Club With his club
Four Masters, Lacey won the 2003
Donegal Senior Football Championship. He scored two second-half points in the final against Termon. He has won one SFC, one U21FC and two MFC medals with his club. He went off injured at half-time in the
2012 Donegal Senior Football Championship semi-final against
Naomh Conaill—and Four Masters lost. In 2015, his club was
relegated to Division 2 of the Donegal League in a play-off lost to
Réalt na Mara.
College Lacey
captained Donegal to the 2002 All-Ireland Vocational Schools Football Championship, overcoming
Kerry in the final. At college level, he won three Sigerson Cup medals, one with UUJ and two with Sligo IT.
Inter-county 2003–2006: Early years Much of Lacey's inter-county success came in his middle and later years. He was first called up to the senior team by
Brian McEniff for winter training in 2003. A substitute appearance against
Antrim brought him his debut in 2004 under the management of McEniff.
2007–2011: NFL and Ulster success Lacey was part of the Donegal team that won its first
National League title in 2007 in the final against
Mayo. He went travelling abroad and missed the
2009 National Football League but was due to return for the
2009 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The 2011 season began Donegal's renaissance under
Jim McGuinness, an era for Lacey which coincided with his late career. Not only did he receive an All Star award and Ulster Championship medal in 2011, but Lacey also put in a number of great displays and usually kept each opponents danger man quiet while collecting a few scores himself. In the semi-final of the Ulster Championship, Lacey was deployed on Tyrone's in-form player, Brian McGuigan. Lacey excelled and kept McGuigan from having any real say in the game. Not only did he display his defensive qualities but he also showed his attacking side when he provided an assist for
Colm McFadden's goal through a surging run from deep. He also set up the winning goal coming from
Dermot Molloy which left the final score at 2–06 to 0–09. In the final they faced a strong Derry side, on-form after a huge win over Armagh. This time Lacey was deployed on another danger man, Mark Lynch. Donegal lifted their first Ulster Championship title in a number of years. Lacery received an All Star award and the Ulster Footballer of The Year Award.
2012 season: Footballer of the Year and All-Ireland success By kitting out for the 2012 Ulster Senior Football Championship Final, which his team won, Lacey made his 37th successive appearance for Donegal, beating the previous record set by
Michael Hegarty. On 5 August 2012, Lacey surged up the pitch and scored the point that sealed Donegal's comprehensive victory over
Kerry in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final at
Croke Park. On 23 September 2012, he delivered a high ball towards team captain
Michael Murphy who smashed the ball into the
Mayo net after three minutes of the
2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. He was also in possession at the final whistle and sent the ball clattering into the crowd with glee. Told he would be awarded the 2012
GAA/GPA Footballer of the Year, he was in his car and nearly crashed. Then
Arsène Wenger sent him a personal letter "on behalf of all the players and staff" at
Highbury House who wanted to "take this opportunity to send our congratulations on recently winning the All-Ireland football championship." Then he attended the Football Tour of New York. Then he had a hip operation and put his feet up at home for the Christmas.
2013–2017: Spitgate and decline Tyrone spitting incident Following a league game on 3 March 2013, footballer of the year Lacey was hit by some spit from the mouth of a Tyrone fan. Lacey was targeted as he left the pitch via the tunnel at
Healy Park in
Omagh. He had not been playing in the game due to a hip injury.
President O'Neill condemned the action against Lacey, "I have always said that any behaviour that makes anyone feel less good about themselves or about being involved in Gaelic games is abhorrent to me. I wouldn't condone that type of behaviour and to spit at anyone is disgraceful behaviour. I really cannot understand the behaviour of anybody who insults or demeans anyone. It has no part in Gaelic games. My message to those people is 'we don't need you'. I don't want them in our organisation and I don't want them going to our games. I would appeal to them to go and leave our games to people who want to come and enjoy themselves."
Post-spitgate Following "spitgate", Lacey returned to training for Donegal on 30 April 2013 after attending a wedding in
Malta. He declared his fitness ahead of Donegal's opening Ulster Championship clash with Tyrone, though he did not start the game; instead Jim McGuinness sprung him from the bench in the latter stages of Donegal's victory. Lacey then had keyhole knee surgery ahead of the Ulster semi-final against Down. He missed the match, ending a run of 41 consecutive championship appearances stretching back to 2004. 2014 brought Lacey a third Ulster title in four seasons. In the All-Ireland quarter-final against
Armagh at Croke Park, Lacey was subjected to a vicious attack. During the same exchange the Donegal team doctor, Kevin Moran, was sent flying through the air, spiking a major reaction from national and social media. Injured for the game against Galway in 2015, Lacey returned against Mayo. He retired from inter-county football at the end of the season. He said he would continue to play with his club Four Masters.
Inter-provincial Lacey won a
Railway Cup medal with Ulster.
International Lacey lined out for
Ireland against
Australia in the
International Rules Series. He did so in
2006 and in
2011. ==Coaching and managerial career==