Record-breaker McFadden driving on for more honours

He’s 31 now and it’s 12 years since he was the fresh-faced pup of the Donegal squad.

At this stage in a career that earned him Division 1 and 2 league titles, two Ulster SFC medals, a Celtic cross and an All Star, you’d forgive him for looking back at his record haul. But that’s not Colm McFadden. He is more content to keep doing what he’s doing and let the dust continue to gather before, some day, with the stack of newspapers his wife Levina keeps, he will take stock.

On Sunday, at Celtic Park, in the Ulster SFC quarter-final against Derry, he will break a new record in Donegal. It will be McFadden’s 51st inter-county championship appearance edging him ahead of Michael Hegarty, who made his 50th in the 2011 All-Ireland semi-final.

McFadden, who has amassed 9-145 in his 11 seasons — he was absent in 2006 as he was studying in Liverpool — made his debut in 2002 against Down in the Ulster quarter-final.

“Colm was young and gangly when he came in but had a wand of a left foot,” says Brendan Devenney, then the county’s established forward.

Celtic Park will also provide the St Michael’s club man with his 150th showing for Donegal. It’s a milestone that only one other player for the county — Brian Roper, who ended up with 159 — managed.

“It annoys me when people criticise him for not tracking back. Having played in the same position, Declan Bonner and I were always told to stay in the corner for when the chance arose,” says Manus Boyle, who scored nine points in the 1992 All-Irelandfinal.

“Colm’s job is to be there and score and nobody’s done it better for Donegal. People might say there’s a lot of frees in that but take it from me, they don’t go over the bar by themselves.”

That criticism of the St Michael’s forward reached its peak in 2010. Hooked by then manager John Joe Doherty as Donegal were on the way to a 2-15 to 0-11 first-round qualifier drubbing to Armagh at Crossmaglen, the RTÉ cameras caught a glance of McFadden grinning on the bench.

The expression was far from blasé. It was a quizzical one from a player just learning that there would be a presentation on the pitch after the massacre, to reward him for reaching 100 appearances. “Could it not wait to some other time?” wondered McFadden.

That chance mightn’t have arrived. Only 27, McFadden questioned his future. But there was a silver lining, as Jim McGuinness — married toMcFadden’s sister Yvonne — was the odds-on favourites in the one-horse race to succeed Doherty.

Since McGuinness has taken charge of Donegal, McFadden has scored more than half — 7-66 (87) of his personal total 9-145 (172) — since 2002. His 4-32 in 2012 was one of the main reasons for Donegal won a second All-Ireland title.

“Jim has been a major factor in Colm’s progress,” says Joyce McMullin, who lined out for Donegal from 1981 to ’94. Colm is strong,dangerous and gets his shot away quick. It’s not common in big men.”

Another big man, Michael Murphy, used to be a student of McFadden’s at St Eunan’s College Letterkenny. The two men have developed clairvoyance. Both scored early goals in the 2012 All-Ireland final to put Donegal 2-1 to 0-0 up before, on 16 minutes, Murphy fisted a pass over his head for McFadden to run onto. David Clarke’s save kept Mayo in the match.

“That was directly off the training pitch,” McGuinness says. “Michael and Colm came to me about that. They practiced that as an inside-forward line. That came from them and that’s the case a lot of the time.”

Boyle added: “Himself and Michael Murphy have a great understanding. Michael can take attention away from him and that’s when Colm has flourished. They have a brilliant ability to work together.”

Donegal’s rickety 2013 season means nobody knows what to expect on Sunday. If they are to prosper, McFadden will be a driving influence.