Brendan Devenney - often commented on, seldom understood

Brendan Devenney is a man who lives his life in chapters. Now 45, a sales manager with Larsen Building Products, anyone who knew Devenney from his footballing days occasionally remark how he still has the youthful streak he possessed - both on and off the pitch - back then.

Devenney is the presenter of Highland Radio's GAA podcast, The DL Debate, and a co-commentator with BBC. He represented Donegal between 1997 and 2008, and also played soccer with Finn Harps, Limavady United and Portadown.

On his day, he was unplayable - like in the 1999 Donegal SFC final when he kicked 14 points for St Eunan’s in their victory over Aodh Ruadh at MacCumhaill Park and in the Irish jersey at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when he top-scored as part of the International Rules Series of 2001. Devenney enjoyed his time playing, again, both on and off the pitch.

“I’m not the type of fella who has my house plastered in football memorabilia,” Devenney says. “Maybe if I had won more that might be different but I enjoyed my time playing. For me though, that’s over now. I don’t look back with regrets.

“I’m at a different stage now. Looking back - this might sound stupid - I didn’t have that one big day. Maybe if I did the house would be plastered with memories of it? I don’t know. I’ve got a house with maybe one picture of me as a footballer, a little bar and I do my work, my punditry and charity things there. My wife Treasa and I look after the kids - Matthew (11), Lúcás (3) and Senán (1). Normal things. That’s my life now.”

Devenney was often commented on, seldom understood. Eamon McGee coined the term ‘tracksuit ravers’ of the Donegal panel he joined as a teen in 2004. As a mainstay in-between two All-Ireland successes of 1992 and 2012, Devenney, for some, was the epitome of Donegal football in that era - ultimately unsuccessful when it came to taking home trophies, yet talented, engaging, fun, and even, dare it be said, a bit wild. “Mad but not bad,” he laughs.

“We were all about the craic. At that time in life, you don't think about things as much. Because we were a bit mad, we didn’t heed the fact eyes were on us. Maybe it was a bit too mad. But you are who you are. We weren’t out fighting or clipping people. People thought they knew us ‘cause they saw us in a nightclub.

“For me, if someone does something in booze I think ‘that’s not really them.’ Irish people sometimes find that hard to differentiate. Maybe they’re right. I don’t know.”

“The way it was with us then, if the door was left half open, we’d go through it. If we were told to go out for a while and be back by 12 o’clock, well … you know yourself. We were left to our own devices. With us, sometimes the night wouldn’t end.”

Some of the stories did grow legs. For example, the panel would pull out of Donegal Town for Clones with the dreams of the county and pats on the back ahead of, say, an Ulster final. Beaten, that night they’d be back, stumbling off the bus, where a few slabs of beer had been thrown on to shorten the trip home, to learn their overnights were cancelled seeing there was no need for a homecoming reception.

Players were spotted at different stages of dishevelment around the Diamond, whether it be that night or the following day.
“There were men left sleeping in hotel foyers,” Devenney says. “Then, on the Monday morning, they’d wake up miles from home and before they knew it they were in a pub around the corner. Look I can’t completely defend some of the goings on, but we shouldn’t be given the total blame. Sometimes we weren’t looked after and sometimes we didn’t look after ourselves.”

***

Football in Donegal changed and so too did perception of it. Jim McGuinness, Devenney’s old stablemate, took over as manager in 2010 and, when you look back now, pioneered the change in culture. Would this have worked in Devenney’s time?

“If, say, Jim was 10 years older and came in, maybe, who knows?” Devenney says. “In 2012, Donegal caught the country napping, with counter-attacking football and breaking into space. With the levels of fitness that team had, I’d have loved it.

“We always had different managers whereas with Jim, from day one, he was building towards something. Those boys - Rory Kavanagh, Colm McFadden, Christy Toye and them - got the best of both worlds. They had the craic too. Then they won Ulsters and All-Irelands.”

Devenney never hid his feelings as to how much he loathed Ulster football, often having his best days in the less claustrophobic environments of the Allianz League or hop-scotching through the qualifiers. Even now, club football, he feels, is unnecessarily imitating what goes on with counties.

“Once something works, or is seen to work, at county level, clubs try it,” Devenney adds. “Most club games in Donegal are ‘intriguing’ as they say. Safety-first. A club team can defend in huge numbers and get away with it.

“That’s because the other side only has two or three players capable of picking points from distance. County teams have more than that, with seven or eight. That’s why we shouldn’t get lost in what the counties are doing.”

***

Now, Devenney hosts the DL Debate as well as popping up here and there nationally as a GAA pundit. It’s not, though, a case of poacher turned gamekeeper.

“I was an inter-county player, that was it,” he says. “So I’m not the oracle and now as a pundit I put in the hours and do the prep.

“When I played, I was accused of being in the papers a lot. To be honest, I didn’t even end up seeing half the things that were written about me.

“The journalist had a job to do just like I have a job to do now. It’s gone full circle and now I’m the one asking those in the media for interviews and opinions and they’re more than obliging, which I have to thank them for. The media work, I enjoy it. It keeps me involved and out and about, going to matches. It’s demanding but it’s enjoyable.”

***

Everyone’s experience of lockdown over the last 18 months has been different, although there are overlaps.
People’s minds wandered, some for good and others for bad, as even the more conventional things became awkward.

For the Devenney family, that rung true. Paddy, Brendan’s father, was going through cancer treatment with a growth in the pancreas. Anyone who has run that race will know the rollercoaster of emotions involved.

“My sisters - Sharon, Margaret, Maria and Arlene - have been phonenoumel,” Devenney, the only boy in the house growing up in Newtowncunningham, says. “My mother Imelda too. They all have different qualities and they chipped in and brought that to the table. Without them, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”

Following exhaustive rounds of chemo, in February the family were optimistic. Paddy, robed up, wore a brave smile. He was in St Vincent’s for an operation to remove the tumor. He knew under the smile it would be stressful - five hours under the watchful eye of Dr Justin Geoghegan.

Paddy had taken a Covid test, which seemed a formality, the day beforehand. With so much more happening, everyone’s thoughts, hopes and prayers were on the operation. Everyone was all set to go. It would be the most important five hours of his 74 years.

“It was a massive operation,” Devenney says. “Then, at the last minute, we heard the initial Covid test was lost so, still thinking all was good to go, dad went and took another - one of those tests you get the results from an hour later.”
The test result came back positive.

“We were gutted,” Devenney adds. “And gutted for him as he had built himself up which can’t have been easy. But the way we felt, he was better with Covid then, before the operation, than going through the operation and then getting Covid.”
Paddy went home and isolated and went under the knife a few weeks later.

“He’s come out the other side and is keeping well,” Devenney proudly says of his father.

***

“It was something I had been thinking of for a while,” Devenney says of an idea that originated from a gift from Glasgow. “My wife Treasa received a present, which wasn’t the usual present in the sense of the word, but for me, it was the best ever.”

Treasa, like many from her homeplace of Gweedore, has family in Glasgow. One Christmas, her aunt Pauline Murphy sponsored a child in South America for her, through Plan UK. Devenney now sponsors two children from Atakpamé, the most marginalized province of Togo in western Africa, by fasting for 24 hours once a month and donating the €22 he would normally spend on food that day. Plan was asked if he would be interested in becoming an ambassador.

“I like charities and they do great work,” he says. “The thing I instantly liked about Plan was the feedback. My kids, my nieces and nephews write to the children we have sponsored, and they write back.

“Charities really suffered during the pandemic. Normal situations weren’t happening. We did wee things at home like washing the cars with the kids and we put the money towards Plan. I was asked would I could help the charity and I was delighted to. I was humbled.

“Look I was a footballer, never won an All-Ireland or anything, so I’ve a certain amount of reach but not near some of the others who played. Maybe, because of me not being in that top bracket, it means I have to work that little harder.”

***

“Why not take this on with the target of sponsoring 21 kids in one night?,” Devenney thought. “Maybe something could be arranged?

“Have a good night, particularly after the time everyone has been through. I had the basics in place from the start.”
Devenney decided to broaden the sphere, so Cancer Care West and Focus Ireland joined Plan as the benefiting charities.

“Plan sponsor children all over the world. Their work is all about children's rights and particularly those of girls who are in much more danger through a lack of education and opportunities, while many are forced into early marriages.

“They also work in communities to help children reach their potential. People can sponsor children individually, but by coming along to the charity ball, we will be in a position to sponsor 21 children and that will change their lives.

"With Cancer Care West, we all know a family member or someone close to us that has gone through a cancer battle. My own father has come out the far side of it, thankfully. The time before, during, and after treatment can be extremely tough on the families and the individuals themselves. They all need a certain amount of backup and Cancer Care North West gives that by providing emotional support and practical support which is free of charge.

"Focus Ireland will receive a donation. We are constantly hearing about the housing crisis. The reality is there are 8,000 people homeless in Ireland at the minute and over 2,000 of those are children. And again, tying into the Plan situation, the effect that emergency accommodation has on young children is hugely detrimental and leads to anxiety and depression. It also holds back their learning.

"So, we need to sort out these families as quickly as possible. Focus Ireland not only helps people get houses - they also fight the housing crisis themselves and try to help people stay in their homes. They are doing fantastic work, so it's up to us to support them as best we can.”

***

The ‘tracksuit ravers’ were accused at the time of misusing their status. Devenney, though, thought he could use the contacts and friends he had built up over the years to give something back.

“I built up a lot of different relationships, plenty through sport, over time,” Devenney says. “I could reach out to people throughout my life to come back in. They’ve been brilliant.”

***

In the early springtime, he met up with Terry McEniff, the owner of the Mount Errigal Hotel, over a cup of tea one day and threw out his plans. McEniff said it was a goer, he said he’d provide the venue and insisted from that day to this “you’re the boss Brendan - you tell me what you want and we’ll make it happen. Let’s pick a date.”

DV’s Charity Ball will take place this Friday night, November 12, at the Mount Errigal Hotel in Letterkenny.

“Now, it was really happening,” Devenney says. “Terry walked me through the function room, telling me this can go here, that can go there and we can use that.I was visualizing it in my mind as he spoke, like I used to do when I ran out at Croke Park for a warm-up thinking ‘this is what I’ll see if I’m kicking a free from here.’”

Plans were made and then shelved - Devenney frequently admits the thoughts on how this could work has kept him awake at night - then rehashed and shelved again as the lifting of restrictions wasn’t the straight line many had thought.

This week, it’s a matter of tying up the loose ends. Paddy McGill from Ocean FM will MC with Devenney’s sister Maria. There will be a roaming mic around the 40 sold-out tables and stories will be shared from those in attendance.

“I’m not really a spreadsheet type of guy,” Devenney laughs. “People like Ciaran O'Donnell, Aidan Cannon and Ciaran Brogan have really helped out.

“We'll be starting off with a drinks reception and smart dress will be the order of the night. We are going to have rolling panels, loads of visuals and loads of fun. We'll have sports stars from the GAA world and the world of soccer with players from Derry City and Finn Harps. We'll have people from local soccer clubs, athletics and other sports and everyone will have a part to play on the night.

"We'll have a roaming mic going around the crowd with the aim of involving everyone. We'll also have a DJ. What we want to do is create a feel-good night for people across the north-west, while also supporting three great charities."

***

And what about the next chapter? Devenney will go with the flow. “I am happy in life,” Devenney concludes. “Friday, will have a good vibe and even for the family, to have us all together on the night, will be special, as it will be to see so many friends and all for three great causes.

“I loved playing football but I don’t yearn to play it any more. The sportsman is gone, now I’m the fella in the media every so often, the husband and father and the man who is trying to give something back.”

“All parts of your life, I believe, are to be enjoyed.”

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DV’s Charity Ball, which takes place in the Mount Errigal Hotel this Friday night, is officially sold out. However, should anyone wish to donate to the charities, a GoFundMe page has been set up. Please click here