Anthony Molloy

Anthony Molloy (born 28 May 1962) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for Ard an Rátha and the Donegal county team.

He was born on 28 May 1962.

Molloy won the Under-14 Championship with his club in 1976.

He played during the 1982 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship, which Donegal won.

Molloy went on to play for his county at senior level for twelve years, amassing 123 appearances.

He played senior football for Donegal from 1982 until 1994.

Molloy played against Cavan in the 1983 Ulster final, won by Donegal.

Molloy also won two New York Senior Football Championships in 1986 and 1992, while playing for Donegal New York.

By the end of his playing days, Molloy had been left with a troublesome left knee.

It had no joint left, simply bone on bone.

Molloy described it, in the Sean Potts-edited book Voices from Croke Park: The Stories of 12 GAA heroes, as being "riddled with arthritis".

County team doctor Austin O'Kennedy regarded it as being one of the worst knees he had ever seen.

He played against Armagh in the 1990 Ulster final, won by Donegal.

He was the captain that year.

He captained Donegal to the Sam Maguire Cup in 1992.

Molloy is from Leamagowra.

This is a small townland on the way over Glengesh Pass on the way towards Glencolmcille.

In 1992, he was living at 61 Conlin Road in Killybegs.

He is the uncle of C. J. Molloy.

Molloy captained Donegal to the 1992 All-Ireland title.

He famously exclaimed "Sam's for the hills" as he did so.

His speech is still held in high regard within the sport nationally.

He would win an All Star in 1992 as well.

Molloy managed the county minor team to an Ulster Minor Football Championship title in 1996.

Molloy, assisted by Naomh Columba's Michael Oliver McIntyre and Paddy McBride of Downings, also led the team to the 1996 Ulster Minor Football League title.

Molloy was mentioned as a possible successor to P. J. McGowan as manager in 1997 in a dual role with Tom Conaghan.

He withdrew and Declan Bonner became manager.

He was managing his local club in 2007.

He has also been assistant manager.

Molloy has also managed the Naomh Columba club.

Molloy had surgery on "seven or eight" occasions, before having his knee replaced at the Mater Private in October 2008.

He funded the earlier operations with his own insurance.

However, the €22,000 owed for the replacement was nearly double the maximum allowed by his insurance and this led to Molloy receiving solicitors' letters from the hospital.

He expressed disappointment at the lack of interest from the Donegal County Board in resolving the issue.

Molloy contacted his former manager Brian McEniff; McEniff contacted GAA Director General Páraic Duffy and eventually the GAA paid "the outstanding amount".

Immediately following Donegal's All-Ireland semi-final victory over Cork in 2012, manager Jim McGuinness had Molloy deliver a message to the players beneath the Hogan Stand in Croke Park.

Captain Michael Murphy later described it: "'Seize the opportunity' was pretty much the message he gave us. We're still trying to live by those words now; in every game we play we're living in the present, trying to grab the chance. Molloy didn't beat around the bush when he came in. He warned us that there was no point in us living with the false hope that it would all be quiet, but that we needed to be ourselves. His big message was about seizing the opportunity and how they thought after '92 that they'd win more".

When Donegal won the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, Molloy raised the hand of Murphy at the local homecoming event, where Paddy McGrath and Pat Shovelin also featured.

In December 2019, a niece of his was killed while working as a nurse in the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

She was also his goddaughter.