KIERAN DONAGHY IS a player you\u2019d love to have on your team, but hate to play against. Aggressive, brash, physically imposing and an in-your-face approach. A win at all costs mentality. A divisive figure, you either worship him or can\u2019t stand him; there\u2019s no real in-between, as he admits himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at me on the pitch, I\u2019m easy not to like,\u201d he says. \u201cI know that like, it\u2019s the way I play. Definitely up in Dublin I wouldn\u2019t be number one, public enemy number one is what I\u2019d be.\u201d<\/p>\n
But beyond the on-field persona, there\u2019s much to like, and admire, about the Kerry footballer. Still formidable in size, Donaghy is best described as a gentle giant. He\u2019s softly-spoken, intelligent and, believe it or not, level-headed.<\/p>\n
In recent media appearances to promote his autobiography, Donaghy has spoken about his future, the black card, Philly McMahon and GAA pensions. His book, after all, is about his GAA career.<\/p>\n
But what of Kieran Donaghy the person? He\u2019s known as one of the most recognisable Kerry footballers of recent time, winner of six Munster titles, four All-Irelands, three league crowns and three All Star awards. But what of the young lad from Tralee who came through a difficult childhood and the tragic death of his father?<\/p>\n
\n Source: Ryan Byrne\/INPHO<\/p>\n
We read of his rags to riches story into football stardom and the incredible success he\u2019s enjoyed during a sparkling career, but perhaps the most revealing aspect of it is the personality behind the facade.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m no saint on the pitch but that\u2019s the way I play,\u201d he tells The42<\/em>. \u201cI play on the edge and do what I have to do to win a game but people don\u2019t know the other side of me. They probably think I\u2019m referencing Joe Brolly in my book\u2019s title (What do you think of that?) but I\u2019m not.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I wanted to reference Joe Brolly properly I would have called it \u2018What do you think of that, Joe Brolly?\u2019 but I\u2019m asking the reader that question.<\/p>\n \u201cRead it and tell me what you think of me. If you still hate me that\u2019s fine but I think people will get a better understanding of why I play the way I play and what drives me as a player.<\/p>\n As he\u2019s entered the twilight of his career, that competitive streak has remained but perspective has been gained. It was once all about winning and the cut-throat environment that such a mindset engendered. Losing simply wasn\u2019t an option.<\/p>\n \u201cI would have cut your hand off to win,\u201d he admits. But now football is not all about winning. He still loves it, no doubt, but there\u2019s more to it than that; the friendships, the team-mates, the life lessons and the journey.<\/p>\n Source: The42.ie\/YouTube<\/p>\n \u201cI came to the realisation in doing this book and the way last year finished up is that of course you want to win the All-Ireland, it\u2019s the ultimate goal,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery other year when I didn\u2019t win the All-Ireland I was completely in a hole for a few weeks after, feeling all sorry for myself and getting all down about it but when I did this book I came to realise that I\u2019m very lucky to be on the journey.<\/p>\n \u201cTo have 12 years as a Kerry senior footballer, to contest eight All-Ireland finals, to win four of them.\u00a0To be on a county like Kerry and deliver for them on the big stage and then there\u2019s the flip side of that, be on a county like Kerry and not deliver on the big stage.<\/p>\n \u201cThere has been days I\u2019ve let Kerry, there\u2019s been days I\u2019ve let myself and my family down with my performances but that\u2019s just with what comes with it but then there are times I\u2019ve given them huge pride and I\u2019ve given myself pride in what I\u2019ve been able to do on the big days for Kerry.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve come to a point where I\u2019m thinking you know what \u2018it\u2019s been a great journey, it has been a hell of a ride and I\u2019ve enjoyed every minute of it and wouldn\u2019t change a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether that ride is over just yet remains to be seen. Donaghy has insisted his decision on whether or not to continue his inter-county career into 2017 won\u2019t be made until the New Year.<\/p>\n Until then, his focus is on his first love \u2013 basketball.<\/p>\n Donaghy returned to playing senior basketball for Tralee Warriors last year and helped his side return to the Super League top tier for this season. It has given him a new lease of life.<\/p>\n \u201cIt probably is my first love,\u201d he reveals. \u201cI\u2019d consider myself a natural basketball player, much more natural on a basketball court than I am on a football pitch. It\u2019s the sport I was better at when I was younger and probably still better at today.<\/p>\n Source: The42.ie\/YouTube<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a sport which today is an enjoyable sport to play and almost pressure-free\u00a0for me. I\u2019ve been lucky enough to win and achieve all my goals in basketball and the reason I\u2019m back playing was to bring the Super League back to Tralee and all the good young players for Tralee, try and be a good mentor for them for two or three years before the body just doesn\u2019t allow me to play basketball at the highest level anymore.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m delighted that it\u2019s going so well. I\u2019m really enjoying it.\u00a0We beat an excellent Swords Thunder team from Dublin in a cup game at the weekend. We had a 1,000 people at it, we had to turn people away.<\/p>\n \u201cThe atmosphere, they\u2019re turning off the lights and doing players intros. We\u2019re trying to jazz it up as much as we can. The reaction we\u2019re getting on Facebook from parents and kids who were at the game, they\u2019ve been blown away by it. If the rest of the league could nearly copy us down in Tralee and get that atmosphere at all the games in the National Basketball League and it got supported by basketball people in general, who watch all the NBA.<\/p>\n \u201cGo down and watch your local guys play. Go watch your Templeogues, your Swords, your DCU Saints. Go watch those guys play, the young Irish players and the talent levels are very high in the league. There are excellent Irish players and of course every team has a very good American. I\u2019d encourage people to get out and watch it.<\/p>\n Donaghy\u2019s return to basketball coincided with his return to form for Kerry. He featured in 11 league and championship games this year for Eamonn Fitzmaurice\u2019s side.<\/p>\n After a frustrating couple of years with injury, 2016 was a good one for the forward as he returned to peak form and enjoyed an extended period in the starting XV until Kerry were dumped out at the semi-final stage by Dublin.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it did me any harm,\u201d he says when asked whether basketball has helped his football career.<\/p>\n \n Donaghy with his daughter Lola-Rose.<\/p>\n Source: Cathal Noonan\/INPHO<\/p>\n \u201cI played for the first time in seven years last year and I went on to play 11 games in a row for Kerry in both league and championship and played quite well in most of them and covered a lot of ground. It definitely did me well, I was in great physical condition, I was very fit after the basketball.<\/p>\n \u201cI was doing basketball and I was training with Damien Ray and the Kerry backroom team when it came to fitness. I came in a very good position with a good base and was able to attack it from where I wanted to attack it.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of the skills are transferable but I think the biggest one and most important one is the decision making. In a basketball game you can touch the ball 130-150 times, sometimes more.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re touching it every time you go down the court, you\u2019re touching it in defence, touching it every time you grab a rebound and you can make decisions constantly. You could make up to 200 decisions where as in football, in the 2014 final, I was nominated for man of the match and I touched the ball 11 times but I made nine or 10 good decisions with that and that comes from the basketball, learning how to make the right decisions all the time.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s obviously the hands and vision, in basketball you have to use your peripheral vision to see what\u2019s around you and I felt I probably used that to the best of my ability on a football pitch for Kerry.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether you like him or not, Donaghy leaves an impression.<\/p>\n On his whistle-stop media tour, he popped into our Dublin office last Monday to complete a full morning of interviews. The same questions, the same answers. Over and over again; it\u2019s the modern way.<\/p>\n \n Source: Andrew Paton\/INPHO<\/p>\n So when he\u2019s asked about basketball, and something other than football and whether he\u2019ll be around next year, he speaks passionately. He deflects the attention away from himself and uses the opportunity to promote the sport, still very much a minority one in Ireland, and to endorse the product he\u2019s very much part of.<\/p>\n \u201cI run a basketball camp every year at Halloween in Tralee,\u201d he continues. \u201cI\u2019m delighted to be part of that and delighted to be helping bringing that back to Tralee. Now I can say to my kids in my camp, which I couldn\u2019t say the last three of four years, that\u2019s there\u2019s something to aim for with the Super League.<\/p>\n \u201cSigning autographs for kids after the game, young guys on the Warriors team who wouldn\u2019t be used to it signing autographs and seeing their face doing that, seeing kids looking up at these guys, now they have an aim and a goal to chase and we didn\u2019t have that in Tralee for the last seven or eight years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s back, it\u2019s fantastic and it\u2019s definitely given be a new lease of life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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