Donaghy’s star burns brightest again on big stage

Kieran Donaghy returned to his natural habitat in Croke Park yesterday – basking in the glow of the spotlight.

Eight years after he set the football world spinning on its axis when moved to full-forward against Longford in an All-Ireland football qualifier in Killarney, the Austin Stack giant was back on the edge of the square in the green and gold on a September Sunday.

Talk of such a deployment seemed foolhardy at the start of the season as he struggled with a nasty groin injury and then things went from bad to worse when he damaged his shoulder while on club duty.

The obituaries were ready, The Star had all but fallen and faded from the football skies. Full-backs could rest easy again.

But then came Mayo and two games which transformed Kerry and the most famous man wearing number 14 since Eoin ‘Bomber’ Liston

“No, and I’d be a fool and anyone else to say it,” he said when asked about dreaming of being involved on All-Ireland final day earlier this year.

“I saw it for Kerry (an All-Ireland), which made me hungrier to try and get back in the fold.

“In fairness to management they instilled the belief in us, even after that heavy defeat to Cork in the league. That was a bad loss but we didn’t show up that day. We promised ourselves after that, and the management made us promise, that that would never happen again and the team showed great courage and togetherness and a great bond.”

The always exuberant Donaghy admitted that the past nine months have been the most challenging of his time as a Kerry footballer.

An August afternoon when he left Croke Park as an unused sub was his Ground Zero.

“It was hard, especially after the Galway game. I was disappointed. I always said I’d finish playing when I felt I couldn’t offer the team anything. That was the day I was coming down saying ‘can I offer the team anything?’

“But with a bit of luck against Mayo, we were able to pull it out of the fire and I got the confidence back.”

A Donaghy with the confidence back was a Donaghy transformed. The ‘bit of luck’ against Mayo was anything but as he came back to haunt the Connacht champions on successive weekends, causing chaos with every leap. It garnered him a start against Donegal. But surely Jim McGuinness and his brains trust would have a plan to dent his influence? It worked to an extent as the air space around the Donegal danger area was well protected. But then 52 minutes in, Donaghy had the ball in the net. And his feet never had to leave the ground.

“I was hedging my bets,” he recalled of how he intercepted Paul Durcan’s kickout. “I knew Leo McCloone was behind me and Eamonn McGee. I don’t know if he (Durcan) stubbed the ground or whatever but it ended up in my hands.

“I was going through and they are golden chances to get especially, against a team like Donegal. ”

What feelings must have followed a goal given the backstory of the season?

Redemption? Elation? A two fingers to the critics? “The way I was looking at it was that we were three points up. It felt like it was seven-seven for three hours to me out in the field. I thought it was never going to change from seven-seven. So to get off seven-seven was the big thing and certainly for us to have the momentum was so, so important. I actually had said to the umpire a few minutes beforehand that whoever gets the goal will win it. He didn’t say much back to me!”

But as all the plaudits came his way, Donaghy reminded us that even giants of the game move on eventually.

“But I’m only minding the jersey until the next Kerry number 14 comes along. I’m just privileged and honoured to be part of it.”