The St Naul’s clubman was fan at the All-Ireland finals in 2012 and 2014 and he wants to send Donegal supporters home happy from Croke Park this evening
Peadar Mogan is living proof that the adage ‘success breeds success’ rings true.
He was barely a teenager when Donegal emulated the breakout kings of 1992 by bringing Sam Maguire back to the Hills in 2012.
Mogan was among the thousands of fans backed into the Diamond in the heart of Donegal Town hoping to get a glimpse of the famous cup and the newly-crowned heroes who made it possible.
Each All-Ireland winning team hopes to inspire the next generation of stars. Stephen Griffin did just that in 2012.
For Mogan, the sight of his own clubman standing alongside Donegal boss Jim McGuinness and captain Michael Murphy with the Sam Maguire lit a fire in his belly.
“You were looking up to Stephen (Griffin) because he was the same club – Stephen used to babysit me,” said Mogan.
“You’re looking at a local club fella that you would have seen playing for St Naul’s and he’s a part of the Donegal team and he’s a part of a team that brought such joy to you as a young supporter.
“He was part of a team that would probably give you the wee bit between your teeth to look and be like ‘it would be lovely to play for Donegal” – that’s what it means.
“To see how hard they ran and worked and tackled. That’s probably what it’s going to take and maybe a bit more.
“The lift they gave the county at that stage was excellent. All you try to do is emulate that as best you can.” Fast forward 13 years and Mogan is a key member of the Donegal team who’ll try and topple the Kingdom of Kerry in Croke Park this afternoon with McGuinness back as manager and Murphy coaxed out of retirement.
As fate would have it, there are three St Naul’s men in this year’s panel. Gavin Mulreany has been called into action when Shaun Patton has been injured while Mogan will line up at corner-back alongside his clubmate Brendan McCole at full-back.
Both will have rather daunting tasks at headquarters this afternoon. McCole remains the most likely candidate to track Footballer of the Year favourite David Clifford while Mogan might well be handed the job of tracking his brother Paudie around Croke Park for 70 minutes.
Whatever about the size of the challenge facing them, Mogan is delighted to be representing his club on All-Ireland final day.
“Ah, it’s brilliant,” said Mogan.
“There’s a lot of people in the club who put a lot of effort into us. Brendan’s father being one from such a young age. It’s brilliant to give back to them. “Hopefully it might inspire a young boy or girl in St Naul’s to go on and put on their county jersey, to represent the county.
“It’s brilliant just for the club to be well represented. So we’re just delighted with that.”
While the likes of Paddy McBrearty and Michael Murphy will be playing in their third All-Ireland final, it will be Mogan’s first having made his senior Championship debut against Tyrone in 2020.
He experienced the joys of 2012 as a supporter and the lows of 2014 from almost exactly the same position up in the rafters in the upper Davin stand.
He has first-hand experience of what winning would mean to the people of Donegal and he doesn’t want them to feel the despair of another final loss to Kerry.
“I was nearly in the same seat for the 2012 and 2014 final, believe it or not. I was in the upper Davin, nearly touching the roof,” stated the St Naul’s defender.
“I had a brilliant view of Michael’ and Colm McFadden’s goals but I also had a view of Paul Geaney’s goal in the 2014 final – it was just below me. I was nearly in the same spot for both finals.
“I just remember being gutted, literally just gutted. I remember being at the game against Dublin (in 2014) and going home in the car, it was all you could talk about and it was all you think about.
“You were throwing on the radio to listen to any reaction. You’re just so delighted that your team was in the All-Ireland final and have a chance to compete for the trophy again.
“You were gutted because your team lost, the team you support. But also gutted for the players because of the amount of effort it takes to get to that level and not get over the line.
“If we can leave the Donegal supporters happy and proud going down the road, hopefully the result will be on the right side for us.” And there’ll be no prouder moment for the St Naul’s club should three of their own return to Donegal late tonight with the Sam Maguire Cup in tow.
And yet, it hasn’t all been plain sailing. Losing a home Championship game to neighbours and Ulster rivals Tyrone can never be viewed as a blessing in disguise, but Mogan says it did give Donegal a “kick” they didn’t know they needed.
It was also their first competitive defeat at MacCumhaill Park under Jim McGuinness.
Although the Red Hands subsequently lost their home game to Mayo, Donegal would finish behind Malachy O’Rourke’s men in Group One due to their head-to-head record.
That meant one additional home game in the preliminary quarter-finals against Louth. Should Donegal beat Kerry in today’s final, they have played 11 games, more than any other team, en route to winning the Sam Maguire and one more than Tyrone, who played 10 back in 2005.
“It was very disappointing. . . to go into Ballybofey, where I suppose we have a really good record, and perform the way we performed – underperformed really,” Mogan reflected on their round one loss to Tyrone.
“The amount of Donegal support that actually came out and to leave them with a bit of a sour feeling going home, it wasn’t nice. And we probably needed just a wee kick.
“We knew the route we were going to have to go down to get to this spot where we are now after that.
“So, there was no one else to blame but ourselves. So I suppose that sour feeling leaving Ballybofey and I suppose it was an extra sour feeling knowing it was a home game.
“We were hoping it was going to be our last home game of the year, it turned out it wasn’t.
“But I suppose just leaving there with that wee bit of a sour taste, knowing that we probably let people down in the stand, that kind of gave us a wee kick then that we probably needed.”
