The best was yet to come for Kieran Donaghy.
It’s a windy December night in 2004 and Kieran Donaghy is just another Underdog. He’s impressed through the trials, he’s made the cut for the team and he’s lining out against his home county Kerry in his own back yard in Tralee.
Kieran Donaghy hasn’t made a breakthrough yet but a towering display from midfield that helps the Underdogs defeat Kerry in Austin Stack Park changes things. Jack O’Connor takes notice and a star is soon born in green and gold.
After a ten year absence, TG4’s Underdogs is back on our televisions. The trials took place last week and Paul Galvin, Valerie Mulcahy and Ray Silke picked their squad after run-outs in Celbridge, in Trim and in Abbotstown.
Now, the unheralded bunch will begin their journey and their trainers will ramp up the intensity. Now they’ve tunnel vision on getting themselves on that starting 15 for when the team take on an inter-county outfit in a few months time.
Kieran Donaghy knows where these Underdogs are at right now. He’s well aware of the opportunity that’s in front of them, he know just how much it’ll take for them to shed the unrecognised tag and make it at inter-county level.
Donaghy retired a Kerry legend on Tuesday morning. That Underdogs experience set him up for a 14-year career that would see him go down as one of the game’s greatest ever full forwards.
His former teammate Paul Galvin had him in for a few motivational words with the class of 2018, and Donaghy delivers a speech to get the hair standing on all of their necks.
“Like yesterday I remember it,” said Donaghy of his famous coming of age in Tralee.
“It was unreal, to go to war with fellas from all over the country,” he continued.
He had one piece of advice for this year’s bunch.
“It’s so much when you’re coming up against an inter-county team in a once-off, do-or-die game, are you putting in the one percenters?”
.@starryboy14 is back with the 'Underdogs'! Tonight @ 21:30 @TG4TV. @ballsdotie @The42GAA @SportsJOEdotie @PunditArena pic.twitter.com/kfZPNh51Gx
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) September 13, 2018
He’s urging them to control the controllables, to prepare like demons, to go for it.
Bring on tonight’s episode on TG4.
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