The Donegal skipper was forced to call time on his county career due to injury while Ciaran Thompson has outlined his own timeline to return to action after surgery on a torn ACL
Ciaran Thompson says Donegal’s dressing room will be all the poorer for the absence of Paddy McBrearty after he announced his surprise retirement on Monday night.
McBrearty, who captained Donegal to back-to-back Ulster titles in 2024 and 2025, made the decision to retire after a “recurrence of a knee injury” which has plagued the Kilcar clubman in recent seasons.
His departure leaves Michael Murphy as Donegal’s only player from their 2012 All-Ireland winning squad.
McBrearty rose to prominence in 2011 when Jim McGuinness gave him his senior debut on the same day he lined out in the Minor Championship against Antrim in Ballybofey.
The 32-year-old bows out as the county’s most decorated senior player with an All-Ireland medal and seven Ulster Championship titles, although, remarkably, he was never selected as an All-Star.
He made 167 appearances for Donegal during a 15-year county career – the last of which came when introduced in the second half of July’s All-Ireland SFC final loss to Kerry at Croke Park.
Thompson hailed McBrearty as “a mighty player” and a great character to have played alongside.
“I heard a few weeks ago that he was having a bit of bother with the knee. He was waiting on some medical advice to see how he could progress,” said Thompson.
“Obviously, he mustn’t have gotten good news. It is unfortunate for him.
“It is a big blow for Donegal. He’s been a massive part of the team for the last 15 years since he was a minor. Paddy’s been a mighty player for us. – a great man to have in the changing rooms and we have to move forward now without him.
“Paddy doesn’t mince his words. He gets to the point and he says what’s on his mind.
“That’s what you need in a team as well. You need that leadership and you need that man if things aren’t going right, to put it right. He was definitely one of them characters. It’ll be a job to replace him now.”
For Thompson, his immediate focus will be to regain full fitness as early as possible in 2026 after suffering a torn AFL in the All-Ireland final, an injury which forced him to miss Naomh Conaill’s run to the Donegal SFC title.
He won’t feature in the forthcoming Dr McKenna Cup and has all but written off being available for Donegal’s National Football League Division One campaign.
Instead, he is hoping to be fit in time for the Ulster SFC opener against Down – a game which is likely to be played in Letterkenny’s O’Donnell Park due to redevelopment work at Ballybofey.
“I had my op in Santry at the end of August so I’m nearly four months into my rehab.
“Championship is the target, all going well – around April time, but I just have to hit a few markers along the way.
“Unfortunately, I only lasted about 20 minutes of the All-Ireland final. It didn’t go our way on the day – Kerry were the better team.
“It is a different experience for me. I’ve never really been injured. It was difficult missing the club season, but the boys going on to win the Donegal Championship was something special. It has definitely given me a big lift.”
