Anthony Tohill

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Anthony Tohill
Personal information
Sport Gaelic football
Irish Name Antóin Ó Tuathail
Date of birth August 2, 1971 (1971-08-02) (age 36)
Place of birth County Londonderry
, Northern Ireland
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Nickname(s) Saint Anthony
Occupation Civil Servant, Television Pundit
Club information
Club Swatragh
Position Midfield
Club(s)*
Club Years Apps (scores)
Swatragh ?-? ?
Inter-County
County Derry
Position Midfield
Inter-County(ies)**
County Years Apps (scores)
Derry 1991?-2003 (4-121 (133)[1])
Senior Inter-County Titles
Ulster Titles 2
All-Ireland 1
NFL 4
All Stars 4

* club appearances and scores
correct as of .
**Inter County team apps and scores correct
as of .

Anthony Tohill (Irish: Antóin Ó Tuathail; born 2 August 1971) is a former Irish sportsman who played Gaelic football for the Derry in the 1990s and early 2000s. He was part of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland Championship winning side, also winning Ulster Senior Football Championships in 1993 and 1998. Tohill won four All Stars during his career. Tohill was a key part of the Derry side that won the National Football League on four occasions in nine years (1992, 1995, 1996 and 2000). He played club football with Michael Davitt's GAC Swatragh.

Despite his role as the midfield anchor throughout his career, he is in the top ten all-time scorers in Ulster Inter-county football, even though most of his playing was done at a time when all teams could expect a lot less matches than they do now.[2] Tohill has won five Irish News Ulster All-Star awards since its inception in 1995 (1995, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2001) and was named midfield on the Irish News Team of the Decade in 2004.[3] Tohill represented Ireland in many International Rules Series and was captain of the victorious 2001 team.

Contents

[edit] Personal life

Tohill was born in Swatagh and is the son of Hugh and Eileen Tohill. He has three brothers and four sisters.[4] His brother Hugh Martin was also on the panel of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland winning team. Tohill attended St. John's Primary School in the village. Tohill is currently a pundit for RTÉ's The Sunday Game GAA coverage.

[edit] Career

[edit] Inter-county

Tohill played a prominent part in the 1989 Ulster Minor and All-Ireland Minor Football Championship winning Derry Minor team. After leaving school Tohill spent some time as an under-age player in Australian Rules football in Melbourne. He returned home in 1991 to concentrate on Gaelic football.

Tohill was part of Derry's National League winning team in 1992, scoring a late goal and a point to secure vicotry over Tyrone. That year he won his first All Star award for his performances during the year. In 1993 he won the Ulster Championship with Derry, before going on to win the 1993 All-Ireland Championship after a semi-final victory over Dublin and final defeat of Cork. He again was awarded an All Star.

Derry won back-to-back National Leagues in 1995 and 1996, with Tohill being prominent on both sides. Despite Derry only playing two Championship games in 1995, he was awarded his third All Star award. Tohill and Derry finished runners-up to Offaly in the 1998 National League decider.[5] He added a second Ulster Championship medal in 1998, before losing out to Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. Tohill captained Derry to another National League title in 2000 and received his fourth All-Star that year. Tohill won Footballer of the Year at the 2000 Ulster GAA Writer's Association Awards.[6] He exited the county scene in 2003.[7]

[edit] Club

Tohill played a major role in Swatragh's run to the 1993 Derry Championship final. The game was played on St. Stephen's Day in the snow at Glenullin. Lavey narrowly defeated the Swatragh side. Tohill was top scorer in the 1993 Derry Championship with 2-26 (32 points). Prior to this he was part of Swatragh's first ever Derry Minor Championship winning side in 1988.[4]

[edit] School and college

Tohill won MacRory Cups and one Hogan Cups with his school St. Patrick’s College Maghera.[8] He was also part of the 1993 Queens University Belfast team that won the Sigerson Cup. He was top scorer in the final with 0-06.[9]

[edit] Provincial

Tohill won five Railway Cup medals with Ulster.

[edit] International Rules

In 2001, Tohill captained Ireland in their victorious International Rules tour of Australia following many years of representing the country in the series.[10] He has since moved into the backrooms of the international setup, under manager Sean Boylan.[11]

[edit] Soccer

Tohill played soccer for Derry City,[12] and Manchester United Reserves, during a two-week trial at the club in 1995.[13]

[edit] Honours

[edit] County

[edit] Club

[edit] Province

  • Railway Cup - Winner (5?): 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, more?

[edit] College

[edit] Individual

  • All Star - Winner (4): 1992, 1993, 1995, 2000
  • All Star - Nominated (runner up): ????
  • Irish News Ulster All Stars Team of the Decade (1995-2004) - Winner
  • Irish News Ulster GAA All-Star - Winner (5): 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001
  • Derry Senior football captain

Note: The above lists may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Championship games only.
  2. ^ Hotshot Oisin moving closer. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
  3. ^ Team of the Decade. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
  4. ^ a b Young Anthony Is The Jewel In The Crown. Hogan Stand. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  5. ^ "Lyons' pride pass tough test of character to land League", Irish Examiner, 1998-04-27. Retrieved on 2008-04-06. 
  6. ^ Ulster GAA Writer's Association Awards - 2000. Retrieved on 2007-09-11.
  7. ^ McCusker, Fergal. "23 fans, 17 players, One memorable win", County Derry Post, 2008-04-08. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. 
  8. ^ Queen's Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 2007-08-28.
  9. ^ Sigerson Cup Roll of Honour - Top Scorers. Retrieved on 2008-01-08.
  10. ^ Tohill to lead Irish Down Under. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
  11. ^ May 11: Coca Cola International Rules Manager Announced. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
  12. ^ Celtic pack the Brandywell. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
  13. ^ Neil Lennon tips Armagh. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
Gaelic games
Preceded by
Kieran McKeever		 Derry senior
football captain
1999-2002		 Succeeded by
Enda Muldoon
v • d • e
Derry Panel: 1993 All-Ireland Final

1 D McCusker | 2 K McKeever | 3 T Scullion | 4 F McCusker | 5 J McGurk | 6 H Downey | 7 G Coleman | 8 A Tohill | 9 B McGilligan | 10 D Heaney | 11 D Barton | 12 D Cassidy | 13 J Brolly | 14 S Downey  | 15 E Gormley |
Subs: D McNicholl for D Cassidy | É Burns for S Downey
Manager:É Coleman 
(Team as of September 1993 versus Cork)
v • d • e
Irish News Ulster All Stars Team of the Decade (1995-2004)
1 M. McVeigh  2 K. McKeever  3 T. Scullion  4 S.M. Lockhart  5 D. Diver  6 K. McGeeney  7 P. McFlynn  8 A. Tohill  9 S. Cavanagh  10 B. Dooher  11 G. Blaney  12 O. McConville  13 M. Linden  14 P. Canavan  15 S. McDonnell