It’s understandable if quizzical looks appear on Ciaran Thompson’s face as he’s asked about the young and inexperienced Donegal squad.
Thompson, after all, is in his fourth full year on the Donegal senior panel, and he’s well on his way to a half-century of appearances in the green and gold.
The Naomh Conaill man is 24 and is now one of Declan Bonner’s leading lights.
“It’s flown by,” Thompson says.
“It’s mad how quick it goes in.”
Thompson looks around him now and sees real depth at Bonner’s disposal.
Coming into the senior ranks can be a daunting experience for some.
“It depends on the person, the mentality you have coming in,” he says.
“It’s their mentality. If you have a young lad coming in with no fear to train, he’ll adapt straight away. Physicality comes into it. If they enjoy it and work hard, they’ll do well and get their chance.
“They have to adapt. They mightn’t start every game and that’s a challenge in itself, how they show at training to get a chance.”
It was Rory Gallagher who first blooded Thompson at senior level and this weekend he comes up against his mentor, now managing his native Fermanagh. Sunday’s clash in O’Donnell Park brings together two of the leading sides in Division 2 – and it’s a real promotion four-pointer.
Donegal’s Ciaran Thompson twists away from Fermanagh’s Cian McManus during the 2018 Ulster final. Photo Evan Logan
“Fermanagh are well set up and they have a lot of experienced players,” Thompson says.
“Rory knows the bulk of this squad. He’ll have his work done, that’s for sure. We’re just focussing on ourselves and on the task ahead.
“They are hard to break down but it’s nothing that we haven’t come up against before, and we just have to adapt to it on the day.
“It’s not easy. If you compare them to others, teams in Munster might be a lot more open. Fermanagh bring their physicality to the game and a defensive set-up. They’ve conceded the least scores in the League so far.
“Listen, it’s about us, about how we attack them and how we create the openings. Hopefully we’ll get a good week’s work behind us and we’ll work on how’ll overcome that.”
It was perhaps a measure of Thompson’s standing that it was he who was preferred to assume the responsibility for the left-footed frees after Patrick McBrearty’s cruciate injury.
“I hit them for the club anyway, I don’t mind,” Thompson shrugs.
“I kicked frees at underage. It’s not something I go looking for, but if they want me to hit them, I’ll hit them.
“I started taking them for the club last year and when Paddy was injured, I took one for Donegal in the Ulster final. I practise away at them.”
Ah, the Ulster final.
Thompson, unlike many of his peers on the Donegal squad, wasn’t an Ulster winner at underage level.
Last summer, however, he got his hands on the Anglo Celt, kicking three points as Donegal returned to Ulster’s summit, beating Fermanagh in Clones.
“It was the best day’s football so far, my first Ulster title,” he says.
“It was brilliant, the game, the fans, the level of atmosphere that was in the place. That’s what we’re striving for again.”
He shared the moment with his older brother, Anthony, a 2012 All-Ireland winner, adding to the magic of the moment.
Ciaran – the third of the brothers, after Anthony and Leon, to play for Donegal – says: “It was definitely a moment to treasure. Mum was over the moon. That’s something you can’t take away from us.
“When he was involved, it was definitely a good experience. It was mighty to have that. Not many players can say they played with their brothers. He’s been a massive help.
“I’d love to get up with Anthony on the Ulster titles and an All-Ireland, definitely. It’s a proud tradition in the family. I’m just glad to play for Donegal every day I go out.”
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