BRENDAN Devenney’s world has always been different to the rest of us – often in the most uplifting way.
At roughly two o’clock in the morning, the night after St Eunan’s Letterkenny won the 2024 county championship, Devenney and some of the team are engaged in a full-blown basketball game at the side of his house.
During it Devenney is mesmerised by Ciaran Moore’s ability on the court.
“We’re all playing, the craic’s good, it’s the night after winning the championship, and I realise Moore is unbelievable at basketball.
“I was like: ‘What the f***!’ Moore’s making three-pointers all over the place and I’m looking at this guy saying to myself: ‘Is there anything you can’t do?’ That man has some ability...”
Devenney’s admiration extends beyond Moore’s sporting IQ and is hugely optimistic about the year ahead for Donegal.
“The two Allstar boys Oisin Gallen, Peadar Mogan, you’ve Ryan McHugh, Brendan McCole was an absolute revelation, you’ve players coming back too Finbarr Roarty, Eoghan McGettigan, Odhran McFadden-Ferry and of course the Murphy man.”
It was Devenney who famously coined the phrase, if you could cut Michael Murphy in half, he’d be number one and two in the pantheon of great footballers in Donegal.
In the months after announcing his inter-county retirement in November 2022, Murphy was asked a million times over would he ever consider a comeback.
He was as emphatic as any man could ever be. But the second coming of Jim McGuinness was the unexpected game-changer, probably the only game-changer that could persuade the Glenswilly totem to return.
Murphy’s brilliant form for his club last season must also have figured in his reasoning to go back.
But it’s not Murphy at 27 years of age Donegal are getting in 2025. He’s 35 now and two years away from the rigors of the inter-county scene.
Everyone remembers his titanic tussle in the 2022 Ulster final with Derry’s Brendan Rodgers and Murphy coming out second best.
And how will the new playing rules impact Murphy’s influence, especially with some early stats suggesting the running capacity of the so-called middle eight is going northwards and is somewhere in the region of 15 to 20 per cent higher?
Will he play as one of the inside three, or Donegal’s plus-one at the back, or even goalkeeper as McGuinness teased the media at a briefing in Convoy last week?
Was Devenney surprised about Murphy reversing his retirement decision?
“Yes and no,” the St Eunan’s man says.
“I think when you retire it’s such a change in your life, particularly for someone like Murphy. I’ve never seen a GAA man like him. His life is total GAA. I know you’re still playing club - but the lure of inter-county and all those memories, I think it’s very hard to say no.
“Before Jim came in last year he might have already committed to other things – media work and maybe had things lined up. I think he was very close to coming back last year.
“I suppose you have to look at these new tactics and see how they play out, how Michael fits into the training regime as you’d imagine the training will be upped significantly since the last time Jim was in charge.
“Michael, I suppose, will be tested to his limit but his leadership and having him around the team must be brilliant for the group. He’s such a force, such a presence. There are many sides to Michael coming back. What happens on the pitch, we’ll not know until it starts.”
Donegal journalist and GAA writer Chris McNulty has backed Murphy’s return - and even though he’s firmly in the twilight of his playing days, there remains a distinct aura around him.
“Michael Murphy had an exceptional year with Glenswilly in the club championship and he’s not the kind of person that would make a decision just with his heart.
“He’s not going back to sit at number 26 and maybe play 10 or 20 minutes. He’s going back to make an impact.”
With Murphy, McNulty feels, Donegal are stronger than they were in 2024 which yielded an Ulster title and an All-Ireland semi-final berth.
A good return you might say for McGuinness’s first year back – but the All-Ireland was theirs for the taking.
Whether it was a lack of legs going down the home stretch with Galway last July or simply a lack of scoring efficiency that can plague any team at any given moment, Donegal are primed to mount another serious assault on the Sam Maguire in 2025 and will have the added benefit of propelling themselves into the Championship from Division One.
“Donegal were in a bad place in 2023 and were getting a bit of a kicking<” McNulty says, “but when Jim McGuinness came in this time, the team weren’t that bad because if you look around the dressing room – now the results would have suggested otherwise – they’d some of the most talented players in the country.
“When Paddy Carr came in, Neil McGee retires, Michael Murphy retires, Patrick McBrearty gets an injury which effectively ends his season… They just lost a little bit of direction.
“Ryan McHugh, Michael Langan, Shaun Patton, Oisin Gallen were still in the dressing room.
“So, McGuinness comes into that and those players have got 10 or 15 per cent in their boots before they even meet the guy.”
McNulty adds: “I’ve come out of press conferences with Jim McGuinness and feel you could play full-forward for Donegal simply because he has that ability to make you feel 10 feet tall. He’s a great communicator and well known for his tactical nous and all of that.
Devenney agrees.
“Jim just instils something in these boys that they seem to grow. He just brings out the magic.”
One of the best duos in Gaelic football - McGuinness and Murphy - have been reunited for an encore. Everybody wants a front row seat.
Although Kerry are in their sights down in Killarney on Sunday afternoon in the first Allianz NFL Division One outing of the year, a strengthened Donegal will be looking at bigger things further down the line.
DONEGAL
Fixtures (Division One):
Sun Jan 26th: Kerry (a) Killarney, 1.45pm
Sat Feb 1st: Dublin (H) Ballybofey, 7.30pm
Sun Feb 16th: Armagh (H) Ballybofey, 3.45pm
Sun Feb 23rd: Galway (a) Pearse Stadium, 3.45pm
Sun March 2nd: Derry (H) Ballyshannon, 1.45pm
Sun March 16th: Tyrone (H) Letterkenny, 3.30pm
Sun March 23rd: Mayo (a) Castlebar, 3.45pm
Ulster SFC preliminary round: Derry (H)
2024 League results (Division Two):
Donegal 1-20 Cork 2-6
Cavan 0-12 Donegal 0-13
Donegal 2-16 Fermanagh 0-8
Armagh 1-9 Donegal 0-12
Donegal 1-17 Louth 0-15
Kildare 1-8 Donegal 0-17
Donegal 1-18 Meath 1-10
Division Two Final: Donegal 0-15 Armagh 0-14
2024 Championship results:
Ulster SFC quarter-final: Derry 0-17 Donegal 4-11
Ulster SFC semi-final: Donegal 0-18 Tyrone 0-16 (aet)
Ulster SFC final: Donegal 0-20 Armagh 0-20 (aet) (Donegal win 6-5 on penalties)
All-Ireland SFC Group 3:
Donegal 0-21 Tyrone 0-14
Cork 3-9 Donegal 0-16
Clare 0-5 Donegal 2-23
All-Ireland SFC quarter-final: Donegal 1-23 Louth 0-18
All-Ireland SFC semi-final: Galway 1-14 Donegal 0-15
Five-year record:
2024: Division: Two; Points: 13; Position: 1st, promoted
2023: Division: One; Points: 3; Position: 8th, relegated
2022: Division: One; Points: 7; Position: 4th
2021: Division: One North; Points: 4; Position: 1st of 4
2020: Division: One; Points: 7; Position: 5th