Timing is everything in life. And while it is often flawed to suggest there is a good time for footballers to retire, there is little doubt Patrick McBrearty could hardly have timed his arrival as a Donegal footballer much better.
McBrearty played during a golden period for the county, an era of unprecedented success.
Before he became a Donegal senior footballer in the summer of 2011, the county had won a total of five Ulster titles. But during his 15-year intercounty career McBrearty helped bring a further seven Anglo Celt Cup titles to the northwest.
He walks away with more Ulster medals than any Donegal footballer in history.
RM Block
The Kilcar clubman also mined an All-Ireland title in 2012 and played in three All-Ireland finals. Donegal have appeared in just four deciders.
But it was only a golden period because Donegal produced a golden generation of players, of which McBrearty was certainly one.
“I remember hearing about this young lad from Kilcar and the talk was that he was a definite star for the future,” recalls former Donegal forward Brendan Devenney.
“And then he famously made his senior debut on the same day he played minor. Even then he already looked like a man rather than a kid on the football field.
“He was comfortable at senior level immediately and it turned out all the talk about him was on the money. He had a phenomenal career with Donegal and, on his day, Patrick was one of the best forwards in Ireland.”
McBrearty’s retirement was confirmed on Monday night, with the forward forced to step away from the intercounty game on the back of medical advice in relation to the “sustained recurrence of a knee injury” which has hindered him in recent seasons.
McBrearty suffered a cruciate ligament injury during Donegal’s 2018 Ulster final win over Fermanagh.
He made 167 appearances for Donegal, 82 of which came in the championship. His last appearance was as a second-half sub in July’s All-Ireland final defeat to Kerry at Croke Park.
His last start was in the group stage victory over Cavan in June, have also lined out from the off in this year’s Ulster final win over Armagh.
During his career the 32-year-old, who has been based in Dublin for work in recent years, also represented Ireland in the International Rules series.
McBrearty scored 15 goals and 465 points during his days in green and gold, captaining Donegal to their most recent provincial titles in 2024 and 2025.
“He took on the captaincy after Michael Murphy retired, so that shows you the esteem in which he was held,” Devenney added.
“If there was one thing I would have liked for Patrick, it’s that the new rules had been introduced a few years ago because I think they really suit him.
“With the new rules he might not have had to chase back down the pitch as often and could have stayed closer to goal where he had all the attributes to do damage. That was where Patrick was at his most dangerous, close to the opposition goal.”
Murphy, who came out of retirement this season, is now the only remaining player from Donegal’s 2012 All-Ireland winning side.
“I don’t think we realised how good we had it at the time,” continued Devenney. “In 2012 we had a full-forward line of Michael Murphy, Patrick McBrearty and Colm McFadden.
“You nearly have to pinch yourself when you look at the scoring threat Donegal had then. Patrick had a brilliant career and his contribution to Donegal football was huge.”
