Football

Michael Hegarty, the king of Kilcar, hoping to reign in Clones

Kilcar celebrate their Donegal final win earlier this month. They go into provincial battle with Scotstown this weekend Picture by Michael O'Donnell
Kilcar celebrate their Donegal final win earlier this month. They go into provincial battle with Scotstown this weekend Picture by Michael O'Donnell Kilcar celebrate their Donegal final win earlier this month. They go into provincial battle with Scotstown this weekend Picture by Michael O'Donnell

Michael Hegarty is the quiet king of Kilcar, but it is a title that the modest local legend would not be comfortable with.

Ask anyone in Donegal, who was the most graceful, perceptive and intelligent player in the county in the past 15 years, and many will point to the truly iconic Hegarty.

Ask anyone in Kilcar, and they will warmly echo these sentiments for who many believe to be their greatest ever clubman and still their leader.

But it was firmly stitched in his DNA, as his father Connie Andy Hegarty was an outstanding player for the club in the late 1960s, but just missed out on the rising tide of the early 1980s when the Carrs, McHughs.

Aodh Cannon, Gallagher's, Sean McGinley McShane's to name a few, put the club on the map.

And even though he is 38, "Higgs" still moves like a gazelle, gliding on top of the ground, a constant sweeper with a sharp eye for an opening.

And it all remains so effortless, as Hegarty has always showed the traits of an artist among shoals of artisans.

But he also possessed ferocious pace, a lightning change of gear, like a young stag in full flight, and was never afraid to take on the meanest of defences.

He played for Donegal from 1999-2011 when he finally got his Ulster medal.

This writer first saw Hegarty come off the bench as a fresh faced 20-year-old and kick a wonderful point to level a frenetic Ulster Championship clash with Armagh in Ballybofey in 1999.

That signalled a long but often- heartbreaking stint n the green and gold as he played and lost in three Ulster finals when Armagh was the bogey team.

But in all that time, Hegarty was at the heart of some great Donegal forward lines that had players like Adrian Sweeney, Brendan Devenney, Brian Roper and Christy Toye.

His supreme versatility and ability to play almost anywhere ensured that he was always a marked man.

But despite getting consistent heavy treatment he was and is exceptionally sporting and his deceptive stocky physical strength also served him well when things got hairy.

Hegarty was persuaded to give it a last go for the county at the age of 32 and he won his much- coveted Ulster medal at last in 2011.

But many believe that it is a tragedy that one of the county's greatest ever players was not around in 2012 to claim the ultimate accolade-for he was still certainly good enough to be part of Jim McGuinness's history makers.

Of course in a parallel universe, he was doing all of these things and more for his beloved Kilcar ever since he made his debut as a 16-year-old back in the mid-1996.

Twenty two years on, Kilcar has played 88 championship matches and Hegarty has featured in 85.

And, even though he is not a free taker, Hegarty has scored 4-193 from a variety of positions from wing back to full-forward

Last Sunday's victory meant so much to the man who has always been graceful in defeat and gracious in victory.

For when hotly-fancied Kilcar lost last year's county final to Glenswilly he had more reasons than most for not opening fresh wounds.

But he was one of the very few Kilcar men who were prepared to face the press and speak on a day of darkness.

Fast forward a year, and these are truly golden days for Michael Hegarty and his Kilcar comrades who have taken their first county final in 24 years.

The celebrations have been suitably epic around Towney Bay, but it was back to business on Wednesday for Hegarty and Co as the formidable force that is Scotstown.

"They are a very good team and already have taken third titles in a row and the also have home advantage,'' stressed Hegarty.

"Donegal teams have tended not to do too well in Ulster so we will be hoping to give a good account of ourselves.

"The game is also in Clones which gives them a bit of an advantage as well and the Hughes and Karl McCarthy are very big players for them.

"And they are also a big physical powerful team and Monaghan tends to produce that type of footballer in abundance.

"Scotstown also have the experience of playing in Ulster club competitions over the past few years while this is our first time since back in 1993.

"We managed to just get over Glenties in the county final and it was not too pretty but it was great to win that trophy after 24 years."

The Donegal county final was a snooze-fest, and the football was abysmal.

But Hegarty firmly believes that we will see a vastly different Kilcar in Clones on Sunday week: "The final was all about winning and we were not too concerned about how we won it.

"It was a big psychological barrier to get over but the pressure is off and we know we are in bonus territory.

"And that is a good position for a team like ourselves coming up against Scotstown in Clones.

"We know we are underdogs but the shackles are well of by now and I think we have some very talented young players who will be able to go out and really express themselves.

"And Clones is a great pitch on which to play open football so I think you could see a very different game on Sunday week.

"For there is a lot of good ball players in our side and we do have fairly explosive pace.

"And it is a match that we are looking forward to".

But first, Kilcar must either draw or defeat Dungloe away this Sunday to clinch their second League title on the trot.

And it would also be their first ever double which seems strange given the high quality players they had in the 1980s and early 1990s.

"Yes, it would be great to clinch another title at the weekend as it would be the pinnacle for us in Donegal this year," he added.

Despite the turgid county final encounter, it is one that Hegarty and his comrades are understandably still savouring as they prepare to travel to Clones: "It was just marvellous to finally get that county medal.

"It probably was not a great game to watch but it is just great to win.

"It was two good teams and both had explosive pace but from our point of view we just wanted to win, regardless."

He added: "It was wild important for the parish and the club that we broke that 24 year gap and bring back the cup

"It was certainly not a great game but then nobody cares when they win.

"And when we look back in years to come we won't be saying if it was a good match or a bad match but the important thing is that your name is on the cup.

"I suppose that is the way football has gone and you have to go with it."

Bit Kilcar had to be very patient against a very big Glenties "wall".

"To be fair to them they did and they are a very good defensive team and we knew that we would have to be at our best to pull it out.

"I think that these two teams will be back again."

And, when asked what winning that long sought after medal, he had just one word?

"Unbelievable."

But if Hegarty and Co plays their natural running attacking game in an open encounter on the broad expanses of Clones then we could be in for an Ulster Championship cracker.

And Hegarty will be there between his own midfield and the full-backline the elegant Franz Beckenbauer, the silky, steely sweeper in his beloved blue and gold and still.........the quiet king of Kilcar.