Charles McGuinness

Early life McGuinness is a nephew of Jim McGuinness. Charles is also the nephew of Charles, Jim's brother who died suddenly in 1986 when he was 16 years old. He also scored a goal in the 2019 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship final. Naomh Conaill retained the Donegal SFC title in 2020, with McGuinness scoring a point from a free and playing a part in both goals scored by his club in the final, which was delayed until August 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games.

McGuinness won the 2022 Donegal Senior Football Championship, scoring 1–1 in the final against St Eunan's, his goal coming in the second half, his point from a free. He was in midfield when the ball was thrown in, before taking up a position as full-forward, only to return to midfield for each of Naomh Conaill's kickouts. He also played for his club in the 2025 Donegal SFC, when his club won the final again, with McGuinness scoring 0–1 in that game.

Inter-county While still a boy, McGuinness was part of the county's backroom team for the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, which Donegal won. He took an active role at training, taking charge of the balls and water. He scored a point in three of the four games, including a free in the final (he did not score in the semi-final).

A leg injury to Donegal captain Michael Murphy caused Bonner to send McGuinness on as a first-half substitute against Kildare in the 2022 National Football League. McGuinness also started the league game against Monaghan, a loss which ended his team's winning run at MacCumhaill Park in Ballybofey that had been active since 2010.

Honours Donegal National Football League Division 2: 2024

Naomh Conaill Donegal Senior Football Championship: 2015, 2019 2020, 2022, 2023, 2025