McElhinney's club reached the final of the 2011 Donegal Senior Football Championship— their first ever senior final—but lost, though McElhinney scored during the game.[3][4]
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McElhinney started Rory Gallagher's first match in charge of the county, a 2015 Dr McKenna Cup away defeat to Derry.[13] He came on a substitute in the first match of the 2015 National Football League (also against Derry but at home), contributing 0–1 to the team's victory.[14] He also made a substitute appearances in the next game against Dublin at Croke Park, the third fixture against Cork in Ballyshannon and the fourth fixture against Monaghan.[15][16][17] He started the fifth fixture against Kerry at Austin Stack Park and contributed 0–1.[18] He started the sixth fixture against Tyrone and scored 0–2 in what RTÉ described as an "impressive" performance.[19] He followed this up with a further point in the seventh fixture against Mayo.[20] Donegal qualified for the NFL semi-final. McElhinney started and scored 0–2.[21][22]
McElhinney started the 2015 Ulster Senior Football Championship final.[23] He had previously started the preliminary round against Tyrone (scoring 1–2), the quarter-final against Armagh (scoring 0–1) and the semi-final against Derry (scoring 0–1).[24][25][26] McElhinney made substitute appearances in the 2015 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship qualifier defeat of Galway at Croke Park and the next game against Mayo at the same venue.[27][28]
McElhinney made a substitute appearance in the second fixture of the 2016 National Football League against Cork, a ten-point win in Ballyshannon.[29] He also made substitute appearances in the third and fourth fixtures against Mayo and Kerry.[30][31] He started the fifth fixture against Roscommon.[32] Another substitute appearance followed in the next game away to Dublin at Croke Park, during which James McCarthy used his left hand to seemingly gouge McElhinney's eye.[33][34][35][36][37][38] McCarthy, who had actually just been shown a red card before he did this, escaped punishment and Dublin manager Jim Gavin said: "To be suggesting there was something malicious, I don't think that's very fair".[39][40] The Irish Independent called for McCarthy to be investigated.[41] But the incident was dismissed as a push by Setanta Sports pundits Senan Connell (former Dublin player) and former Armagh player Aaron Kernan dismissed the incident as a push.[42] McElhinney started the seventh fixture away to Monaghan in Castleblayney and scored a goal.[43] Donegal qualified for the NFL semi-final. McElhinney also started this game, scoring a point.[44]
McElhinney made a substitute appearance in the 2016 Ulster Senior Football Championship final.[45] He had previously started the quarter-final against Fermanagh (scoring 0–1), the semi-final against Monaghan and the semi-final replay against the same opposition (scoring 0–1).[46][47][48] McElhinney also started the 2016 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship qualifier defeat of Cork at Croke Park and the next game against Dublin at the same venue.[49][50]
McElhinney made a late substitute appearance in the fifth fixture of the 20017 National Football League against Tyrone.[51] He made further substitute appearances in the sixth and seventh fixtures against Monaghan and Mayo.[52][53]
Under the management of Declan Bonner, McElhinney made his 100th appearance for Donegal against Cavan in the 2019 Dr McKenna Cup.[2] Following Donegal's victory over Armagh in the 2019 National Football League, McElhinney informed Bonner of his decision to withdraw from inter-county football. He had been an unused substitute in that game and the game before, though he had played in three earlier games of that year's league.[2] These were a substitute appearance in the opening fixture of the competition against Clare in Ennis,[58]Meath in the second fixture (starting then making way for Jason McGee),[59] and again as a substitute, on this occasion for Oisín Gallen, in the third fixture against Tipperary.[60]
^Keane, Paul (28 March 2016). "Donegal turn blind eye to James McCarthy incident". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 28 March 2016. It was McCarthy's tangle with Donegal substitute Martin McElhinney, ironically an ex-team-mate at DCU, that was particularly controversial as the Dublin defender's left hand made contact with McElhinney's eye area.
^Campbell, John (3 August 2012). "With McLoone on board McGuinness has all angles covered". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 3 August 2012. McLoone's actual role in the side to face Kerry on Sunday is still uncertain given that McGuinness is continuing to study the fitness of midfielder Neil Gallagher while also assessing the credentials of Martin McElhinney. It was McElhinney who turned the tide in Donegal's favour against Down when he went in as a second-half substitute to impose himself forcibly at midfield, winning invaluable possession that was translated into scores.
^McNulty, Chris (18 February 2018). "Watch: Martin McElhinney's soccer-style dink in Dr McKenna Cup final". Retrieved 18 February 2018. Most recently the Creeslough native lined out for Fanad United in the Ulster Senior League and tonight in the Dr McKenna Cup final, those skills certainly came in handy as McElhinney dinked a lovely goal for Donegal in their 1–16 to 1–12 win over Tyrone at the Athletic Grounds.
^Craig, Frank (24 March 2022). "Fanad aiming to bounce back against Cranford". Donegal News. p. 59. A photograph of McElhinney at the top of the page is captioned: "Martin McElhinney is an important player for Fanad United".
Above is the Donegal team that defeated Derry in the Ulster SFC final.
The 2011 Donegal football team progressed to the 2011 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-finals, where they lost narrowly to eventual title-winners Dublin. Donegal defeated Kildare after extra-time in the All-Ireland quarter-final.
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