Football

Home is where the hearts is for Donegal star Paddy McBrearty

Paddy McBrearty has his younger brother Stephen for company in the Donegal panel this season
Paddy McBrearty has his younger brother Stephen for company in the Donegal panel this season Paddy McBrearty has his younger brother Stephen for company in the Donegal panel this season

IT’S a surprise to discover that Paddy McBrearty didn’t move to Donegal permanently until he was 10.

Up to then, although summers were spent in his father’s native Kilcar, the McBrearty family lived in Dublin and young Paddy played his football for St James’s Gaels.

But as the years went by it became harder and harder to swap country for the city and McBrearty’s mum, Dublin born and bred, decided to move the family to the north-west.

“Dad continued to work in Dublin but from the day we left school in the holidays to the day before we went back we stayed in Donegal because we had a house there,” he said.

“It was probably the freedom aspect of it, we knew everyone in the parish and mum probably thought it was a better lifestyle for us. Things have worked out alright.”

McBrearty’s younger brother Stephen, a midfielder/half-forward, is also on the Donegal panel these days. That’s probably not surprising when you consider where the footballing talent comes from.

“Dad played for Kilcar in the 90s and then there’s the Conroys,” McBrearty explained.

“They are a big football family in Dublin.

“Mum’s first cousin, Tommy Conroy, has been managing St Vincent’s for the last five years and he won a few All-Irelands with Dublin. So probably I get a bit of football from both sides.”

McBrearty has been involved in a fair few battles against his former home county down the years including the 2014 

All-Ireland semi-final when Donegal shocked the Dubs and won 3-14 to 0-17.

“Dublin is always seen as a second home really after Donegal,” he said.

“It’s always good to get down, I have a lot of family down there – whenever you beat them it’s a bonus.

“When I was there we played for St James’s Gaels, but I probably would have gone to Vincent’s if I’d stayed down.”

Things have worked out well for him on the field too since he made his remarkable Championship debut against Antrim in 2011. A couple of hours after he scored 1-3 to spearhead Donegal minors’ win over Antrim, he emerged as a substitute to help the seniors do the same.

“It was good,” he says when he recalls that rainy May day in Ballybofey.

“When Jim [McGuinness] asked me I kind of went for it and lucky enough things worked out okay. We’ve had a few successful years there so I’ve no regrets. I didn’t really think about it at the time because I always wanted to play for Donegal.”

Decent home form got Donegal into the semi-finals last year. Wins over Derry, Cork and Tyrone and a draw away to Mayo were enough to see them make the top four. 

The one home loss came against Monaghan in a game that was panned by the critics but McBrearty says negative comments about his side goes in one ear and quickly out the other.

“It doesn’t annoy me, not really,” he said.

“I think we probably do deserve more credit, but as a player and I don’t take much heed of it to be honest. We have to concentrate on ourselves and if we feel that’s the best way to play then we’ll do that – what other people say doesn’t really come into our dressing room.

“I don’t think it affects the players.”

Donegal have booked a training camp in Tenerife after their first two games and they’d like to go there with four points in the bag.

“If we could get two points off Down it would be a good start and you have Cork then the week after,” said McBrearty.

“But we’re not even focussing on Cork yet. Hopefully we can get off to a good start in Newry.”