Emlyn Mulligan: 'I'd love my daughter to see me in a Leitrim jersey'

The Letirim star's start against Sligo in the FBD Connacht League on Monday night was his first in three years since lining out against Derry at Croke Park in the 2019 Division 4 league final.

Emlyn Mulligan during the Connacht FBD League Preliminary Round match between Leitrim and Sligo at the NUI Galway Connacht GAA Air Dome. Picture: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Emlyn Mulligan has admitted that the buzz of both playing for and learning from Andy Moran, allied to his personal quest for ‘a bit of redemption’, are at the root of his decision to resume inter-county football with Leitrim.

Scorepoacher Mulligan’s start against Sligo in the FBD Connacht League on Monday night was his first in three years since lining out against Derry at Croke Park in the 2019 Division 4 league final.

In that 34-month period, Leitrim have played 16 competitive games and won just twice. Throw in the fact that Mulligan, who left the squad after the Championship defeat to Roscommon in 2019, is now 34, has a young family and a burgeoning coaching career and you might wonder why one of the county’s most prolific ever scorers is back.

Now based with St Mary’s in Sligo, the ex-Leitrim captain says there are a number of reasons for returning but principally it is about experiencing life under Mayo great Moran and ensuring that inter-county football didn’t end on the low of 2019 when, struggling for confidence, he stepped away from then boss Terry Hyland’s panel and wasn’t asked back.

“Definitely part of it is about looking for a bit of redemption,” said Mulligan, who doubles as a selector with the county’s U20s.

“That’s why I could never have retired, even in my own head, back in 2019. I would have felt all along I still had something left to offer. The other side of it is that if Andy didn’t think I had something to offer, he wouldn’t have me on the panel. And he’s been honest about that, and I’ve been honest too and I’ve said to him that if I feel it’s not happening then I’ll say it.

Leitrim's manager Andy Moran. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie

“So it’s a mixture of a few things. Every person has their own thoughts and reasons for wanting to do it and look, my wife wouldn’t have been 100% supportive of it. But it’s something that’s very important to me and definitely there’s a bit of redemption there that you’re chasing.

“The excitement of Andy being there and knowing what he’s capable of bringing is a huge part of it too. I feel I can learn from him in so many ways, as a player but also just watching how he coaches and manages too.”

Mulligan’s comeback took many by surprise when the team-sheet for Monday’s pre-season game at the new NUI Galway Connacht Air Dome was released beforehand.

It turns out that the man who made his Leitrim debut all of 16 years ago in the 2006 National League agreed to go right back to scratch and to take part in county trials again. After impressing, he was retained and has been part of the group since training resumed. But it’s a very different experience to even three years ago when he last played.

“We have a young baby at home, a seven-month old and she had me up at four in the morning and then I was in for work at seven on the morning shift,” explained Mulligan, a Garda, of his buildup to Monday’s clash with Sligo. “It was a busy day at work and you’re dashing out then to the game so it’s different to how life used to be but you adapt and you deal with it. Part of it too is the fact that I’d love my daughter to see me in a Leitrim jersey. All these things are important little things.”

Mulligan’s comeback is all the more impressive given he overcame three separate cruciate knee ligament injuries during his career, the most recent of which was in 2017.

His competitive return coincided with the first staging of an indoor competitive inter-county senior game at the €3.1m Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence on Monday.

“It’s an absolutely amazing structure,” said Mulligan. “My Dad and my father-in-law and my wife were all there and they couldn’t get over it. The beauty of it was that there was a gale force wind outside and it would have been a wreck of an evening normally in that weather.”