CAOLAN Mooney plans to seize every minute playing for Down and knows that the next time he leaves, it won’t be his decision.
The 31-year-old speed merchant quit the Mourne panel at the end of the 2022 season and felt his inter-county career was over.
A serious knee injury – a ruptured cruciate – sustained playing for Downpatrick later that same year seemed to confirm that his Down days were indeed at an end.
But he was tempted back into the fold towards the end of last season and was glad to put his shoulder to the wheel this year.
After a 21-month absence, Mooney returned in Down’s handsome Division Three win over Limerick earlier this month and helped his county over the line against Antrim last Sunday.
Mooney acknowledged he’d “made a mistake” by calling time on his inter-county career after Down crashed and burned in the opening round of the 2022 Ulster Championship.
“I’m 31 now and this is the last hurrah,” said a smiling Mooney at pitch-side on Sunday.
“The next time I go, it’ll be me being pushed out the door, not me walking away! Look, I’m living a dream.
“If you don’t love playing for your county you shouldn’t be doing it. I know in the past I made the mistake of leaving after 2022 – I’ll not go into that – but I love playing for Down.
“I was playing minor since I was 16 and I’m now 31. I put a lot of my life into this. If you don’t love it, you shouldn’t be here.
“I have two kids now and hopefully they go on and play for Down too.”
Mooney added: “It’s been a long journey, a lot of bumps along the road, a lot of good days, a lot of bad days but it comes with the injury and I just hope I’m over it now.
“I’ve had plenty of breaks in between with the knee and the head injury [a fractured skull sustained in 2019] so I haven’t had a consistent spell. But I’ll enjoy every minute.”
A motivating factor for Mooney to be back playing for his county has been the infectious personality of manager Conor Laverty.
“They say good things come in small packages and ‘Lav’ just packs everything,” Mooney said.
“He has the endeavour, he absolutely loves football, the man lives and breathes it. And around the group he is good for the banter when he needs to be and when he needs to be serious, he really, really drives us.
“We all want to play for him. He’s put a lot of effort into us - and we have to give it back and replicate what he wants on the field.”
While Mooney adds a fair degree of experience to the Down panel, he feels that it’s the younger members of the panel that’s driving the older players on.
The U20 class of 2021 and 2023 claimed provincial honours and are bringing the same winning mentality to Laverty’s senior squad.
“I think this is a group that has been rejuvenated by the U20s,” Mooney noted.
“They’re coming back with success and they’re pushing us on now. I’ve come through the ranks and didn’t get any success, but these boys know how to win and they’re really bringing us on. It’s a tight group.
“The boys enjoy being around one another and the management team is great. Look, all we want to do every week is play football and win matches.”
Following his return to Down colours against Limerick a couple of weeks ago, Down assistant Declan Morgan said: “It’s brilliant to see Caolan on the pitch. I think every Down supporter will be very happy to see that. He’s worked so hard. He had a terrible injury and has worked really hard to get back. He’s given everybody a lift around the place.”