{{Short description|Donegal Gaelic footballer}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=May 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}} {{Infobox GAA player | name = Noel Hegarty | image = | alt = | caption = | <!-- Personal information --> | irish = | sport = Gaelic football | clposition = | icposition = Back | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | feet = | inches = | nickname = | occupation = | <!-- Club(s) --> | clyears = 19??–19?? | clubs = [[CLG Naomh Columba|Naomh Columba]] | clapps(points) = | <!-- Club titles --> | code = Football | county = Donegal | clcounty = 1 | province = | clprovince = | clallireland = | <!-- Colleges(s) --> | colyears = | colleges = | colapps(points) = | <!-- College titles --> | fitz = | sig = | <!-- Inter-county(ies) --> | icyears = {{c.}} 1991–199? | counties = [[Donegal county football team|Donegal]] | icapps(points) = | <!-- Inter-county titles --> | icprovince = | icconnacht = | iculster = 1 | icleinster = | icmunster = | icallireland = 1 | nfl = | nhl = | allstars = 0 | <!-- Last updated --> | clupdate = | icupdate = }} '''Noel Hegarty''' is an Irish former [[Gaelic football]]er who played for [[CLG Naomh Columba|Naomh Columba]] and the [[Donegal county football team|Donegal county team]].
He played as a defender.<ref name=heroes_of_92/> According to ''[[The Irish Times]]'', centre back was his best position.<ref name=it_23051996/>
Hegarty made his championship debut for Donegal in 1991.<ref name=heroes_of_92/> He was a member of Donegal's [[1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final|1992]] All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winning team. He started at left corner back in the 1992 All-Ireland Final as Donegal defeated [[Dublin county football team|Dublin]] by a scoreline of 0–18 to 0–14. He and [[Tony Boyle (Gaelic footballer)|Tony Boyle]] were the least experienced of Donegal's men on the pitch that day.<ref name=heroes_of_92/>
Hegarty broke his nose in the final of the [[1994–95 National Football League (Ireland)|1994–95 National Football League]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Declan|last=Bonner|authorlink=Declan Bonner|title=Champions dethroned|work=[[Donegal News]]|date=28 May 2020|page=55|quote=It was mentioned to me last week that it was 25 years since Donegal dethroned Down in the preliminary round of the Ulster Championship… PJ McGowan had taken over from Brian McEniff at that stage… It's funny looking back now because we had played the League final against Derry the week before and lost… We were very poor that day and Noel Hegarty broke his nose too which was far from ideal.}}</ref> He [[Captain (Gaelic games)|captain]]ed his county in 1996.<ref name=it_23051996>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/donegal-ring-the-changes-1.51956|title=Donegal ring the changes|work=[[The Irish Times]]|date=23 May 1996|quote=James McHugh will lead the attack with captain Noel Hegarty moving back to centre back, which many regard as his best position.}}</ref> He started [[Mickey Moran]]'s first game in charge of Donegal, a league win at home to [[Offaly county football team|Offaly]] in October 2000.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/donegal-make-light-of-conditions-to-give-moran-the-ideal-start-1.1112948|title=Donegal make light of conditions to give Moran the ideal start|work=[[The Irish Times]]|date=30 October 2000}}</ref>
With Naomh Columba, he won one [[Donegal Senior Football Championship]] title in 1990.
He is from [[Glencolmcille]].<ref name=heroes_of_92>{{cite news|first=Alan|last=Foley|url=http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/donegalsport/The-heroes-of--3992.4856965.jp|title=The heroes of '92 - Where are they now?|work=[[Donegal Democrat]]|date=8 January 2009|accessdate=8 January 2009|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218180946/http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/sport/the-heroes-of-92-where-are-they-now-1-1989654|archivedate=18 December 2015}}</ref> His brother [[Paddy Hegarty|Paddy]] also played for Donegal.<ref>{{cite news|first=Pat|last=Nolan|url=https://www.dublinlive.ie/sport/donegals-manus-boyle-explores-dessie-17795919|title=Donegal's Manus Boyle explores Dessie Farrell's Tir Chonaill county roots|date=22 February 2020|accessdate=22 February 2020|quote='He grew up in the summers along with John Joe Doherty and the Hegarty brothers, Noel and Paddy', [Manus] Boyle explains.}}</ref>
He has been player–manager with his native club.<ref name=heroes_of_92/> He has also worked with the club's underage teams.<ref>{{cite news|first=Chris|last=McNulty|url=http://www.donegalsporthub.com/listen-noel-hegarty-hopes-minor-title-will-spur-return-glory-days-glen/|title=Noel Hegarty hopes Minor title will be spur to return the glory days to Glen|date=19 July 2017|accessdate=19 July 2017}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.gaainfo.com/players/football/donegal/N%20Hegarty.php Noel Hegarty] at GAAinfo.com *[http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/sport/local-sport/heroes-of-1992-remebered-noel-hegarty-1-3610567 Donegal Democrat Article]
{{Donegal Football Team 1992}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hegarty, Noel}} [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers]] [[Category:Gaelic football backs]] [[Category:Gaelic football player–managers]] [[Category:Naomh Columba Gaelic footballers]] [[Category:Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football)]]