Donegal GAA have announced that their county board has agreed to retain current inter-county manager Declan Bonner.
Bonner is four years into his second stint as manager of the county and will remain for at least two years longer, should he see out his contract.
The 1992 All-Ireland winner has been at the helm since September 2017 and has led his side to two Ulster Championships in that time and one unsuccessful final in 2020.
They also won Division Two of the Allianz National League in 2019 after suffering relegation in Bonner’s first season back.
However, Bonner has yet to reach the semi-final stage of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship as manager of the side.
The forgotten county fell short in the Super 8s in 2018 and 2019, losing out to Tyrone (and Dublin) in 2018 after winning the Anglo-Celt Cup.
Defeat to Cavan in the 2020 Ulster Championship final knocked the side out of the All-Ireland final after changes were made to the Championship set-up because of the pandemic.
2021 saw them wrap up their season without reaching an Ulster final – the first time they have done so under Bonner in his second stint.
Donegal fell to Tyrone in a six-point loss at the semi-final stage in the provincial competition.
A statement on the county board’s website reads: “At last Wednesday’s County Committee meeting Declan Bonner presented his report on the 2021 Allianz League Division 1 campaign and the Ulster Championship and announced that he was interested in another term as Senior Donegal County manager.
“Chairman Mick McGrath noted that as Declan’s term was over the position was also open to other candidates and invited clubs to nominate candidates by 5 pm on Sunday evening.
“As of the deadline on Sunday evening no club had nominated another candidate and this evening the County Executive recommended Declan for a second two-year term to County Committee who approved this decision.”
