gaelic football for improvisation or off-the-cuff individualism. But Langan is a throwback to a different time. Even in Jim McGuinness'[sic] often rigid template, if things weren't going to plan Christy Toye's instinctive genius was often summoned for… 'There are some comparisons made between myself and Christy, we have a sort of languid style. We do like to play off the cuff. But I think that is just having belief in yourself to take on responsibility if the half chance presents itself. Christy did that so many times for Donegal over the years'. Also published as "We're very close to clicking — Langan" in the Donegal News of 30 December 2021: p 54.