THE first-hand look he’s had at the elevation of his brother Matthew’s career has given Richie Donnelly a thirst for inter-county action.
2015 saw Matthew find a berth in the old Enda McGinley role at midfield and he ended up bringing an Allstar award back home to Trillick.
Having excelled in their club’s run to a surprise Tyrone SFC club title in October, Sunday saw younger sibling Richie make his first real announcement as an inter-county player.
The energy of his game from midfield helped him notch four points from play – two off the outside of the right foot and one off the left – and the man-of-the-match award as Tyrone came from nine points back to see off rivals Derry by the minimum.
Richie revealed that having his brother – whose impact as a substitute on Sunday was also key to Tyrone’s win – around home has enabled his own footballing career to bloom.
“It’s good to have someone to bounce back and forth. If one of us can’t be bothered training, the other one will drag us out of the house, so it’s good that way. It’s good to be playing with the brother.
“[Matthew’s success] is a result of the hard work that he put in. It’s good to see an example like that as close to home. I was lucky that way. I always hoped I’d come through at some stage.
“But it’s just about putting your best foot forward and showing Mickey that you can compete at this level. It’s early days yet, I have to keep showing that and proving it as the year goes on.”
Their 1-16 to 4-6 win over Derry was not your average McKenna Cup game. The physicality of it was a level beyond your average for January.
Richie Donnelly not only coped with a game that contained a handful of flare-ups and more than a few meaty challenges, but he flourished.
“At times it was very zapping,” he admitted.
“It got very physical and intense, especially before half-time. Both teams are equal and up to the challenge. You expect nothing less when you come to Derry.
“It’s as good a game as you’d want moving forward. We’re just happy to come out on the right side of it. There’s a lot of work to do.
”It took a lot of us younger boys a while to get up to the speed of it, to adjust ourselves and get up to the pace and physicality of the game. It’s a good learning curve for all of us.”
The Red Hands showed their powers of recovery in Owenbeg to overcome an early nine-point deficit and claim a very rare away win in Derry.
Early goals from Benny Heron and a Ryan Bell penalty had helped the hosts into a 2-4 to 0-1 lead by the 23rd minute, but from there on Tyrone took control.
“Everyone wasn’t at the races and it’s just not good enough when you go out in a Tyrone jersey to perform the way we did in the first 20 minutes.
“But it’s great that we could lose 20 minutes of a game and still come out on top.
“We didn’t panic. We have good level-headed footballers there, and we showed the credentials we have to come back when our backs are against the wall."
But Donnelly, who was called into the squad by Mickey Harte at the end of the National League last year and featured sparingly in their run to the All-Ireland semi-final, feels there is still plenty to improve on from a personal perspective.
“I did have a fair idea in seeing what he had to do, the work he had to do to perform.
"I still have a lot of work to do myself. I’m nowhere near the level I need to be at, so it’s just about developing as the year goes on."
