Brian Howard of Dublin poses for a portrait with the Sam Maguire Cup during the launch of the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship National 2024 at Lough Beg in Derry. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
He’s an eight-year veteran of the Dublin senior football team, so you almost do a double-take when Brian Howard mentions he’s still only 26.
There’s a good chance he’s only at the mid-point of his career, so by the time he finally hangs up his boots his list of achievements will likely put him in a very special bracket.
It’s already pretty impressive, with five All-Ireland titles, eight Leinster titles, two national leagues, and two All-Stars on his CV currently.
Despite all the football he’s already played and the all the success he’s tasted on the way, his appetite for more seems as voracious as ever.
Where exactly does that drive come from?
“There are a few elements to that and it’s a question that you are not really asked that often,” says Howard.
“For me, firstly, I absolutely love it. I love playing it but it’s more I love making my family proud. My girlfriend Emer proud, all my friends proud, the club...it’s more other people is the main joy of it and the force behind me wanting to achieve success.
“The feeling of winning an All-Ireland is something I don’t think you can ever replicate. And when you have that agenda in you, it’s just raw emotion you want to share with lads that you’ve been through the trenches with.
“You’ve had those dark nights in early December or whenever it is. To be able to win in Croke Park with your home county and walking up the steps is a huge honour. Thankfully I’ve experienced it a few times.
“When I came into the team, they were going for a three in a row in 2017. The one thing I was thinking back,then it was probably like an external perception of, ‘how do these lads keep going…they’ve won two.
“That was the one eye opener when I walked in. How hungry these lads were. The likes of Bernard Brogan and Paul Flynn. They just wanted to keep winning and they were machines. That was sort of passed down to me. That what’s I wanted.
“I came in in 2017 and got a small glimpse of what it looked like on the pitch on being a part of it. I was on the bench the day of the final. The following year that was all I wanted to do. Play a part in terms of actually being on the pitch.
“Thankfully I did in 2018. It’s such an amazing feeling. You can’t really even describe it until you’ve been in it and trying to chase that again is something that you look for.
“Last year being away from it (winning All-Irelands) for two years in 2021 and 2022, 2023 was amazing and hopefully now in a couple of weeks we can replicate it.”
Brian Howard of Dublin during the Leinster GAA Football Senior Championship Final match between Dublin and Kildare at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile.
Howard took a break from football for the first time in his career when he spent five months travelling around South-East Asia in late 2022 and early 2023.
As much as he enjoyed his travels, they never made him question his dedication to Dublin football and he took care to keep himself in as good a physical condition as he could while he was away so he’d be able to hit the ground running on his return to Dessie Farrell’s panel.
The commitment required to be an inter-county footballer is huge, but it’s one that Howard makes with a heart and a half.
“It’s a lifestyle, you do have to sacrifice a lot but there is time for your social life and to go back to your club,” he says.
“When you’re in the high-performance environment, you just want to be successful, you do whatever it takes. If that is missing a significant event so be it. You have to love it to be able to fully commit.
“And if you don’t love it, you’re going to resent things or the team if you have to miss a christening or a wedding or something like that.
“But I go back to walking up the steps (at Croke Park). If you want to play in those big matches, that’s the sacrifice you have to make.”
Behaviour is influenced by modelling, and when Howard joined the Dublin dressing-room in 2017 it was stacked with multiple All-Ireland winners who still had a burning desire to achieve more and left no stone unturned in order to do so.
Good habits were easy to develop because wherever he looked they were exhibited by others.
Stephen Cluxton, left, and Brian Howard of Dublin following their side's victory in the 2020 GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Dublin and Mayo at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile.
Everyone was out to extract the maximum from their individual self, but the team always came first.
“That was a huge thing for me when I came in,” he says. “These lads (experienced guys like Bernard Brogan) had every right in their own head to be angry about not playing or not starting in the 15 when what they had done for Dublin football was generational and had changed the way Dublin played football.
“The likes of Bernard, Paul Flynn, Kevin McManamon and Mick MacAuley. To see how they handled themselves in terms of their professionalism.
“Just say I was up against Paul Flynn, he wanted nothing more than for me to play well on the pitch even if that meant he was still on the sideline or Bernard Brogan or Diarmuid Connolly or whoever it was, they would always encourage you and they’d want what’s better for the team. That was a huge thing.
“I’m well into my career and the likes of Brian Fenton, Jack McCaffrey, they only want to see better for Dublin football and when the younger lads and coming through, they see that and they say, it’s not just the starting 15.
“There’s a panel of 35/40 plus the backroom teams, plus their families plus the county behind you. You put your ego aside and concentrate on what’s best for the team.
“And if that’s you being an arm around the shoulder at half-time in a game or that’s you kicking the winning score, everybody plays a role. That’s something that stuck out for me and still stays for me because of how much these lads have won and what they’ve done.”
Howard isn’t quite yet a member of the sizeable veteran corps in the Dublin panel, but he has assumed a greater mantle of leadership regardless.
Brian Howard and Killian McGinnis of Dublin after their side's victory in the Leinster GAA Football Senior Championship final match between Dublin and Louth at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
It’s just how things work in their dressing-room. You learn for a period of time from those with more experience, and then you’re just as generous yourself in sharing knowledge with those who come behind you.
“I remember my first training session I was beside Jonny Cooper and Paul Flynn and they were people I looked up to,” says Howard.
“When you're there the baton is handed down in terms of the importance of being a positive influence around the group in terms of those younger lads and making sure they know what's expected of them in terms of meetings, standards, and preparation.
“The older lads did it for me and I've no problem doing it for the younger lads that are coming up. When you have that sort of environment it keeps it at a level that's required. It's brilliant.
“You can see the quality that's coming through. There mightn't be too many lads who have gotten debuts this year but in the background there are so many young lads that are pushing through and it's going to be interesting in the next couple of years to see them progress because they are amazing footballers and the future is bright in terms of them coming through.
“The likes of Luke Breathnach…Killian McGinnis is showing a good bit this year in so far as he's getting the opportunity to play and he's an absolutely smashing player.
“You obviously have the older lads there supporting the younger lads. It's a great environment to be around because the older lads really look out for the younger lads and you can see that in the quality they're bringing through in terms of training.
“The younger lads are setting the standard and it's going to be great to see them progress in the next couple of years.”
