Declan Bonner (born 1965) is a Gaelic footballer and manager. He was a member of the Donegal county team which won the 105th All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1992, defeating favourites Dublin by 4 points.

Thank-you to Declan Bonner’s brother, Aidan Bonner, for providing this testimonial and photos:

The Bonner Family

It was Sunday the 20th September 1992. The whole of Donegal was awash with green and gold. The reason being? Donegal mens’ senior football team were in the All-Ireland Final for the first time in their history, playing against Dublin for the coveted Sam Maguire Cup. For the people of Doochary, it was an extra special day as one of their own, Declan Bonner, a former pupil of Scoil Náisiúnta na Dúchoradh, was a member of the team. While Declan’s 4 brothers; Sean, Michael, Donal and Aidan were in Dublin to cheer on their brother and the Donegal team, Declan’s proud parents Bridie and Dan stayed behind to watch the final at home with relatives and neighbours. For Dan, what was unfolding was a lifelong dream.

That’s because it was from his father that Declan had first got his love of the game. Dan was born in the townland of Comeen, outside of Doochary. Dan was one of eight children. His parents were John Bonner and Bridget Bonner. Dan’s mother was a sister of the well-know MacGrianna (Greene) writers; Seamus , Seosaimh and Sean Ban from Rannafast. Dan attended school in Doochary with his brothers and sisters and later he went to Glenties Secondary School. It was at Glenties school where he was approached by a teacher to try out for the school team. Never having played before that, he reluctantly agreed and won a place on the team, his love for football was born.

Dan would go on to play senior with Dungloe, where he won two senior championship medals in 1957 & 1958 (this was the last time Dungloe would win the senior championship) and he would also be a prominent fixture at full back for the Donegal senior GAA team. After retiring from football, Dan would meet Bridie (also Bonner) from Derryhenny. They married in 1962 and settled in Derryhenny where they would raise their 5 sons. Bridie’s father was a well known builder in the area, Patrick Bonner, who was a builder on the Halla Naomh Bríde in Lettermacaward. Her mother Mary hailed from Lettermacaward.

Dan’s love for GAA remained and he would manage the local club Na Rossa and multiple under-age teams down through the years. While he never pushed his love of the game on his 5 sons, he did however land home from work one evening with a football in hand which he proceeded to roll out in the middle of the kitchen floor amongst his sons. The first impromptu GAA match had begun as the boys clambered for the ball. From that moment, the house was never without a ball.

Years later, the 5 boys would be on the winning Na Rossa team to win their first Intermediate football final in 1989. Dan was a proud man when his oldest son Sean, and Declan, followed him into the ranks of the Donegal Senior Team.

He was even prouder still on that sunny September day, as the teams took to the field at Croke Park for the All-Ireland Final. Nobody outside of Donegal were giving them a chance to beat Dublin, but against all odds Donegal won on a scoreline of 18pts to 14pts. And the scorer of that final point? You guessed it, Derryhenny and Doochary’s own Declan Bonner. For Declan’s brothers at the game and for his parents, family and friends at home, the feeling of pride and joy was immeasurable.

Little did Dan know on that evening many years earlier, as he rolled a football amongst his 5 young sons that he would be sitting watching one of them lift the famous Sam Maguire cup. And what also made this extra special, the 20th of September was also Dan’s birthday!