Peadar Mogan and his Donegal teammates are aware of the tough challenge they face this weekend as they play Louth in the All-Ireland quarterfinal in Croke Park.
However, despite the big game, Mogan and co. are buzzing to get Donegal back to GAA HQ while also being aware of the opposition and the work that manager Ger Brennan has done since taking over from Mickey Harte this season.
“I am looking forward to the weekend. Any time you can play in Croke Park in an All-Ireland quarterfinal, it is good to represent the people of Donegal and take them out to Croke Park. You have to look forward to it,” Mogan said.
“The quarter-finals are a huge thing for us. Only three players have played in an All-Ireland semi-final before the Dublin game 2014. We can’t look too far ahead of ourselves. We have to look at putting in a performance on Sunday. It would be huge for us to get to a semi-final, but we are facing a team in the same boat as us, thinking how good it would be to get to that stage. We can't think of anything that’s going to happen down the line yet because we need to try and get to the semi-final first and make that step.
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27 June 2024; PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month for May in football, Peadar Mogan of Donegal, with his award at his club Naomh Naille GAA in Mountcharles, Donegal. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
The Effect Jim McGuiness Has Had On Donegal
The return of manager Jim McGuiness for a second term as Donegal manager has really helped raise spirits among the players and county. This has allowed Mogan and his teammates to live in the present as they try to use their boss's passion for the county.
“He's probably installed that wee bit of belief into you to think that you can progress. I think he's putting us all into a position to drive us forward and is allowing us to express ourselves. We were playing a wee bit faster and with a wee bit more energy than we would have had in other years, which has probably helped us because we have good footballers in Donegal, so it's about getting it out and showcasing it,” Mogan said.
“It was more the conviction. He spoke with passion until you saw him. He cares for Donegal so much. He was a player, manager, and fan of Donegal, so he's done it all. What rubbed off on me was how much he actually cares about the county and how much he wants to do his best for the county, trying to get the support back and giving the supporters something to get off their seats and shout about,
I think it was excitement when he came in. I don’t think we thought about what would happen down the line. We just thought about where we were and that we needed to get competitive first. We got competitive throughout the league, and then we grew into it. You have to take things at the moment rather than worrying about what will happen in the future. That has been the story of the year so far. It's nearly like a flow. You have to stay in the moment and realise that opportunity because years can go by, so you just need to be present.”
Donegal play Louth this Sunday at 13.15.
