Main pic: Jonny Carlin makes his way off the O’Donnell Park pitch after his debut against Tyrone. Pic: Evan Logan.
It was a classic case of ‘better late than never’ for Jonny Carlin as he finally made his Donegal debut today, aged 29!
A remarkable feat given the Red Hughs clubman has never played at underage level for the county, nor has he been part of any senior panel.
Introduced for the legendary Michael Murphy in the 63rd minute against Tyrone in O’Donnell Park, the Cross man didn’t put a foot wrong and even made a timely dispossession shortly after entering the fray.
He put in a man-of-the-match performance to win a Wicklow Intermediate Football Championship final for his adopted Barndarrig in October 2023 and joined Oisín McConville’s county setup last season before transferring back to his home club. Carlin also made headlines in 2018 when his wonder goal helped win an Ulster Junior Championship final for Red Hughs.
His journey is made all the more remarkable for that fact that, in October 2022, he underwent surgery for an ACL and didn’t play football for 12 months until the Wicklow IFC decider.
In the preceding years, Carlin had been plying his trade in the League of Ireland with Cabinteely and Athlone Town and, more recently, in the Northern Ireland Championship with Armagh City.
Of course, he comes from good sporting stock. His mother Shauna was an elite athlete with Finn Valley AC and competed for Ireland while father, Declan, was a key member of the famous Red Hughs side of the early 1990s and made a handful of league appearances for the county. His uncle, Marty, also starred for Donegal in the 80s and early 90s.
But, it has been somewhat of a return to his GAA roots after catching the eye of Donegal manager, Jim McGuinness.
An inspirational journey, Carlin is living proof that it really is never too late to realise your dream.
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