IT’S WET AND WINDY around The Bridge in Dunfanaghy, but even these sort of nights never put Colm McFadden off his stride.
McFadden has been ‘overwhelmed’ and ‘overcome’ by the reaction to his announcement on Saturday night that he was retiring from inter-county football.
The St Michael’s man called time as Donegal’s record appearance holder and as Donegal’s record scorer of all time.
He ammassed a stunning 25 goals and 434 points across the 170 times he turned out for Donegal since 2001.
[adrotate group=”81″]“At the end up, it was probably an easy decision to make,” he said in his first full interview since the announcement, given to reporters after Saturday’s All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Dublin at Croke Park.
“The last couple of winters I thought about it. Now is the right time to go. I’ve given all I can for Donegal over the last 14 or 15 years.
“I was lucky to play with a good generation of Donegal footballers and lucky enough to play for four years under Jim McGuinness with a lot of success.”
[adrotate group=”38″]McFadden’s best year was in 2012 when he was untouchable as Donegal won the All-Ireland.
He said: “We were all at the peak of our fitness and confidence was sky high. The training sessions were nearly more enjoyable.
“You were slogging it out, but you weren’t on your own. We were working hard together. That bond we created was special and the games took care of themselves.”
One game that stands out more than any, though, is the 2011 All-Ireland semi-final, a game Donegal lost to Dublin.
[adrotate group=”46″]It was the day that McGuinness came armed with a blanket and 14 men in his defence. Only McFadden was left amid a swarm of Dublin defenders, but the plan so nearly worked
McFadden said: “It’s the game that stands out most.
“We were out watching the minor game and the sun was belting down. We went in and when we came out it was lashing the rain. The roar we got was so loud; the loudest I ever ran out for.
“Dublin didn’t know what to do for a long part of that game. The Dublin crowd were booing. We didn’t care.”
[adrotate group=”37″]Just after half-time, with Donegal ahead, McFadden had a goal chance that flew inches over the crossbar. He can replay it so vididly, even now five years on.
He said: “I jinked, dummied inside. So many thoughts go through your head. ‘It’s Cluxton in nets here I better hit this one a wee bit harder’.
“It just went over the bar. Had it went in, I duno…I think we learned more that day from the defeat. We got the hunger and appetite for a big game and we wanted more of it. We saw, too, that we could compete at that level.”
Listen to the full interview below …
https://soundcloud.com/donegalsporthub-club-notes/colm-mcfadden-on-retirement-from-donegal
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