'It still haunts you' - Donegal star Ryan McHugh on 2014 All-Ireland defeat to Kerry

RYAN MCHUGH HAS never watched the 2014 All-Ireland football final back.

11 years on, the scars remain. Sunday offers a shot at redemption against Kerry, who won on a scoreline of 2-9 to 0-12 to deny Donegal a second title in three years. 

It also brings another crack at a first Celtic Cross for McHugh, who joined the panel the year after 2012 success.

“I watch every game back. With 2014, I never took it upon myself to sit down and watch it back,” two-time All-Star McHugh says.

“I don’t think I played well that day. Just could never bring myself to get it. Maybe it was the inexperience of the whole thing.

“It was a tough one, there’s no point in lying. It still haunts you. You go into the game on such a high and after such a huge performance against Dublin. We did everything so right against Dublin and then not to click against Kerry. Obviously Kerry had a good performance, but it was such a disappointment for us.

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“You move on, but you don’t get over defeats like that. Even if we won this one, it wouldn’t get over 2014. We were in a position to win the All-Ireland final and we didn’t do it.”

The 31-year-old defender is in a reflective mood as he recalls the highs and lows, ups and downs, trials and tribulations of over a decade in inter-county football.

“I thought those days would be around all the time,” McHugh continues. “With the team winning in 2012 and getting to finals and semi-finals, you thought that you’d get a chance to get back to another one. That didn’t happen, but to get back here 11 years later is great.

“It’ll mean nothing if we can’t get over the line. Kerry are a top, top team with top, top players and arguably, in my opinion anyway, the best player to play the game. It will be massive, but we’re relishing it. This is where you want to be as a player, getting ready for an All-Ireland final. I’ve been fortunate enough to be in one before in 2014 and now we have another opportunity.”

The Kilcar man has been a mainstay for Donegal since his arrival in 2013, bar a necessary break in 2023.

He announced himself with 2-2 to dethrone Dublin on his All-Ireland semi-final debut, two years after captaining the minor team in 2012. That period was a whirlwind.

“It’s crazy, but at the time you’re so engrossed, it takes over your life. You’re training five, six days a week and you don’t know any different.

“I have been extremely fortunate to be born in an era of Donegal football where we have been competitive. I came into a team of my heroes and role models. I remember one of the first meetings I was in, Jim [McGuinness] has touched on it that he tries to bring the best minor up, and fortunately he felt that was me.

“I was extremely lucky to come into a dressing room with all the players I looked up to. Karl Lacey was my hero growing up. To get to follow him around, work off him and see how he lived his life, improved me . . .

“It’s been football, football, football — but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Like Lacey on McHugh, another player who has similar effect is Michael Murphy.

The 2012 All-Ireland winning captain and five-time All-Star made a sensational retirement U-turn to rejoin the Donegal panel this season. He has been instrumental on their road back to a first final since ’14.

“It hasn’t surprised me. There isn’t a lot more that you can say about Michael. He is a phenomenal footballer, but it’s the way he lives his life outside of football. He lives like a professional person and the way he conducts himself, he’s a real role model and an unbelievable ambassador for our county.

“For him to come back in the shape he was in didn’t surprise me. I knew he would keep himself in good shape and we saw him in the club championship. There are no words. People from all over Ireland are starting to get it now. He’s a phenomenal person and a phenomenal leader and a phenomenal footballer.”

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Murphy was on punditry duty when Donegal bowed out in the semi-final last year. McHugh was in the half-back line as Galway came strong at the finish. He circled the Croke Park field on his own afterwards, a familiar feeling setting in.

“We really thought that we had a huge chance of winning the All-Ireland last year. We thought that we were a good enough team and a good enough squad. With Jim back, we knew we had a top-class manager on the line. It was sheer and utter disappointment.”

While still haunting, 2024 and 2014 are in the rear-view mirror. It’s all about 2025 for Ryan McHugh and Donegal.

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