Determined Paul Durcan fully committed to Ballyboden cause

In one way or another, Paul Durcan has been travelling home for football most of his adult life. For over a decade as Donegal's goalkeeper, he got used to folding himself into the motor, pointing himself out onto the M50 and shooting off to the northwest for training, for games, for everything.

When he wasn’t doing it for the county, he was doing it for Four Masters. He didn’t hate it, he didn’t even really mind it. But you’d never say he loved it, either.

The irony isn't lost on him now, as he makes his fifth (or sixth, he can't be certain offhand which it is) trip back from Qatar to play for Ballyboden this winter. Having finally made the jump to join a Dublin club last year on the basis that the travelling had become too much, he has somehow found himself swapping a journey of a couple of hundred miles for one of a few thousand.

County final

“I said to Andy [McEntee, Ballyboden manager] early in the year before joining up that this was something I had in mind. I was always going to join a club in Dublin this year, just to cut down on the travelling. But I did make sure and say that there was a possibility that I could be gone in October if this came off.

“To be honest, once the county final was over, I didn’t really intend coming back much more after that. But they asked me to and I couldn’t really refuse them. Once you were into a Leinster campaign and the thing was going well, it was hard to say no. And I suppose now that we’re in an All-Ireland semi-final, it’s easy to say yes.”

Durcan is a quantity surveyor, his wife a teacher. Working abroad was always a book they kept on the shelf but time and circumstances were never right to go reaching for it.

He had landed with Ballyboden St Enda’s because his cousin Robbie McDaid played for them but the notion that his involvement would last anything beyond a handful of games didn’t really occur. Ballyboden hadn’t made a run in the Dublin championship since 2009 and while everyone dreams big, they were underdogs most days they went out.

Yet they kept on winning. And he kept on coming home. A brilliant save from Ruairí Trainor kept St Vincent’s at bay at a key point in the county final.

He skipped the first round of Leinster but was back three weeks later for St Loman’s. And again a fortnight later for Portlaoise. On both occasions, crucial saves kept Ballyboden’s nose in front. And each time, the games would end and he’d high-tail it to the airport to head back to Doha.

Consecutive weekends

“I was over and back every couple of weeks. I missed an early game in Leinster because it would have been three consecutive weekends, which was kind of impossible really. The weekend over starts on a Friday so I was flying to Dublin on a Thursday night, getting in Friday, playing Saturday or Sunday and heading straight back that night.

“I did feel it, definitely. I actually had a few weeks off when I went over there so I had the time before Christmas. I was flexible enough so it suited me to do it. But I was definitely thinking that once I started to get flat out at work, there was no way I’d be able to do it.

“And when you start to explain to the employer what it is you’re doing, they could start to look at you funny. So yeah, it was hard enough going but I enjoyed it at the same time. And Ballyboden were good to me, they were understanding and they sorted me out with the flights.”

Whether Ballyboden’s run ends against Clonmel this afternoon or on St Patrick’s Day against Castlebar or Crossmaglen, end it will. And when it does, Durcan will have to turn his attention to what to do about Donegal. He first played for his county as a minor 16 years ago and the question of whether it is feasible to keep it going come summertime isn’t one he has an answer to yet.

“I haven’t given it any thought at all to be honest. I’ve been left to see how this Ballyboden run goes and I’ll look at it after that. It’s the last thing on my mind at the minute, just with work over there and trying to get set up and everything.

“Donegal isn’t something I’ve even considered or discussed with anyone. It hasn’t even crossed my mind to be honest about it. That’ll be for further down the line.”