Wherity living the moment, but can New York nick it?

You may recall, in November 2012, Finance Minister Noonan was slated for having the audacity to suggest a lot of young Irish people had emigrated for "lifestyle reasons".

The remark caused outrage but it neatly explains why Ross Wherity finds himself wearing a red, white and blue jersey in Gaelic Park tomorrow rather than a yellow and green one in Celtic Park in three weeks’ time.

Donegal has its virtues but then New York has too — and then some.

“It was more adventure for me, I think,” he says. “You are moving to one of the best cities in the world, craziest cities in the world. You need football there in your life to keep you sane, I think. Out partying and all that kind of stuff, but to get back down to the hard work, it’s good to be grounded and have the lads around you.

“It’s a great network as well to have, to be able to rely upon all the boys there, jobs-wise it’s good for that there as well, contacts in the city, there is a lot of influence within the football. It is a great thing to have.

“Football is the one thing you would miss from not being back home at the minute — the culture of football, being in and around the county set-up and looking forward to going training on Tuesday and Thursday. But with New York now, you have that there yourself and we are really looking forward to Sunday now to get a good crack at Mayo.”

A goalscorer in Donegal’s fever pitch win over Tyrone in Ballybofey 12 months ago, Wherity wasn’t prepared to stay around and launch another Championship assault with a group several of whom will retire from inter-county football at the end of the year.

He wasn’t alone. Ryan Bradley emigrated to the Middle East. With a law and economics degree from DCU in his back pocket, Wherity is now working with a financial company in New York and intends staying there for the foreseeable future. “I’ve applied for another visa, waiting on that. That’ll be 50-50, otherwise I’ll be going out to look for an American girl!”

The Letterkenny man is as much a character as a free spirit. “I suppose we are still amateur players at the end of the day and me, personally, I wouldn’t feel that much pressure playing. Some guys kind of get wound up by it all and that kind of stuff.”

His recollection of his brief flirtation with Australian Rules is colourful: “I was down for a year with Ricky Nixon, whenever he was having his debacle,” he says referring to the infamous agent who has his accreditation suspended by the AFL after reports of an inappropriate affair with a 17-year-old girl.

Wherity bought into Jim McGuinness’s strict doctrine, but only for a while. He might have stepped away from it but his appreciation for his set-up is just as strong as it was when he was part of it.

“Obviously, some people back home they don’t like change, they’re a bit insular like that. People look at Jim McGuinness and they said ‘what’s this guy playing at?’ He managed to win an All-Ireland out of it and the next season everyone is copying his tactics.

“Monaghan turned the tables on us in the Ulster final, played an ultra-defensive game on us and we weren’t even able to beat our system. People might have been giving out about it but they were looking at it, and they admired it as well in that sense.”

Rory Kavanagh’s red card didn’t help but he was surprised they didn’t beat Monaghan in last Sunday’s Division 2 final, having spent time training in Portugal a week before the game.

He can draw parallels between Donegal and New York now, as they prepare to face Mayo.

“Obviously, Jim takes it to another level with tactics and the defensive side of things. Obviously, that’s the way the game is going too. Ian [Galvin] has put a plan together in place to stop Mayo functioning as much as they would like.

“Obviously, probably looking at Jim McGuinness and even Dublin to an extent, these guys have brought the game to another level. That’s what we want to try and do — implement our plan and try force Mayo to play in a style they don’t want to play. Hopefully, that will reap dividends for us on the day and we put in a good performance.

“From the outset last year [before the Tyrone game], Jim McGuinness, he just kept reiterating ‘May 26, May 26’, to us, but it was the same over here — ‘May 4, May 4’. Everything’s geared towards that one day for us, especially over here where we don’t have a competitive game or we don’t have a backdoor system.

“It’s really do-or-die on the day and putting it all into this one day it’s the only reason why we are out there training in cold weather and the pissing rain. We are really looking forward to getting out there in the sunshine on Sunday and giving Mayo a good crack.”

Wherity has more appetite than most to deliver against Mayo having been at the receiving end of Donegal’s crushing 16-point defeat to them in last August’s All-Ireland quarter-final. “They don’t even have a plan in place if we win,” he remarks.

So enthused is he by the prospect of revenge that he believes beating them would knock them out of the championship before being corrected (Galway’s close shave in Gaelic Park in 2010 ensured the visiting Connacht team would get a second bite of the cherry). Does he genuinely feel New York can pull off a victory that would put everything fellow exiles London achieved last year firmly in the shade?

“I have to say yes, don’t I?” he smiles. “You are not playing this game to go out and get hammered by Mayo. Looking at the last few years, I was surprised why the scores against the lesser teams were so bad, losing by 20-22 points.

“Mayo coming over here, it will really heighten our sense of the occasion. If you look back at the results, New York have played better against Galway and Mayo.

“It’s the sense of occasion and they realise what’s in front of them and what they really need to achieve and so it brings the best out of players, by all accounts.”

MAYO: R Hennelly (Breaffy); T Cunniffe (Castlebar Mitchels), K Keane (Westport), K Higgins (Ballyhaunis); L Keegan (Westport), C Boyle (Davitts), D Vaughan (Ballinrobe); J Gibbons (Ballintubber), A O’Shea (Breaffy); D O’Connor (Ballintubber), S O’Shea (Breaffy), J Doherty (Burrishoole); K McLoughlin (Knockmore), A Moran (Ballaghaderreen (captain), C O’Connor (Ballintubber).

NEW YORK: G Joyce (Cavan NY/Ballymartin, Down); R McGinley (Cavan NY/Errigal Ciarán, Tyrone), G McCartan (Kerry NY/Burren, Down), K O’Connor (Kerry NY/Listowel Emmett’s, Kerry); K Scally (Westmeath NY/Tyrrellspass, Westmeath), P O’Connor (Cork NY/Kilmurry Ibrickane, Clare), D O’Sullivan (Cork NY/Clonakilty, Cork); B Quigley (Captain, Donegal NY/Timahoe, Laois), A Raftery (Cork NY/Oranmore Maree, Galway); P Boyle (Donegal NY/Castlewellan, Down), J Kelly (Offaly NY/Shannonbridge, Offaly), R Wherity (Kerry NY/St Eunans, Donegal); J McGeeney (Armagh NY/Culloville Blues, Armagh), K Quinn (Leitrim NY/Mayobridge, Down), G O’Driscoll (Kerry NY/Skellig Rangers, Kerry).

Subs: R Coyle (Mayo NY/Parke/Keelogues/Crimlin, Mayo), C McCormack (Kerry NY/St Mary’s, Dublin), H Curran (Cork NY/Newcestown, Cork), S McNamee (Cork NY/Crossmaglen Rangers, Armagh), N Farrell (Kerry NY/Donaghmore, Ashbourne, Meath), L Maguire (Leitrim NY/Clones, Monaghan), T Warburton (Cavan NY/Castledaly, Westmeath), J Huvane (St Raymond’s), P Graham (Monaghan NY/Oram Sarsfields, Monaghan), M Reilly (Cavan NY/Shercock, Cavan), R Morgan (Armagh NY/Keady Micheal Dwyers, Armagh).