Sligo Rovers-bound Kevin Muldoon signs off in style from Four Masters

Four Masters minor star Kevin Muldoon was as comfortable on the St Paul’s field in the Ulster club final as an artist is with a canvas, skilfully weaving his way through opponents, leaving an indelible mark on the game.

Kicking his side’s first point of the second half – his third of the day from three outstanding deadball kicks – to level the match, it didn’t take long to understand why the young 17-year-old was awarded the Ulster Player of the Tournament.

Perhaps his defining moment of excellence came on the 51st minute when he won a ball in his own half, darted down the left wing, and easily glided through the Cavan defence.

The end product to the half-forward’s lung-bursting run resulted in a point from captain Callum McCrea, but Muldoon’s fingerprints were directly traceable to a defining score as Cavan Gaels began to find themselves untangled in a nightmare.

“I think the win is only starting to sink in now a day or so after the final. To be honest it’s really hard to believe what the team has done... absolutely brilliant,” Muldoon said.

Losing in the Ulster final last year on New Year’s Day, Four Masters’ season about righting some wrongs.

“From the very start of the season, our aim was to get back to an Ulster final; obviously, that took an awful lot of work,” Muldoon said. “We had Caolan Sweeney, who was captain last year; he came in as one of the coaches. He spoke to us about the hurt of not winning the final last year. I think that got everyone mentally prepared. We knew we had to be ready from the start.”

Donning pink O’Neill’s gloves and dyed-blonde hair, Muldoon almost encapsulates the image of a young Four Masters maverick, but his calm preparation shows that he is far from any sort of popinjay.

“I know everyone is different, but for me, it’s just about staying relaxed, keeping my mind off the game, listening to music and chatting to the lads, but when it came to focusing on the game, you just put the head down and readied yourself for what you have to do.”

Even before the Ulster final, Muldoon’s calm presence was evident.

“My mental preparation is all about having fun and enjoying it, don’t overthink it too much. Like I wasn’t meant to be hitting the 45s before the game. Then in the warm-up, Turlough Carr told me to practice one, so I kicked one over, and he just turned to me and said, ‘you’re taking them in the game now’.”

Alongside his talent on the GAA field, Muldoon mixes it with his unique skill in football with Derry City, but over the winter he has since signed for Sligo Rovers, a destination that he will solely focus on in 2024.

“The hunger I say is definitely still there in the Four Masters’ team to go again next year, but for me, this was my last year, I’ll be focusing now on the football and seeing where I can go with that,” Muldoon said. “I told the lads after the final that I’ve signed with Sligo U-20s. I’m looking forward to that now.

“The drive is 100% still in this team; that hunger to keep winning is there, and I’ll be supporting Four Masters all the way.”

In the modern world of juggling different sports at a high level, Muldoon can shed light more than most on the toll it can take on a player, but it’s something he is happy he did.

“Look balancing both Gaelic and football with Derry City wasn’t easy because you’d be playing two games at the weekend and whichever one was on the Sunday you might not play as well because you were so tired from the game on Saturday, but I was happy that neither sport ever clashed so I got to play in all the games this year, so I was really lucky that way.”

Whatever sporting future the Donegal Town man walks towards, the dual-sports star’s name will remain as the 2023 Ulster club minor Player of the Tournament.

“I never expected to win that award,” Muldoon said. “Go through any player on the team, and anyone of those lads could’ve won the award. I said it after the final I just love this team, it was the best day, I am going to miss playing Gaelic. I’d like to thanks my family and my teammates for this season. I am honoured to have got this award. All this wouldn’t have been possible without them and James O’Shea out in Texaco for all the water.”