{{Short description|Armagh Gaelic footballer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=November 2020}} {{Infobox GAA player | image = | name =Paul McGrane | irish = | nickname =Floppy | feet =6 | inches =2 | occupation =Accountant<ref name="pen pics">{{cite web | title=Senior Pen Pics - Paul McGrane | url=http://www.armagh-gaa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88:paul-mcgrane&catid=42:senior-pen-pics&Itemid=34 | work=Official Armagh GAA website | access-date=13 April 2009 }} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> | sport =Gaelic football | code =Football | county =Armagh | province =Ulster | clposition =- | club =[[Ballyhegan Davitts GAC]] | clyears = | clapps(points) = | clcounty = | clprovince = | clubs =Ballyhegan | counties =Armagh | icposition =Midfield | icyears =1993-2008 | icapps(points) = | icprovince =7 | icallireland =1 | nfl =1 | allstars =2 | icupdate =00:19, 13 April 2009 (UTC) | clupdate = | | | birth_place=[[County Armagh]], <br>Northern Ireland}} '''Paul McGrane''' is an [[Irish people|Irish]] [[Gaelic football]]er who played at senior level for the [[Armagh county football team|Armagh county team]] in the 1990s and 2000s. He won an [[All-Ireland Senior Football Championship]] medal, seven [[Ulster Senior Football Championship|Ulster Championships]] and a [[National Football League (Ireland)|National League]] title with the county. He also won two [[GAA All Stars Awards|All Star awards]].{{fact|date=November 2018}}
McGrane plays club football for [[Ballyhegan Davitts]].
McGrane is a [[Gaelic football and Hurling positions#Full Back|midfielder]]. He is known as one of Armagh's best ever players.<ref name="ul_125 - armagh shortlist">{{cite news |title=Ulster's 125 - Armagh shortlist |work=The Irish News |date=10 February 2009 |access-date=13 April 2009 |url=https://irishnews125.blogspot.com/2009/02/125-armagh-player-list.html }}</ref> In 2009 to mark the 125th anniversary of the [[Gaelic Athletic Association]] he was named by ''[[The Irish News]]'' as one of the all-time best 125 footballers from Ulster.<ref name="ulster_125">{{cite news|title=Ulster's 125 - The province's 125 best footballers since 1884 |work=The Irish News |date=20 March 2009 |access-date=13 April 2009 |url=http://www.irishnews.com/125/125flip.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122045515/http://www.irishnews.com/125/125flip.html |archive-date=22 January 2016 }}</ref>
==Playing career==
===Inter-county=== In 1992 McGrane won the Ulster Minor Football League and [[Ulster Minor Football Championship]] with the Armagh [[List of Gaelic Games terminology#M|Minor]] team.<ref name="pen pics"/> Armagh finished runners-up to [[Meath county football team|Meath]] in that year's [[All-Ireland Minor Football Championship|All-Ireland Minor final]].<ref name="ulster_125"/> He was captain of the Minor team that year.<ref name="ulster_125"/>
McGrane made his [[List of Gaelic Games terminology#S|Senior]] inter-county [[All-Ireland Senior Football Championship|Championship]] debut for Armagh against [[Fermanagh county football team|Fermanagh]] in May [[All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 1993|1993]].<ref name="pen pics"/> He won his first [[Ulster Senior Football Championship]] medal with the county in 1999<ref name="ulster_125"/> – the county's first Ulster Championship in 17 years. Armagh successfully defended their Ulster title the following year.<ref name="ulster_125"/>
In [[All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 2002|2002]], he helped Armagh win the Ulster Championship<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/2111391.stm |title=Armagh win Ulster final |access-date=13 April 2009 |publisher=BBC Sport |date=7 July 2002 }}</ref> as well as the county's first ever [[All-Ireland Senior Football Championship]].<ref name="ulster_125"/> McGrane received an [[GAA All Stars Awards|All Star award]] for his performances that year.<ref name="ulster_125"/>
In [[All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 2003|2003]] Armagh once again reached the All-Ireland final, but were defeated by neighbours Tyrone. 2004 saw McGrane and Armagh again win the Ulster Championship.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/gaelic_games/3884725.stm |title=Armagh outclass Donegal |access-date=13 April 2009 |publisher=BBC Sport |date=11 July 2004 }}</ref> In 2005, McGrane helped Armagh win the National League, beating [[Wexford GAA|Wexford]] in the final.<ref>{{cite news|title=Wait is over for Armagh |work=Newry Democrat |date=4 May 2005 |access-date=13 April 2009 |url=http://archives.tcm.ie/newrydemocrat/2005/05/04/story4364.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622113131/http://archives.tcm.ie/newrydemocrat/2005/05/04/story4364.asp |archive-date=22 June 2011 }}</ref> Later that year, he helped Armagh win another Ulster Championship.<ref>{{cite news| title=McConville fires Armagh to glory | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/gaelic_games/4711099.stm |publisher=BBC Sport | date=25 July 2005 | access-date=13 April 2009 }}</ref> Team [[Captain (Gaelic games)|captain]] [[Kieran McGeeney]] invited McGrane to lift the [[Anglo Celt Cup]] with him after the match.<ref>{{cite news |first=Colm |last=Keys |title=McGrane calls time on special Armagh career |work= Independent.ie |date=9 April 2009 |access-date=13 April 2009 |url=http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/mcgrane-calls-time-on-special-armagh-career-1703751.html|publisher=Independent News and Media }}</ref> McGrane was awarded a second All Star that year.
McGrane took over the Armagh captaincy in November 2005, after Kieran McGeeney retired.<ref name="bbc trio">{{cite web | title=Armagh trio call it a day | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/gaelic_games/7991323.stm |publisher=BBC Sport | date=9 April 2009 | access-date=13 April 2009 }}</ref> Armagh completed a three-in-a-row of Ulster Championships in 2006, this time with McGrane as captain.<ref>{{cite news | title=Donegal 0-09 1-09 Armagh (match report) | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/low/northern_ireland/gaelic_games/5153174.stm | publisher=BBC Sport | date=9 July 2006 | access-date=13 April 2009 }}</ref> McGrane won another Ulster Championship medal with Armagh in 2008,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/the_championship/7527825.stm |title=Armagh 1-11 0-8 Fermanagh (match report) |access-date=13 April 2009 |publisher=BBC Sport |date=27 July 2008 }}</ref> his seventh in all and second as captain.
McGrane retired from inter-county football in April 2009, due to a persistent knee injury.<ref name="bbc trio"/>
===Club=== With Ballyhegan, McGrane has won the Armagh Junior Football Championship<ref name="pen pics"/> (1995) and Armagh Intermediate Football Championship<ref name="pen pics"/> (1997).
===International Rules=== McGrane represented [[Ireland international rules football team|Ireland]] in the [[International Rules Series]].{{when|date=November 2018}}
===Province=== McGrane played for [[Ulster GAA|Ulster]], and won the [[Railway Cup]] on ?{{how many|date=November 2018}} occasions with the province.
==Management and coaching== In 2012, McGrane established the ''Orchard Academy'' to help young Armagh Gaelic footballers develop their talent with a view to strengthen the county's footballing fortunes at underage and senior level.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishnews.com/sport/gaafootball/2015/06/03/news/orchard-sowing-seeds-for-the-next-generation-at-academy-131279/|publisher=The Irish News|title=Orchard sowing seeds for the next generation at Academy|date=3 June 2015|author=Brendan Crossan|access-date=8 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/gaa/armagh-must-get-priorities-in-order-amid-fixture-woe-marsden-36509600.html|publisher=Independent News and Media|title=Armagh must get priorities in order amid fixture woe: Marsden|date=20 January 2018|author=Declan Bogue|access-date=8 November 2018|work=Belfast Telegraph}}</ref>
In January 2015, McGrane was appointed assistant coach for the Armagh minor Gaelic football team under former county teammate [[Aidan O'Rourke (footballer)|Aidan O'Rourke]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newstalk.com/ORourke-takes-on-Armagh-minor-challenge|publisher=NewsTalk|title=O'Rourke takes on Armagh minor challenge|date=15 January 2015|author=Raf Diallo|access-date=8 November 2018}}</ref> before taking on the manager's position a year later,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gaeliclife.com/uncategorized/armagh-2002-where-are-they-now/|title=Armagh 2002: Where are they now?|date=2016-05-26|website=Gaelic Life|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-01}}</ref> staying in this role until November 2018, when he was replaced by another former Armagh teammate [[Ciarán McKeever]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.the42.ie/article.php?id=4328998|publisher=TheJournal.ie|title=Former Armagh captain takes first step into inter-county management|date=8 November 2018|author=Fintan O'Toole|access-date=8 November 2018|work=The42.ie}}</ref>
==Honours== ;Club * 1 Armagh Junior Football Championship 1995 * 1 Armagh Intermediate Football Championship 1997
;Inter-county * 1 [[All-Ireland Senior Football Championship]] 2002 * 7 [[Ulster Senior Football Championship]] 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 * 1 [[ National Football League]] 2005 * 1 [[Ulster Minor Football Championship]] 1992 ;Individual
* 2[[List of All Stars Awards winners (football)|All Star]] 2002, 2005
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.ballyhegan.com/ Ballyhegan Davitt's GAC]
{{Navboxes |title=Armagh squads |bg=#F68712 |fg=white |list1= {{Armagh Football Team 2002}} {{Armagh Football Team 2003}} {{Armagh Football Team 2005}} }} {{Navboxes |title=Ireland squads |bg=green |fg=white |list1= {{2002 Ireland international rules football team}} }} {{Navboxes |title=Awards |bg=gold |list1= {{2002 All Stars}} {{2005 All Stars}} {{Armagh All Stars record}} }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrane, Paul}} [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Armagh inter-county Gaelic footballers]] [[Category:Ballyhegan Gaelic footballers]] [[Category:Gaelic football coaches]] [[Category:Gaelic football managers]] [[Category:Irish international rules football players]] [[Category:Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football)]]