Fixtures

Ulster Football 04/20 17:15 - Derry vs Donegal View

Results

NFL Division 1 03/31 15:00 - Dublin v Derry 2.21(27)- 3.18(27)
NHL Division 2 03/30 17:30 - Derry v Tyrone View
NFL Division 1 03/24 13:45 - Derry v Roscommon View
NFL Division 1 03/17 15:45 - Mayo v Derry 2.13(19)-3.15(24)
NHL Division 2 03/17 13:00 - Derry v Roscommon View
NHL Division 2 03/10 13:00 - Wicklow v Derry View
NFL Division 1 03/02 17:00 - Derry v Dublin 1.11(14)-1.16(19)
NFL Division 1 02/25 13:45 - Galway v Derry 1.11(14)-3.10(19)
NFL Division 1 02/17 17:00 - Derry v Monaghan View
NFL Division 1 02/04 15:45 - Derry v Tyrone 1.12(15)-0.9(9)
NFL Division 1 01/27 17:30 - Kerry v Derry 2.8(14)-0.15(15)
Provincial Football Cups 01/20 17:00 - Derry v Donegal View

The Derry county football team represents Derry GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association, in the Gaelic sport of football. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Ulster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.

Derry's home ground is Celtic Park. The team's manager is Rory Gallagher.

The team last won the Ulster Senior Championship in 2022, the All-Ireland Senior Championship in 1993 and the National League in 2008.

The team is nicknamed the Oak Leafers.

History

Team of Derry that won the national league championship in 1947

In 1947, Derry won the National Football League. The group leaders were invited to play in the League semi-finals because heavy snow had disrupted the competition. Francie Niblock scored one of the finest goals in League history in Croke Park as Derry beat Clare.

In 1958, the county won its first Ulster Senior Football Championship (SFC) and secured a surprise victory in that year's All-Ireland semi-final, beating Kerry thanks to a Sean O'Connell goal three minutes from the end. In the final, Derry scored a goal ten minutes into the second half through Owen Gribben, but Dublin secured victory with goals scored by Paddy Farnan and Johnny Joyce.

In 1965, the Derry minor team won the All-Ireland Minor Championship, and three years later, at under-21 level, the bulk of that team captured the All-Ireland Under 21 Championship. Derry won the Ulster Senior Championship three times in the 1970s (1970, 1975 and 1976), but failed to advance past the All-Ireland semi-final stage on each occasion. In 1973, Anthony McGurk became the first player from Derry to receive an All Star Award.

The 1980s saw the county win two further All-Ireland Minor Championships (1983 and 1989) and their fifth Ulster Senior Championship (1987).

The 1990s proved to be the county's most successful decade. They won the county's second National League title in 1992, before winning the Ulster Championship and a first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1993. Derry won back-to-back National Leagues in 1995 and 1996, and the under-21 team won the 1997 All-Ireland Under-21 Championship. In 1998, Derry won another Ulster Senior Championship. In 2008, the Derry side of the 1990s was rated as one of the best of the previous twenty years and would have achieved more were it not for several unexpected defeats such as to Down in 1994, Tyrone in 1995 and Cavan in 1997.

The Derry team ahead of the 2009 National League Final

Derry won the 2000 National League and the county's minor team won their fourth All-Ireland Minor Championship in 2002. Derry won the 2008 National League, their sixth in all. Since then they have been overshadowed in the Ulster Senior Championship by the emergence of Tyrone and Donegal. Derry topped Division 2 of the NFL in 2013 and returned to Division 1 for the 2014 season.

Manager Damian Barton was banned after involving himself in an on-field fight in 2016.

Derry were relegated to Division 4 in 2018.

Joe Brolly wrote in August 2020 that Derry seriously debate whether to field a team in the Senior Football Championship as their presence in league and championship has been similar to that of Kilkenny, who concentrate on hurling instead. Derry won the 2022 Ulster SFC, for the first time in 24 years, and progressed to a 2022 All-Ireland SFC semi-final for the first time in donkey's years. So much for Joe Brolly.