Patrick McBrearty

Patrick "Paddy" McBrearty (born 5 August 1993 in Dublin) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays Gaelic football with his local club Chíll Chartha and has been a member of the Donegal senior inter-county team since 2011. A graduate of the Phoenix Elite Academy, he is usually selected in the full-forward line for his county, often flanking Michael Murphy with Colm McFadden. In 2015, Pat Spillane included McBrearty in his top 40 footballers in the game today.
Among other accolades, he has one All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (2012), three Ulster Senior Football Championships (2011, 2012 and 2014) and two International Rules Series (2013, 2015). With this early success, McBrearty is believed to be "the most decorated player of his age ever to represent Donegal." He is also part of an exclusive club to have played minor and senior matches for their county on the same day. Indeed, he was the first Ulster footballer since Benny Coulter of Down to play both grades on the one afternoon – Benny is still waiting on that All-Ireland medal after Cork 2010.
A major contributor to Donegal teams since his emergence at the start of the successful Jim McGuinness managerial era, McBrearty is considered one of the finest young footballers to have arrived on the Donegal scene since Murphy. Opponents have highlighted his "ace" attacking abilities and regard him as a considerable threat. Like Murphy, McBrearty has been a live target for Australian Football League recruitment. He turns down such offers as he wishes to further his education in Ireland and to spend time with his family.

Underage

McBrearty used to play association football with St Catherine's F.C. – also the hometown club of Everton's Séamus Coleman – and is a close friend of Irish association footballer Carl McHugh with whom he played for Ireland and went on trial at Celtic. At Celtic he trained alongside the likes of Bobo Baldé and Thomas Gravesen. He has also played soccer for Finn Harps at underage level. He also played underage for his local club Kilcar and has won many titles alongside his brother Stephen.

He also played in the under-21 teams that lost to Cavan in the 2013 & 2014 Ulster finals.

Inter-county

2011 season

McBrearty was drafted into the senior panel by manager Jim McGuinness in May 2011 ahead of Donegal's opening Ulster Senior Football Championship game against Antrim. He made his Donegal senior inter-county debut against Cavan at 17 years of age and scored 1–3. His 20th minute goal was fired first time along the ground into the Cavan net after a pass from Mark McHugh. His performances during his debut season at senior inter-county level drew widespread praise, both from local and national media.

2012 season

By the age of 18 he had firmly established himself as a member of the Donegal senior football team.

After his second Ulster medal in 2012, Jim and Rory reckoned he had trained only about 25 times with the senior team.

He played in the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final against Mayo, making a notable contribution in the build-up to Donegal's second goal of the game. His attempt at scoring a point came crashing off the Mayo post after eleven minutes of the match and Mayo's Kevin Keane fumbled, dropping the ball into the path of Colm McFadden who promptly slotted it into the back of the net.

Dublin biting incident

Against Dublin in the final game of the 2013 National Football League McBrearty sustained a laceration to the shoulder, reported to have been caused by a bite from a Dublin player. The Donegal management team took photographs of the wound, photographs of a wound which appeared to suggest had been caused by the teeth marks of a Dublin opponent. McBrearty was hospitalised after the game to have the wound examined. Accompanied by his parents, he underwent blood tests and was put on a course of antibiotics by concerned medics.

The incident overshadowed the entire game and rocked Dublin's football team, according to media there. Commentators described it as "shameful." However, Dublin County Board chairman Andy Kettle reacted with indifference, rejecting the need for an investigation and complaining instead of "a hard pitch".

The GAA launched a probe into the behaviour of the Dublin players. On 17 April 2013, the Central Competitions Controls Committee (CCCC) cited Kevin O'Brien, the 2012 under-21 All-Ireland winning captain, for the biting of McBrearty. However, most sources did not immediately name the player. The offence fell under Category III and a three-match ban was proposed, enough to end the player's year if Dublin were to exit the Championship at an early stage.

2013 season

Stalked by "bitegate" (see above) since the end of the National League, McBrearty put in a man of the match performance against Tyrone in Donegal's opening game of the Ulster Championship. He played a crucial role in both of Donegal's goals. Colm Cooper collected his award for him from The Sunday Game. His quieter performance in the following game, an Ulster semi-final against Down, was put down to toothache.

2014 season

McBrearty received a personal message from US actress Sarah Jessica Parker ahead of the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final: "My body is in NYC but my heart is in Donegal. Let's take the All Ireland and Paddy, bring it home to Kilcar. From Sarah Jessica and her son James."

2015 season

2016 season

McBrearty scored eleven points in Donegal's 2016 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship victory over Cork at Croke Park. McBrearty's eleven-point tally went down as the highest total of individual scores recorded by a Donegal player in the same game; Michael McLoone (1966) and Seamus Bonner (1974) jointly hold the record for highest score in the same match. The Irish Times described McBrearty's display as "stunning" and noted that he had helped Donegal become the first Ulster team to reach six consecutive All-Ireland quarter-finals, a record previously only reached by Kerry, Dublin and Cork. The Sun called it "a display for the ages".

International rules

McBrearty was called up for Ireland ahead of the 2013 & 2015 International Rules Series against Australia. He started the first Test at Breffni Park, then came on in the second Test at Croke Park to smash home the goal of that game, as Ireland romped to a record-breaking victory.

Team

• 1 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (2012)
• 3 Ulster Senior Football Championships (2011, 2012, 2014)
• 2 International Rules Series (2013, 2015)
• 2 Ulster Vocational Schools (2011, 2012)
• 1 All-Ireland Vocational Schools (2011)
• 1 Donegal Minor Football Championship
• 2 Donegal U21 Football Championships

Individual

• 2 All Stars Young Footballer of the Year nomination (2012)(2014)
• 2 Ulster Young Footballer of the Year Awards (2011, 2012)

• "Donegal dominate All-Star football nominations with 12 players selected". RTÉ Sport. RTÉ. 3 October 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.