Paddy McBrearty determined to guide Donegal back to the top

As he heads into his thirteenth season as a senior Donegal footballer, Paddy McBrearty takes up the mantle of new team captain. 

The county’s last remaining link to 2012’s All-Ireland victory, the Kilcar man’s coronation as successor to Michael Murphy was perhaps a predictable one. As well as inheriting the Donegal armband, he is also now tasked with leading the county into a new era under new management. 

Sprung from the minor ranks by then boss Jim McGuinness at just 17-years-old back in 2011, it was a playing promotion that raised plenty of eyebrows around the country. But just like Murphy’s elevation at the exact same age four years previously, Donegal football followers knew they once again had something very special on their hands.  

McGuinness, as well as Rory Gallagher at the time, went to considerable lengths to insulate and protect their young protege from too much questioning or probing. And as the years began to tumbleweed, McBrearty was one of those that, as a journalist, you came to understand just liked to keep his head down. 

It’s not that he was uncomfortable or wary of scrutiny. No, McBrearty just felt there was little to be gained in picking up the phone prior to a big league or championship game.   

“I’ve had good mentors over the years - I’ve played with some great characters,” he explained. “And they were lads that looked out for me from the start back then. I came into the set-up at a very young age. 

“I remember Jim McGuinness telling me at the time it was always better to be on the back pages of the papers on the Monday than it ever was to be on them the Friday or the Saturday beforehand.

“That stayed with me. For me, it was always about trying to get myself right in the lead in and then after, good or bad, I’d no problem having chats outside the dressing room”.  

To fire a Leaving Cert student in at the deep end now, in the modern game, would be viewed as negligent or even reckless. But McBrearty was so good at the time that it never felt like a gamble. 

“God, I probably didn’t realise the opportunity that was being given to me at the time,” he said on that 2011 bow against Antrim on a day he also played minor championship. “You’re a teenager and all you want to do is get to that next level. It was just exciting to be there, to be called up and put into the action. 

“Jim and Rory at the time, my age was no concern to them at all. They told me I was there because I was good enough to be there. It was as simple as that for them. I mean, to win our first Ulster title in 19 years in 2011 was a massive thing. Again, just being in the door it was something I was very aware of - just how fortunate I was I mean.

“We were beaten in the semi-final of the All-Ireland by Dublin but the mood in the dressing room after, right away, was that we’d be taking it to another level in 2012 once we got back at it. The momentum we brought into 2012, it just continued to gather pace”. 

Paddy McBrearty lifts Sam Maguire with Donegal, back in 2012, at just 18 years of age. 

Amazingly, the following September, McBrearty was climbing the steps of the Hogan Stand to help pick up Sam Maguire as Donegal spectacularly saw off the challenge of Mayo. 

“It was a dream come true. I was extremely fortunate to come in at a period where things really took off for Donegal once again. I’m still there. And to look around at the Donegal GAA Centre, it kinda shows just how far things have progressed in that same period of time. 

“I remember myself and Paddy McGrath jogging around it a few years back and it was Paddy that said to me, ‘you joined Donegal at the best time possible’. 

“In the last decade, I’ve played with some great players, worked with some great managers and I’ve made lifelong friends along the way. But I feel there is still so much left to do, to achieve. It’s a new team, with new management but I see so much potential. 

“We’ve been in ten Ulster finals in 12 seasons. Supporters have become so accustomed to being there on the big days. So anything less than at least an Ulster title now is seen as a failure for Donegal.

“I’ve won five Ulster championships and one All-Ireland. But I’ve lost the exact same amount. And the truth is, and you hear others speak the exact same thing all the time; it’s the bad days that stick with you the most. 

“The days you win are great. But the days you don’t come out the right end of it, they grate at you. I mean the last three, Cavan in 2020, Tyrone in 2021 and Derry last year… it’s hard to not dwell each time. 

Paddy McBrearty and Mark McHugh celebrate with the Kilcar contingent at Croke Park back in 2012.

“The only thing you can do is wait for the opportunity to go again. That’s the motivation. We’re out at this moment running on the side of pitches with rain, snow and sometimes hailstones hopping off the side of your head. If you weren’t motivated, if you didn’t want to be successful, then you’d sit at home. 

“Supporters feel it, no doubt. But for the players and management, the ones that give up so much time and effort, it’s horrible. But it’s those regrets that spur you on. If you were content or happy with your lot it would be impossible to find that motivation”. 

A stirring Down - now under the guidance of Conor Laverty - will provide the opposition for Donegal when the Ulster SFC gets under way in late April. By that stage, we’ll have a much better understanding of just where the side is at, under a new boss and, of course, a new leader. 

“The aim for us this year is to get back to the top in Ulster. It’s not going to be easy. We’re away to Down in the first round. At this moment, everything is really just geared towards the start of the league. 

“Kerry in Ballybofey, it’s a massive one, as big as it gets. The landscape will change now. We’ve had a few things to deal with in recent weeks. We’d a flu that downed a few men and as well as injuries things like Sigerson Cup and club U-21s have had to be juggled. 

“But it’s starting to come together now at just the right time so it’s full steam ahead for Kerry. It’s a massive test. We’ll give them the respect they deserve. It’ll be in front of a big crowd and it’s a brilliant opportunity for the younger lads to see just what football at this level is all about”.