Patrick McBrearty admits he feared for Donegal GAA future after ...
PADDY McBREARTY may have ‘broken’ Jim McGuinness but the Donegal forward has learned persistence pays.
Last year was an annus horribilis for the county — and McBrearty.
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Legendary 2012 All-Ireland- winning captain Michael Murphy had announced his retirement in November 2022.
And McBrearty was the man chosen by new boss Paddy Carr to pick up the baton and skipper the side.
The omens were not good when in the second round of the league, the Kilcar forward sustained a serious hamstring tear in the Division 1 clash with Tyrone.
Surgery — followed by months of rehab — was needed as the captain worried that his days of leading his county were over before they had even begun.
McBrearty, 30, admitted: “Getting injured last year and being told surgery was 50-50 in terms of getting back to the level that I needed to get back to . . . it was hard to process.”
Without their marquee player, Donegal began to slide.
Carr left three games later, with Aidan O’Rourke put in temporary charge. McBrearty watched on helplessly as Down delivered an Ulster knockdown.
He saw 20 minutes’ action in the All-Ireland group stages and was a late inclusion for the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final against Tyrone, who delivered the fatal blow.
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The day after that defeat, McBrearty and other squad members decided they needed a winning formula — a Jimmy’s-winning-matches formula.
So they paid him a visit.
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Boss McGuinness revealed: “They arrived at the door the day after they got beat by Tyrone. They never really stopped after that. Two days after that, there was a letter in the postbox.
“It went from there, they never left me alone and that constantly pulls at you emotionally because you’re sitting in the house going, ‘Could you make a difference?’
“You have that scenario running in your head — eventually Paddy McBrearty broke me.”
FAST STARTIn 2011, McGuinness’ first year of his first stint, McBrearty was a fifth-year student playing for the Tír Chonaill minors.
He lined out against Antrim in the curtain-raiser to the Ulster SFC clash of the same counties. And then, having refuelled by wolfing down some pasta, he came off the bench for his senior bow at the age of 17.
He did enough to retain his place for the next clash against Cavan and rewarded his manager’s faith with 1-3 as Donegal then saw off Tyrone and Derry to end a 19-year wait for the Anglo-Celt Cup.
Better was to come. A year later, Donegal retained the provincial crown and went on to lift Sam Maguire.
McBrearty, who formed a third of a lethal full-forward line with Murphy and Colm McFadden, was nominated for Young Footballer of the Year.
Ulster was won again in 2014 but Kerry put paid to their All-Ireland hopes in the decider, with McGuinness departing the scene soon after.
Provincial success followed in 2018 and 2019 but the glory days seemed to be firmly in the rear-view mirror.
Until the players called to the Glenties home of their former manager.
Donegal will play Division 1 football again next season and McBrearty got to lift the Anglo-Celt Cup for the first time as captain following a gripping 6-5 penalty shootout win over Armagh two weeks ago.
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He admitted: “I didn’t think it would ever come. They are a top bunch of players. They had the work done, we trained all year for that moment and for a lot of lads it was their first Ulster medal, for some it was their third or fourth and they deserve it.
“There’s been a lot of work put in and Jim answered the call in terms of the players.
“We are just very lucky to have him back — and long may it continue.”
The dark days of 2023 have been consigned to history and Tyrone come to Ballybofey tonight for their All-Ireland group-stage opener.
Donegal have already avenged last year’s Championship KO by defeating the Red Hands in last month’s Ulster semi-final — a gruelling 0-18 to 0-16 victory that required extra-time.
But McBrearty revealed that under McGuinness, Donegal do not do panic.
PAYING THE PENALTYUnder the cosh against the Orchard again two weeks later, they held their nerve, with McBrearty’s score forcing extra-time. And when Shaun Patton saved Shane McPartlan’s penalty in the shootout, Clones erupted.
McBrearty added: “It’s funny — you don’t panic in those situations, you can’t panic. The minute you do, you lose control of things. I thought we showed great character in sticking to the process against Armagh and thankfully we came out on top.
“When things aren’t going for you, you nearly need to double down on the game-plan. We did that, we didn’t panic. They were four up with 15 minutes to go. It was loads of time for us to get it back.”
Ulster has been parked as Donegal eye bigger things.
The captain added: “We’ve a massive test against Tyrone. We’ve had a serious battle with them already.
“We need to knuckle down, but we need to enjoy these days as well.”
