'This is our chance to get to a place we have not been in since 2014' - Peadar Mogan

In a recent episode of the official Manchester United Podcast, Old Trafford legend Gary Neville struggled for words when asked to summarise what exactly made Alex Ferguson the brilliant manager he was.  

It can be a hard choir to hit the right button when speaking about someone who has either shaped or enhanced your sporting career to what it is today, and Donegal star Peadar Mogan was faced with similar issues on Thursday when asked about the effect of Jim McGuinness on Donegal. 

He’s not the first player in the green and gold to struggle with such a question. 

“Yeah, it was just his way of delivering messages and his clear and concise communication and his passion,” Mogan said.  

“The way he speaks about Donegal, then he translates that onto the pitch, so it’s brilliant, everything ties in together. It’s just probably his clear and concise messaging and all good coaches have that. It’s a specific trait that he has.”  

It was in 2012 when Mogan first came into contact with the man he now rubs shoulders with on a near daily basis at the Donegal Centre of Excellence when McGuinness carried the illustrious Sam Maguire Cup to the village of Mountcharles following his side’s All-Ireland win. 

A photograph of the young 13-year-old boy and the Glenties man still lies in Mogan’s house to this day, and while the current Donegal boss may not have known it then, but it would be over a decade later to when the two individuals would next meet, with the storming half-back playing one of the most crucial roles in McGuinness’s plans. 

“I got that photo. It’s in the house, somewhere. Jim was brilliant in those times at getting photos of players. It’s funny how the tables have turned now. That’s life,” the accomplished defender recalled in his home village when presented with the PwC GAA-GPA Footballer of the Month award for May last Thursday. 

It might have been a dream of his to one day live the experience that so many of his heroes got to a decade ago, but the cruel world of sport can have other plans. 

A mainstay on the Donegal panel since 2020, from the off, Mogan was too important to be just of the periphery. 

For his championship debut in the winter of 2020, during the COVID-19-struck season, he was thrown into the deep end and ended up swimming. His follow-up game produced a Man–of–the–Match performance over Armagh. 

For the blonde-haired speedster, he was in the midst of something special.  

But sport is never that linear. He and his side were victims of too many setbacks and near misses to even count over the years, with the county last season hitting the penultimate of an all-time low in the post-Michael Murphy world in 2022, while in March 2023 we saw the departure of team manager Paddy Carr, only five months into his role as Donegal boss. 

To make matters worse, the St Naul’s man was based in Liverpool for University for part of the year, travelling to and from the island of Ireland to be with the team before picking up an injury that ruled him out of much of the action. 

Wondering what the future held for the majority of the panel, repeated phone calls, several visits, and even a letter to McGuinness’s house from some of the county players was enough to turn the current Donegal manager’s head to make a remarkable return. 

There are no guarantees in life, but from then on there was a sense that 2024 was going to be different as McGuinness and his side embarked on a new journey to success.  

“There was a huge respect for him because of what he had done. He can draw on loads of experiences he’s had throughout the years,” Mogan admitted. 

“There was huge excitement within the county and personally too there was huge excitement. It just gave everything and everyone a huge boost after last year, getting beaten early and just the way things went. It was just a welcome time and it was brilliant timing. 

“We were in Division 2, we got a run in the McKenna Cup and then we started getting a few games in the league and you just build belief and confidence through that … it’s all done over time rather than just one go at it. It’s been developing over time but that only comes with games.” 

With Sunday’s match against Louth approaching rapidly, Mogan and his side know that they have a massive opportunity to get back to an All-Ireland semi-final since 2014, with this weekend’s quarter-final game being their first in eight years. 

The chance of a lifetime is in the palm of their hands, but like all great sports teams, Mogan and Donegal are not getting ahead of themselves. 

 “In terms of the pressure and expectation, I would not say we feel that because we have no right to feel it. We have not been in the semi-finals since 2014 so we really can’t think past this,” Mogan stated. 

“This is our game on Sunday, this is our chance to get to a place we have not been since 2014 so it is huge for us, because at the end of the day, we have not been making semi-finals or finals. 

“Again, we are trying to make that next step for us. Whatever the favourites’ tag is coming into Louth, it is going to be fairly even. 

“They should probably have beaten us in Ballyshannon [in the league], let’s call a spade a spade. 

“We got out of Balllyshannon really lucky that day so I wouldn’t say it is a thing we are taking for granted because they are a team that could potentially hurt you, they have scored an awful amount of goals in the championship compared to other teams so they do pose a real dangerous threat. 

“We are just looking literally to get to the next stage which would be huge for us.” 

The record shows there’s only been one championship win in Croke Park since 2014 for Donegal, it’s not something that’s been spoken of during the week, but no doubt it’s a target the team are hoping to erase. 

“That’s why I think it’s mad that people are saying we are such big favourites for the weekend when you take that into account. It’s massive for us: we just want to go into Croke Park and get come back with a win. We want to get to a semi-final, the same as Louth do, and Derry and Kerry do,” Mogan said. 

“Our record (in Croke Park) actually hasn’t really been discussed. Only three players, Hugh (McFadden), Ryan (McHugh), and Paddy (McBrearty) were involved in 2014. It’s not the fact that we haven’t been to a final since 2014; it’s more that there’s a new crop of players looking to get to the next stage rather than worrying about the past.”   

Not having put a foot wrong this season – except for Cork – all the qualities conspicuous in the 2024 Donegal template have left their victims almost scrambling for air, with McGuinness’s side bringing opponents to the point of no return. 

The county of Donegal, for the first time in a long time, seems to be going to Croke Park with a feeling of belief rather than hope.