By Declan Bogue

d.bogue@gaeliclife.com

ONCE in a while, a minor team comes along to completely overwhelm everything in front of them, and give great hope for the future health of the county senior team. An example of this is the Derry 2002 vintage.

Ger O'Kane captained this squad of many talents, his surging runs in the final against Meath being one of the many optimistic glances to the future. While many of the players that featured in 2002 have been brought into the senior fold, the accurate forward play of Ciaran Mullan has been granted limited exposure. But all that may be about to change for a player for whom patience has been a virtue.

Since 2002, he has mainly stood by while the likes of Barry McGoldrick, Patsy Bradley, Mark Lynch, Joe Keenan, and to a lesser extent Ruairi Convery have established themselves in the Derry set-up. The talent of wunder-kid Lynch was heralded by his Dermot McNicholl-like precociousness in the 2002 final, and the role that Ger O'Kane had as captain, followed by his performances in winning the MacRory Cup with St Pat's Maghera, marked them out as county seniors in the near future.

For 'Banty' as his friends call him, the path to senior recognition has taken a meandering route. He first made his debut for the county seniors in 2004, but come championship time he would always be left kicking his heels. It wasn't until round two of the backdoor qualifiers in 2006 that he experienced his first taste of championship action, starting against Kildare at corner forward, and posting two points in their victory. Prior to this he had not been granted so much as a five-minute run-out at the tail end of a match, but it did not seem to affect him. The next game represented one of the many low points in recent Derry football history, when Mullan registered a point in their shock defeat to Longford.

That was the first year Derry were under Paddy Crozier's watch, and while the Ballymaguigan man introduced Mullan gradually, a summer spent in America last year saw him disappear off the radar. Before he left, he had been in impressive form, operating at centre-forward for his club, Drumsurn St Matthews. They have punched above their weight in terms of county representation down through the years, with the likes of former captain Joe Irwin, Eunan Rafferty, Colm Feeny and Damian Cannon.

On the bench on that famous afternoon in 1993 was another county club man in the shape of Richard Ferris.

A forward himself, Ferris has guided Ciaran through his development as a player from primary school, and is more aware of his capabilities than anyone, offering a candid assessment of his progression.

"I was involved from his fundamental stages and he has always been a class act.

"There was something about him that said he was going to be that extra bit special, he's a very level-headed wee man. He has good vision, and is a very unselfish player, bringing others into the play, also, he's very strong and has matured over the past while, with his upper body developing. He's very cute as to what is going on around him and reads the game well. There is a good awareness of space to move into and out of, and his runs would often be unseen. His ball control is second to none, on both sides of his body when he uses his right and left foot."

As with all clubs playing in the lower reaches of the county leagues, Drumsurn naturally rely heavily on their county man, but as a selector with the senior team Ferris states that Mullan is well able to deal with the pressure. "I don't want to bum the chap up because he wouldn't want that, but he's a natural footballer. We can play him anywhere, we are a small club and we could use him in four or five different positions, but where he does the most damage is inside the 21 yard line. He would carry eight to ten scores a game.

"Basically, my outlook is you play him where he prospers most with the club, and that would be the inside line, he is a complete out and out forward. He's in the right place now with the right people around him, I just hope and trust that he gets a chance to keep developing. At the very start of the year he made the McKenna Cup team, I sent him a text message saying 'you made the first team of 2008, you will go on now to make the last team of the year.'"

St Matthew's are one of those rural clubs that tend to draw their players from large families, and the importance of the club is something Mullan has always recognised. His father Gerard, and uncle Seamus were both noted players in their time, before unfortunate injuries as young men stopped them from reaching their true potential. As Ferris comments, "He is a good clubman, he was one of the main men to organise a fundraiser there recently, and he would be up at under-12s coaching along with his brother Martin. He wouldn't miss club training and there's no questioning his commitment, it's all hands to the pump."

Since his return to the panel, Mullan has impressed in early outings in the Gaelic Life Dr McKenna Cup. He registered two points against Fermanagh in Maghera, and followed that up by securing a final spot with his three points against St Mary's in the final group game. Lady Luck turned her back on him from then on though, as he only made a fleeting appearance in the final, coming on for Raymond Wilkinson. A further blow came in the recent league game against Kerry, when he was sacrificed for Kevin McCloy, as Derry played into the wind.

The dedication he approaches the game with has pushed him into starting roles in the league since, and one man who has seen his dogged qualities up close is Chris Brown, the minor manager of the class of 2002. "He did not make the cut in 2000, and in 2001 he did not make the 24. In 2002 he was going to make damn sure he was on the panel and in the team. He was an extremely hard worker, a bit small, but 'Banty' has a lot in common with other corner forwards. The game is made up of people who are physically strong, but I think there is still a place for a 'tidy' corner-forward.

"He needed confidence to express himself. I'll never forget in the All-Ireland final with 15 minutes to go, his marker went away up the field to try and add weight to their attack, the game had gone from them and they were trying to get back into it. 'Banty' comes over to me and asks 'what do I do here? My man is away up the field.' I said, 'Banty, is that not the greatest thing could happen you? Now you have the freedom to move out the field. I'm giving you the freedom of the park.' And boy did he relish it."

Because of his persistence, Ciaran Mullan can now be considered a regular starter on the Derry team, and as Richard Ferris concluded, "He will be around the Derry scene for quite a few years, and once he gets a bit of experience under his belt I can see him in the same bracket as Paddy Bradley."