Martin McElhinney


Martin McElhinney is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Naomh Mícheál and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team.
Among other accolades, he has one All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and four Ulster Senior Football Championships to his name. He is from Creeslough.

Playing career

Club and college

McElhinney's club reached the final of the 2011 Donegal Senior Football Championship— their first ever senior final—but lost, though McElhinney scored during the game.
McElhinney also played for DCU.

Inter-county

McElhinney scored two goals for Donegal at Croke Park in the 2006 Ulster Minor Football Championship Final, which Donegal won.
He made his debut at senior inter-county level under the management of Brian McIver in 2007.
By the time of Jim McGuinness's arrival as manager, McElhinney was still part of the team. Against Derry in the 2011 Ulster Senior Football Championship final, Rory Kavanagh went off injured late in the first half and McElhinney replaced him. In the 2012 Ulster final against Down, his appearance as a second-half substitute was credited with being vital to the victory. He started Donegal's next game, a comprehensive All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final defeat of Kerry at Croke Park. He came on as a second-half substitute for Patrick McBrearty in the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, won by Donegal. He was treated like a VIP when himself and Maxi Curran brought the Sam Maguire Cup to Mulroy College in Milford.
McElhinney started Rory Gallagher's first match in charge of the county, a 2015 Dr McKenna Cup away defeat to Derry.
Under the management of Declan Bonner, McElhinney made his 100th appearance for Donegal against Cavan in the 2019 Dr McKenna Cup. Following Donegal's victory over Armagh in the 2019 National Football League, McElhinney informed Bonner of his decision to withdraw from inter-county football. He had been an unused substitute in that game and the game before, though he had played in three earlier games of that year's league.

Honours

;Donegal