The Donegal senior footballers have said farewell to a great servant this week with news that Patrick McBrearty is retiring.
Patrick made his debut as a 17-year-old in 2011 and his last game was in the 2025 All-Ireland Final.
That’s a huge chunk of anyone’s life and Patrick gave incredible commitment down through the years.
He would have been down the country at college and in recent years, his work would have taken him away, but he was always focused on being at his best for Donegal.
Patrick spent his early years in Dublin before settling with his family in Kilcar and it wasn’t long before the chat began that there was a really talented player on the way.
My brother Donal would have been involved in coaching with Kilcar and I remember him telling me about this young lad who was bigger and stronger than everyone else and was racking up big scorelines.
He soon started to make an impression with Carrick Vocational School, and was winning plenty of awards.
I know he would have been handy at soccer as well and would have been on the Donegal schoolboys team with Carl McHugh but Gaelic Football was always likely to be the direction.
He played county minors for three years and Under 21 for four.
I was working in the press box on the famous day in 2011 when he played in the minors against Antrim and then came off the bench for seniors.
You quickly realised that Jim McGuinness rated him highly and he quickly overtook players from the good Under 21 team in 2010 and established himself in the team.
Sometimes managers are reluctant to put young lads in but Patrick was ready and didn’t look out of place.
He had an incredible first two seasons as he won the Anglo Celt Cup twice and then started and won an All-Ireland Final against Mayo while still a teenager.
Patrick kicked on after that and went on to win another five Ulster medals which brings him to seven, and nobody in this county can match that record.
He had huge belief in his own ability and was always willing to take on responsibility.
People used to say to me ‘McBrearty is too left-sided’. It’s one thing knowing that but it’s another thing trying to stop it!
The big factor for Patrick was his accuracy.
If he had the ball inside the ‘45’, there was always a good chance he would be able to get a shot away and his conversion rate was very high.
I worked with him for five years and he was a man who helped set high standards in training.
Unfortunately in my first season back in charge in 2018, he picked up an ACL injury just before half-time against Fermanagh.
It was a huge blow to the team and to Patrick.
He was red-hot at the time and was as good as any forward about.
I remember him putting on a masterclass in our first league game against Kerry down in Killarney.
He battled back from that injury and remained a key player during my tenure and was then made captain in 2023 after Michael Murphy retired.
He felt the team weren’t maximising their potential at the time and played a huge role in persuading Jim to come back as manager.
Patrick was a vital cog in the league last year but an injury picked up late in the league against Meath derailed things a bit, and he was in-and-out of the team in 2024.
He provided a crucial leveller against Armagh in the Ulster Final and then was one of Donegal’s brightest players in the All-Ireland semi-final with Galway.
It was probably a bit frustrating for him this year that he couldn’t nail down a starting spot, and again he missed the latter stages of the league which didn’t help.
That said, he still had some big displays along the way as Donegal reached the All-Ireland Final. It’s just a pity that he didn’t get the send-off he wanted by lifting Sam Maguire.
Unfortunately very few get to go out the way they would like and it’s disappointing for Patrick that a knee injury has been so troublesome.
He’s asked a lot of his body for the last decade-and-a-half and sometimes it just says enough is enough. Hopefully he is still able to play club football for many years to come.
There’s no doubt in my mind that he will be a considerable loss for Donegal in terms of a leader, a forward who can play close to goal and a reliable free-taker.
He leaves a brilliant career behind him and there were certainly more good days than bad.
Patrick gave one of the best ever forward displays in a Donegal shirt against Cork in 2016 when he scored eleven points at Croke Park.
And he was influential in some big results particularly against Tyrone in 2011, Dublin in 2014, and Derry in 2021.
Patrick has a full catalogue of late winners to his name and he never shied away from taking on a big kick.
Hopefully Patrick might get involved in coaching because he has a lot of know-how and expertise to pass on, but he certainly doesn’t owe the county anything after giving so much to the cause for more than 15 years.
Scotstown
I fancied Scotstown to win the Ulster title and they managed to do it, but it wasn’t easy.
Kilcoo were well behind at one stage in the second half but fought back to force extra-time.
However, Scotstown were able to dictate matters in the additional twenty minutes and for me they were good value for their win.
Kilcoo’s approach in the first half was interesting. They were against the breeze but owned the ball. On several occasions, there were men just soloing on the spot.
After conceding five goals last year, Scotstown were understandably wary of giving up space but Kilcoo needed to show more intent.
When you’re playing against Scotstown or Monaghan, you always have to remember that they have one of the longest kickers in Rory Beggan, and he can land two-pointers even into the breeze.
Beggan is a massive weapon. He ended up with 11 points with four two-point frees converted.
Scotstown have had their near misses and lost three Ulster Finals but they kept coming back for more and you could see how much it meant to them.
They got a good cohort of minors through in the last year or two and it has provided fresh energy, while Kieran Hughes and Darren Hughes still get through a mountain of work.
Kilcoo are a good running team but with the new rules, you are rewarded for being brave and taking risks and they didn’t do that until it was too late. They had some bad efforts late on.
Scotstown won’t mind and this is a big box ticked for them.
Conor McCarthy is obviously struggling with an injury but if they can get him back, I think they will beat St Brigid’s in the semi-final and go on and win the All-Ireland.
Four Masters
It’s very unusual that I find myself writing about a Four Masters defeat at minor level, but their great run came to an end against Dungiven at St Paul’s in Belfast last week.
Four Masters were going for three in-a-row in Ulster but it didn’t go their way.
They were ten points down at half-time and it wasn’t looking good but they fought back to get within one.
The Donegal Town boys were pushing for a leveller when they were caught with a goal at the death.
By all accounts, it’s a formidable Dungiven side and Derry minor football is always strong.
Four Masters will be disappointed but in the long run, the defeat won’t do them any harm.
Some of their players have been on the go for nearly four full years with very little break in between when you consider club, school, and county commitments.
A defeat can bring fresh hunger and you can be sure Four Masters will be pushing for more titles in 2026.
