2016 Donegal Senior Football Championship
The 2016 Donegal Senior Football Championship was the 94th official edition of the Donegal GAA's premier club Gaelic football tournament for senior graded teams in County Donegal. The tournament consisted of 16 teams, with the winner going on to represent Donegal in the Ulster Senior [Club Football Championship].
Naomh Conaill was defending champion after defeating St [Eunan's GAA|St Eunan's] by a scoreline of 0–11 to 0–10 in the 2015 Donegal [Senior Football Championship#Final|2015 final]. However, the club relinquished its crown when losing to Cill Chartha at the semi-final stage.
This was Réalt na Mara's return to the senior grade after making the straight bounce back up from the I.F.C. since being relegated in 2014.
On 16 October 2016, Glenswilly claimed its third S.F.C. title when defeating Cill Chartha in the final in MacCumhaill Park 1-10 to 0-12.
Glenfin was relegated to the 2017 I.F.C. after losing a replay of the relegation final to Na Cealla Beaga, thus ending a 15-year stay in the top flight of Donegal football.
Team changes
The following teams changed division since the 2015 championship season.To S.F.C.
Promoted from 2015 Donegal I.F.C.From S.F.C.
Relegated to 2016 Donegal I.F.C.Format
The 2016 championship took the same format as the 2015 championship, in which there were four groups of four clubs, with the top two clubs qualifying for the quarter-finals. The club finishing bottom in each group contested relegation play-offs to determine which team would be relegated to the 2017 Donegal Intermediate Football Championship.Group stage
Group 1
| Team | ||||||||
| Glenswilly | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 25 | +15 | 4 |
| An Clochán Liath | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 35 | +9 | 4 |
| Réalt na Mara | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 51 | -19 | 2 |
| Ard an Rátha | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 41 | -5 | 2 |
Round 1:An Clochán Liath 2-11, 0-7 Réalt na Mara, An Clochán Liath, 14/5/2016Ard an Rátha 0-8, 0-6 Glenswilly, Ard an Rátha, 15/5/2016
Round 2:Réalt na Mara 1-15, 0-13 Ard an Rátha, Bundoran, 27/8/2016 Glenswilly 1-10, 0-10 An Clochán Liath, Glenswilly, 28/8/2016
Round 3:
- Réalt na Mara 0-7, 3-12 Glenswilly, Bundoran, 4/9/2016 An Clochán Liath 0-17, 2-9 Ard an Rátha, An Clochán Liath, 4/9/2016
Group 2
| Team | ||||||||
| Cill Chartha | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 58 | 27 | +31 | 5 |
| St Eunan's | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 56 | 44 | +12 | 5 |
| St [Michael's GAA (Donegal)|St Michael's] | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 52 | -6 | 2 |
| Na Cealla Beaga | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 63 | -39 | 0 |
Round 1'
- St Eunan's 0-13, 1-10 Cill Chartha, O'Donnell Park, 15/5/2016 St Michael's 2-13, 0-8 Na Cealla Beaga, Dunfanaghy, 15/5/2016
Round 3
- Na Cealla Beaga 0-7, 0-24 Cill Chartha, Na Cealla Beaga, 4/9/2016
- St Michael's 2-14, 3-14 St Eunan's, Dunfanaghy, 4/9/2016
Group 3
| Team | ||||||||
| Malin | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 52 | 39 | +13 | 5 |
| Seán Mac Cumhaills | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 45 | +14 | 4 |
| Naomh Muire | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 44 | 44 | +0 | 3 |
| Glenfin | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 67 | -27 | 0 |
Round 1Malin 2-9, 1-9 Seán Mac Cumhaills, Connolly Park, 15/5/2016 Naomh Muire 3-7, 0-11 Glenfin, Glenfin, 15/5/2016
Round 2Seán Mac Cumhaills 3-16, 1-10 Glenfin, MacCumhaill Park, 27/8/2016
- Naomh Muire 1-8, 1-8 Malin, The Banks, 28/8/2016
Group 4
| Team | ||||||||
| Naomh Conaill | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 30 | +35 | 6 |
| Termon | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 40 | -2 | 4 |
| Gaoth Dobhair | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 50 | -12 | 2 |
| Four Masters | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 43 | 64 | -21 | 0 |
Round 1Naomh Conaill 1-11, 1-2 Termon, Glenties, 14/5/2016 Gaoth Dobhair 2-12, 1-9 Four Masters, Gweedore, 15/5/2016
Round 2Termon 1-11, 0-9 Gaoth Dobhair, Termon, 27/8/16
- Four Masters 1-11, 5-12 Naomh Conaill, Pairc Tir Conaill, 28/8/16
Knockout stage
Last Eight
Quarter-finalsCill Chartha 0-19, 0-4 Termon, MacCumhaill Park, 24/9/2016,Glenswilly 2-20, 1-14 Seán Mac Cumhaills, O'Donnell Park, 24/9/2016,Naomh Conaill 1-13, 1-8 St Eunan's, MacCumhaill Park, 25/9/2016,Malin 0-13, 1-8 An Clochán Liath, O'Donnell Park, 25/9/2016,Semi-finalsCill Chartha 5-10, 1-11 Naomh Conaill, MacCumhaill Park, 2/10/2016,Glenswilly 0-9, 0-7 Malin, O'Donnell Park, 2/10/2016,
Relegation playoffs
Relegation Semi-finals
Four Masters 1-13, 0-7 Glenfin, Killygordon, 24/9/2016Ard an Rátha 1-9, 1-5 Na Cealla Beaga, Dunkineely, 25/9/2016Relegation final
- Na Cealla Beaga 1-11, 2-8 Glenfin, O'Donnell Park, 15/10/2016,Na Cealla Beaga 2-13, 1-6 Glenfin, O'Donnell Park, 22/10/2016,