Brian Roper (Gaelic footballer)
 left | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||
| Born | Boston, United States of America | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| 1992–present | Aodh Ruadh | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | ||
| 1996-2009[1] | Donegal | ||
| Inter-county titles | |||
| NFL | 1 | ||
Brian Roper is an American Gaelic footballer who has lived in Ireland most of his life,with Aodh Ruadh and a former member of the Donegal senior inter-county team. Brian prefers to play centre-forward, but has tended to play at wing-forward for Donegal. Brian McEniff has described him as one of the best forwards in the country for the best part of a decade and a half.[2]
Playing career
Roper's honours include an Ulster Under-21 Football Championship medal with Donegal and three Donegal Senior Football Championships and one League with Aodh Ruadh. His other interests include Manchester United Football Club and scuba diving.[3]
Roper's Championship debut came in 1996 against Antrim in Ballybofey, having made several appearances in the National Football League earlier that year. P.J. McGowan, gave him his big break after drafting him into the squad along with Damien Diver, Adrian Sweeney, Peter McGinley, Dessie McNamara and Martin Coll, following Donegal's 1995 Ulster Under-21 Football Championship winning campaign.[2]
Roper was a member of the Donegal team that won the National Football League in 2007, scoring three points in the final against Mayo.[4] As a result of this he was honoured by both the Opel GPA awards and the Vodafone Allstars.[5] He retired from inter-county football in 2009 with a record number of appearances.[6] Roper never won the Ulster Senior Football Championship during his career.[1]
Honours
- Inter-county
- 1 Ulster Under-21 Football Championship (1995)
- 1 National Football League (2007)
- 1 Dr. McKenna Cup (2009)
- Club
- 3 Donegal Senior Football Championships (1994, 1997, 1998)
- 1 League
References
- 1 2 Nulty, Chris (22 July 2011). "1992-2011: The best XV not to win Ulster…". Donegal News. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- 1 2 "Roper heads into the sunset". Donegal Democrat. Johnston Press. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
- ↑ "BRIAN ROPER Donegal footballer". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. 4 June 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2006.
- ↑ "Donegal achieve historic win - First national league title comes to county after victory over Mayo". Donegal Times. 25 April 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2007.
- ↑ "Prendergast and Roper take awards". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. 8 May 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2006.
- ↑ "Donegal hit by the retirement of Brian Roper". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 December 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
External links
- Brian Roper at gaainfo.com