Hard work paying off as Donegal hurlers blossom

Last weekend, off-Broadway, Donegal's hurlers staged a fine second-half comeback against Kerry in their home confines of O'Donnell Park.

It was a stunning win; their finest to date. And it was the first occasion that Donegal had beaten a Munster side in competitive hurling.

As it stands, Mickey McCann’s side now stand in fourth place in Division 2 of the Allianz Hurling League, just two points behind Down, Kildare and Meath.

The victory was all the more significant considering how they found themselves trailing 1-10 to 2-01 at half-time until a resolute second-half display, powered on by the likes of youngster Liam McKinney, saw them clinch a famous win.

McKinney, who scored 2-03 on the day, is one of the young dynamos driving the team.

Over the years warriors like Stephen Gillespie have kept the road open for the next generation, ploughing through the hard terrain, all the time keeping the flame flickering.

He wasn’t on the field of play last weekend but Gillespie has been a lynchpin of Burt and Donegal senior hurling teams for some time. With seven county championships in total, he made his 100th appearance for the county in Nicky Rackard final win over Mayo last year, hit a point, made the GAA team of the week, and saw his team come from behind to win their 4th Rackard Cup.

Previous wins had come in 2013, 2018 and 2020 and now, with players like Conor Gartland, Gerard Gilmore and McKinney, the next target has to be Christy Ring Cup hurling.

Donegal's Liam McKinney

McKinney has open ground ahead - he was only 20 when he hit 1-10 for Burt against Setanta in the county final last August.

Gilmore was another key reason for the side winning the Rackard Cup last season. He ended the year as Donegal’s top scorer with 1-39 in the championship.

With such key players in tow, the long-term project is to get Donegal to climb the ladder further and consolidate.

They are making steady progress all the time and their manager McCann has undertaken a sterling amount of work along with his coach Gabriel O’Kane.

The landscape is shifting as well. Burt have been a dominant hurling force in Donegal. They swept up every senior county title between 1991 and 2009, for instance.

They are still in fine shape but other clubs like Setanta and St Eunan’s are thriving too.

The county now has eight adult teams with juvenile hurling in other areas. The likes of Buncrana, Dungloe and Ballyshannon are all developing well with seeds sown for the establishment of a new club in West Donegal.

Dungloe are a case study of development. They now field hurling teams from under-8 right through to senior level.

It all means more players off the production line.

Down through the years Donegal sometimes struggled for numbers but now work off a panel of 35 players, playing in house matches of 15 a side on certain nights.

This leads to competition for places, which, in turn, leads to the type of resilience that was shown last weekend.

Players are playing for college sides, making the Ulster interprovincial squad and making the business end of finals with their clubs.

Since taking charge eight years ago, McCann, a Burt stalwart, has gelled together hurling people from all parts of the county.

Sunday’s win over Kerry may be the most notable in their history, but it will be the sustained efforts of the men and women of the quiet fields that will engineer the next one – whenever that comes.

Watch Armagh v Dublin in the Allianz Football League on Saturday from 7.25pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.

Watch Allianz League Sunday from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates around the country on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1

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