Paul Durcan (born 22 April 1984) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and coach who plays as goalkeeper for Drumcliffe–Rosses Point and, formerly, for the Donegal county team.
He watched his son rise through the ranks at Four Masters alongside Karl Lacey and Barry Dunnion, winning numerous underage titles along the way.
"[5] Durcan's heroes include his fellow Donegal goalkeepers Gary Walsh, Packie Bonner and Shay Given.
[6] At the age of nine he watched Donegal win the 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, which he later described as the greatest game he had ever been to in any sport.
"[12] Durcan dislodged fellow goalkeepers Darragh Gogan and Conor Dooley to win Dublin and Leinster titles in 2015 and an All-Ireland Club Championship in 2016.
Gary Walsh coached Durcan and Sweeney at this time, having been called in by Donegal manager Brian McEniff.
[8] That was just what happened in a 2009 All-Ireland SFC qualifier — after Durcan fouled Clare player Gary Brennan and conceded a penalty, Boyle was sprung from the bench at half-time.
[27] On 30 June 2012, in the Ulster semi-final against Tyrone, Durcan received much credit after putting Donegal into the final with his outstretched foot.
[7] It enabled Donegal to retain their Ulster title they had won in 2011 (a first back-to-back success in team history), and the team went unbeaten through the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, defeating Mayo in the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final to claim the Sam Maguire Cup.
[31] In 2013, Durcan made his 100th appearance for Donegal in the county's third 2013 National Football League game against Tyrone at Healy Park.
[36][37] In 2019, Durcan returned home from Qatar sporting a long grey beard and rejoined the Donegal panel to contest for a place against Shaun Patton and Michael Lynch.
[39] Though based in Dublin as a Quantity Surveyor with Errigal Contracts, Durcan tries to get back to Donegal several times a week for training.
[43] In December 2020, it was announced that Durcan would serve as goalkeeping coach under newly appointed Sligo senior manager Tony McEntee.