| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||
| Position | Midfield | ||
| Born | (1971-08-02)2 August 1971 (age 53) Swatragh,County Londonderry, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||
| Nickname | Saint Anthony | ||
| Occupation | company director | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
1989–200x | Swatragh | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
1991–2003[2] | Derry | ? (4–121 (133))[1] | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Ulster titles | 2 | ||
| All-Irelands | 1 | ||
| NFL | 4 | ||
| All Stars | 4 | ||
Anthony Tohill (born 2 August 1971) is anIrish formerGaelic footballer who played for theDerry county team in the 1990s and early 2000s.
He is a former chief executive of theMid Ulster District Council.[3]
Tohill was born inSwatragh, a son of Hugh and Eileen Tohill. He has three brothers and four sisters.[4] His brother, Hugh Martin Tohill, was also on the panel of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland winning team.[citation needed] His sister, Aileen,[5] has had a very successfulcamogie career with Swatragh and Derry[6] and is theUlster GAA Council Lifestyle & Wellbeing Manager.[7]
Tohill attended St John's Primary School in the village. His son,Anton, played one game ofAustralian rules football forCollingwood in theAustralian Football League in 2021.[8]
Tohill was an "outstanding minor"[2] and played a prominent part in the 1989Ulster Minor andAll-Ireland Minor Football Championship winning DerryMinor team. After returning home from Australia in 1991, he concentrated on Gaelic football.
Tohill was part of Derry'sNational League winning team in 1992, scoring a late goal and a point to secure victory overTyrone. That year he won his firstAll Star award for his performances during the year. In 1993, he won theUlster Championship with Derry, before going on to win the1993 All-Ireland Championship after a semi-final victory overDublin and final defeat ofCork. 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 toOffaly in the 1998 National League decider.[9] He added a second Ulster Championship medal in 1998, before losing out toGalway in the All-Ireland semi-final. Tohillcaptained Derry to another National League title in 2000 and received his fourth All-Star that year. At that stage he had received more All Star nominations that any other Ulster player ever.[10] Tohill won Footballer of the Year at the 2000 Ulster GAA Writer's Association Awards.[11] Tohill had another good season in 2001, when Derry reached the All-Ireland semi-final and his omission from the All Star nominations list caused great shock.[12] He exited the county scene in 2003.[13]
Tohill played a major role in Swatragh's run to the 1993Derry Championship final. The game was played onSaint Stephen's Day in the snow atGlenullin.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 everDerry Minor Championship winning side in 1988.[4]
Tohill wonMacRory Cups and oneHogan Cups with his schoolSt Patrick's College, Maghera.[14] He was also part of the 1993Queen's University Belfast team that won theSigerson Cup. He was top scorer in the final with 0–06.[15] He also won Railway Cup medals with Ulster.[citation needed]
After leaving school and All-Ireland Minor and Hogan Cup success, Tohill was head-hunted by theMelbourne Demons[2] and after spent some time as a rookie player inAustralian Rules football.[16] He would sometimes return home to play Gaelic football while there.[16] After breaking his leg,[16] he returned home fromMelbourne in 1991 to concentrate on Gaelic football.
Tohill played for Ireland on fourInternational Rules tours between 1998 (when the series was revived) and 2001.[17] He made eight appearances for his country.[18] In 2001, he captained Ireland in their victorious tour of Australia.[19] He has since moved into the backrooms of the international setup, under managerSeán Boylan. He was part of the 2006 backroom team,[17] and was a selector for the 2008 Series,[20] and with fellow selector,Eoin Liston, took charge of the training sessions.[2]
Observing Tohill taking the training sessions,Irish News journalist Paddy Heaney has predicted a future in management for Tohill, stating he "shows all the signs of someone who remains an avid student of the game".[2] In March 2010, he was named as manager of the Irish International rules team.[21]
Tohill playedassociation football forDerry City,[22] andManchester United Reserves, during a two-week trial at the club in 1995.[23]
Note: The above lists may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Derry senior footballcaptain 1999–2002 | Succeeded by |