2 days Ago
Donegal's Peadar Mogan. Photo: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile Peadar Mogan had never met Jim McGuinness before he pitched up as Donegal manager for this season. Save for a quick photo when McGuinness brought Sam Maguire to Mountcharles way back in 2012, the pair had never crossed paths.
But Mogan knew enough to be excited about what could come next. You see 2023 had been a year to forget for both Donegal and Mogan. Off the field, Donegal were imploding.
The county found itself at odds with one of its greatest players, Karl Lacey, as their academy structure collapsed while a Croke Park report revealed 14 ‘high-risk’ findings in the running of the county’s affairs. On the field, things weren’t much better. This was the beginning of life after Michael Murphy.
Paddy Carr stepped down just a few months into the gig. Relegation from Division 1 was followed by a home preliminary quarter-final defeat to Tyrone to cap a ruinous season. It was a difficult year for Mogan too who was based in Liverpool for University for part of the year before picking up an injury that ruled him out of much of the action.
McGuinness’s appointment felt like a much-needed new start for everyone. “There was huge excitement within the county and personally too there was huge excitement because he’s been there. He’s managed Donegal before and you know what was done so it was great, knowing that you’re going to get to work with someone like that, someone that has the expertise so I’d say the .
