DUBLIN CAMOGIE PLAYER Leah Butler has backed the Camogie Association’s decision to opt for a split season after their initial schedule drew strong criticism. 

The threat of strike action prompted the organisation into a rethink and following a nationwide poll of clubs, a small majority backed a demarcation between the club and county seasons. 

53% of clubs voted in favour of the split season, with 47% voting for the initial model which would have seen the National League and All-Ireland championship take place either side of club championships. 

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Dublin midfielder Butler admitted she was surprised the saga dragged on for so long.

“The GAA announced quite a while ago now that they were going with the split season, so to get the structure that we got, I was kind of surprised,” she said.

“But I’m happy now that they back-tracked and the decision got changed because I think it suits inter-county players to have the split season, to have a defined county season and a defined club season.

“As well, a lot of players play dual, they play football for their club as well as camogie. So they wouldn’t have been able to play their games in the opposite code, if they were playing championship with county and club championship [at the same time].

“It has worked out in the end. And I’m just delighted the Camogie Association listened to the players’ voice. I think a lot of people are happy now.

“I was a little bit surprised [the vote] was close, but a win is a win for Option 2 with the split season.”

A GPA poll of the camogie inter-county playing body saw 82% vote in favour of a split season, which led to the Camogie Association reviewing their initial decision.

“The Camogie Association, they were considering all players, not just inter-county players,” said Butler. “Obviously there’s tens of thousands more club players than there is inter-county players.

“So that’s where their decision came from. But it was surprising their decision was different to the three other codes. That’s just the way it went. But I’m glad it’s reversed now.”

The Cork camogie side indicated they were prepared to strike for the opening round of the league this weekend if the issues around structure were not resolved.

Asked if her team came close to announcing strike action, she said: “Not for us in the Dublin team anyway. I know Cork were talking a lot about it. I think if we had to go there, we would have.

“But it would have been a huge group decision, between maybe the inter-county managers would have come together, or the player reps or whoever. I don’t think that one county might have striked on their own, but if it would have happened, it would have been a full inter-county decision.”

Dublin take on Kilkenny in the opening round of the Littlewoods Ireland Camogie League on Saturday. Butler says the group didn’t take their eye off the ball despite the uncertainty of recent weeks.

“We remained focus on our game this weekend against Kilkenny. We obviously were aware of what was going on. But this game is going to be huge for us.

“So we were focused on that, and we kind of left all the work to the WGPA then with the Camogie Association, with regards to reversing the decision.”

Of new Dublin manager Adrian O’Sullivan, she stated: “We’ve had a good start. Our first two months was through Zoom and online. We put in a lot of groundwork before we did go back training and now we are flat out.

“We have a great management team. Adrian has brought this huge, positive atmosphere to the team and training has been really, really enjoyable.” 

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1. Imagine, just for a second, that a man did all of this. His mug would be splashed across Connolly Station Bridge so people marching on Croker could see him. His brand would amass seven-figure annual returns from a post-career media profile. He’d be a household name, loved or despised with everyone agreeing he’s an ‘athletic freak’.

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Lindsay Peat.

Source: Inpho.

O’Connor, as a coach, is well placed to explain how it is even possible for an athlete to play four sports at the highest level.

“Pound for pound she is the strongest female athlete I’ve come across. It is just sheer force of personality as well. If we were practising high catching she’d go ‘Right, we are practicing together’. Mainly because nobody else wanted an elbow in the gob but also she knew I worked a lot of the high catch ‘You practice it all the time and you are the tallest so I want to practice with you ‘cause you’ll be the hardest to beat.’

THE TIPPERARY LADIES have suffered a huge blow ahead of the championship following the news that star player Aishling Moloney has suffered a cruciate injury.

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Moloney, who was named the 2019 LGFA Intermediate Player of the Year, confirmed the news of the dreaded knee injury on her Instagram account today.

“Joining the ACL club for a while,” the two-time All-Ireland intermediate winner wrote. “Shall be back.”

Moloney was forced off during her side’s Division 1B clash with Dublin in Thurles earlier this month with what looked like a leg injury. She is now set for a long spell on the sidelines after sustaining a medial knee ligament injury last year. 

A dual-player with her club Caher, Moloney will be a major loss to Declan Carr’s side as they prepare to get their championship campaign underway next month.

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A post shared by Aishling Moloney (@aishlingmoloney1)

They have been drawn in Group 2 of the senior championship, and will face Cork and Meath in their round-robin fixtures on 17 July and 24 July.

Tipperary will also go into those crunch ties without Aisling McCarthy who signed a new deal with AFLW side West Coast Eagles this week after her season Down Under was derailed by knee injuries.

She is continuing with her recovery at home in Ireland although it’s not clear when she will return to full fitness.

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Updated May 14th 2021, 10:14 PM

THE GALWAY SIDE to face All-Ireland champions Limerick on Sunday has been named. 

Tribe boss Shane O’Neill makes four changes to the side from last weekend’s big win over Westmeath, as Padraic Mannion, Joseph Cooney, Adrian Tuohey and David Burke come into the team.

Out go Aidan Harte, Conor Cooney, Shane Cooney and Johnny Coen, with the latter two named on the bench. Joe Canning is also among the substitutes.

The Limerick side sees Cian Lynch and Geared Hegarty come into the team to make their first starts of the year, while youngster Cathal O’Neill is also given the nod by John Kiely.

Leaving Cert student O’Neill is making his senior debut for the Treaty.

The Tipperary team to face Cork has also been named as veterans Paudie Maher, Noel and John McGrath, plus John O’Dwyer make their seasonal debuts.

Kieran Kingston makes four changes to his team for the game against Liam Sheedy’s side.

Sean O’Leary Hayes, Robert Downey, Shane Kingston, and Alan Cadogan are introduced, replacing Sean O’Donoghue, Seamus Harnedy, Jack O’Connor and Shane Barrett.

Finally, Brian Lohan was unable to name a full Clare starting XV to play Wexford after late injuries to Éire Óg duo David Reidy and Shane O’Donnell at training tonight.

Lohan made three changes so far as Rory Hayes, Liam Corry and David Fitzgerald come into the side as Paul Flanagan, Paddy Donnellan and Cian Galvin drop out. 

The team togging out against Luimneach this Sunday🤩#GaillimhAbú #riseofthetribe@SupermacsIRE pic.twitter.com/Zo3F2Jesq4

— Galway GAA (@Galway_GAA) May 14, 2021

Galway (vs Limerick)

1. Eanna Murphy (Tommy Larkins)

2. Sean Loftus (Turloughmore)
3. Gearoid McInerneny (Ornamore Maree)
4. Jack Fitzpatrick (Killimordaly)

5. Adrian Tuohy (Beach)
6. Padraic Mannion (captain — Ahascragh-Fohenagh)
7. Fintan Burke (St Thomas’)

8. David Burke (St Thomas’)
9. Cathal Mannion (Ahascragh-Fohenagh)

10. Joseph Cooney (Sarsfields)
11. Evan Niland (Clarinbridge)
12. Brian Connannon (Killimordaly)

13. Jarlath Mannion (Cappataggle)
14. Niall Burke (Oranmore Maree)
15. Conor Whelan (Kinvara)

Limerick (vs Galway)

1. Nickie Quaid (Effin)

2. Aaron Costello (Kilmallock)
3. Dan Morrissey (Ahane)
4. Richie English (Doon)

5. Diarmaid Byrnes (Patrickswell)
6. Kyle Hayes (Kildimo/Pallaskenry)
7. Barry Nash (South Liberties)

8. William O’Donoghue (Na Piarsiagh)
9. Brian O’Grady (Kilteely/Dromkeen)

10. Gearoid Hegarty (St. Patrick’s)
11. Cian Lynch (Patrickswell) (Captain
12. David Reidy (Dromin-Athlacca)

13. Cathal O’Neill (Crecora/Manister)
14. Seamus Flanagan (Feohanagh-Castlemahon)
15. Peter Casey (Na Piarsaigh)

Tipperary (vs Cork)

1. Barry Hogan (Kiladangan)

2. Cathal Barrett (Holycross-Ballycahill)
3. Brian McGrath (Loughmore-Castleiney)
4. Barry Heffernan (Nenagh Éire Óg)

5. Paudie Maher (Thurles Sarsfields)
6. Seamus Kennedy (St Mary’s Clonmel)
7. Ronan Maher (Thurles Sarsfields)

8. Alan Flynn (Kiladangan)
9. Dan McCormack (Borris-Ileigh)

10. Jason Forde (Silvermines)
11. Noel McGrath (Loughmore-Castleiney)
12. Niall O’Meara (Kilruane MacDonaghs)

13. John O’Dwyer (Killenaule)
14. John McGrath (Loughmore-Castleiney)
15. Willie Connors (Kiladangan)

Cork (vs Limerick)

1. Patrick Collins (Ballinhassig)

2. Niall O’Leary (Castlelyons)
3. Damien Cahalane (St Finbarr’s)
4. Sean O’Leary Hayes (Mildeton)

5. R Downey (Glen Rovers)
6. Mark Coleman (Blarney)
7. Niall Cashman (Blackrock)

8. B Hennessy (St Finbarrs)
9. T O’Mahony (Newtownshandrum)

10. Robbie O’Flynn (Erins Own)
11. Shane Kingston (Douglas)
12. Darragh Fitzgibbon (Charleville)

13. Patrick Horgan (Glen Rovers)
14. Alan Cadogan (Douglas)
15. L Meade (Newcestown)

Clare (vs Wexford)

1: Eibhear Quilligan (Feakle)

2: Rory Hayes (Wolfe Tones)
3: Conor Cleary (St Josephs Miltown)
4: Liam Corry (Éire Óg)

5: Diarmuid Ryan (Cratloe)
6: John Conlon (Clonlara)
7: Aidan McCarthy (Inagh/Kilnamona)

8: David Fitzgerald (Inagh/Kilnamona)
9: Tony Kelly (Ballyea)

10: Cathal Malone (Sixmilebridge)
11: TBC
12: Colin Guilfoyle (Newmarket-on-Fergus)

13: Ryan Taylor (Clooney/Quin)
14: Aron Shanagher (Wolfe Tones)
15: TBC

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Colin O’Riordan (right) in action for the Sydney Swans.

Source: AAP/PA Images

THERE WAS A winning start for Dubliner James Madden to his AFL career on a busy day of action for Irish players in Aussie Rules action.

Madden made his bow for Brisbane Lions in their Round 7 clash with Port Adelaide at the Gabba.

And the Lions cruised to victory, 93-44, with Madden contributing 11 disposals from his interchange role.

The Ballyboden St-Enda’s club man signed for Brisbane in August 2018 after impressing for the Dublin minor footballers and at the AFL European Combine in UCD in December 2017.

The Lions are now in the top eight after this victory as they move to seventh.

Irish debutant, James Madden, ready to roar.

Learn more about James here: https://t.co/ZBweisdZEK#AFLLionsPort pic.twitter.com/IsIOFxrfjE

— Brisbane Lions (@brisbanelions) May 1, 2021

It was also a notable weekend for Tipperary’s Colin O’Riordan as he made his first AFL outing of the 2021 season for the Sydney Swans.

And they won 90-88 in a thrilling encounter against the Geelong Cats, who had Laois man Zach Tuohy in action with Kerry’s Mark O’Connor out injured. A match-winning goal late on from Tom Papley gave the Swans the victory.

O’Riordan had 14 disposals and three marks for the Swans while Tuohy had 18 disposals and seven marks for the Cats.

A dejected Zach Tuohy (second left) after Geelong’s defeat.

Source: AAP/PA Images

Kilkenny’s Darragh Joyce enjoyed his first win of the season in St Kilda colours as they ran out convincing 128-59 victors against Hawthorn.

Joyce played for the first time in 2021 last week against Port Adelaide, his first AFL appearance in two years. He had 12 kicks and five marks as the 2014 All-Ireland minor hurling winning captain helped his team triumph.

Darragh Joyce (centre) tries to mark the ball against the Hawks.

Source: AAP/PA Images

Meath’s Conor Nash wasn’t involved with Hawthorn in the match between teams ranked 13th and 16th on the AFL ladder.

There was disappointment for Cork’s Mark Keane as his Collingwood team lost out 79-55 to the Gold Coast Suns at the MCG.

Keane, playing only his third ever AFL game, had 13 disposals and 4 marks during the game.

Mark Keane (file photo).

Source: AAP/PA Images

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OFFALY OVERCAME a slow start to defeat Meath by 16 points in today’s Division 2A  Allianz Hurling League opener.

Offaly found themselves a point behind at the first-half water break after missing plenty of chances. They led by 2-13 to 0-7 at half-time and another scoring burst in the third quarter put them in control.

The Faithful County, who suffered a shock Christy Ring Cup semi-final loss to Down last winter, hit the net through Oisin Kelly, Adrian Hynes and Shane Kinsella in the 3-25 to 3-9 win.

Eoghan Cahill top-scorer for Michael Fennelly’s side with 0-12, Michael Duignan’s son Brian clipped over a brace and experienced forward Shane Dooley arrived off the bench to add a score in the closing stages.

Trailing by four points early in the second-half, Kerry gave themselves plenty to do before they saw off Down by 4-18 to 0-19 also in Division 2A.

Maurice O’Connor grabbed two goals for the Kingdom and Shane Nolan posted 1-6 in the 11-point win.

Elsewhere in Division 2A, Carlow ran out comfortable 3-19 to 0-17 winners over Wicklow in Tom Mullally’s first game in charge.

Marty Kavanagh bagged two goals and Ross Smithers added another for the Barrowsiders.

In Division 2B, Donegal beat Roscommon by two points, 1-13 to 1-11, and former football star Keith Higgins captained Mayo to a 0-20 to 1-15 win against Derry.

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MEATH BOSS ANDY McEntee says full-back Conor McGill was spat on by a Kildare player in the incident that sparked a full-scale brawl at the end of their Division 2 semi-final defeat.

The Royals were left counting the cost of defeat after an ankle injury to Brian Menton and shoulder problem for Donal Keogan forced both men off the field during the fast-paced and hard-hitting encounter.

Things got worse in the closing stages when a melee kicked-off in front of the Meath bench that saw McGill and substitute Brian Conlon sent-off for striking offences. They’re likely to be suspended for the beginning of their Leinster campaign as a result.

“Don’t talk to me about the sending off,” said McEntee after the game.

“We had a player who got spat on in the face and he ends up getting sent off so I mean…how many players were involved in that? A) how many players were involved in it, and B) who started it? And what was the outcome?

“Conor McGill is not a fighter. Somebody spits in your face, what are you going to do?”

Conor McGill is sent off.

Source: Lorraine O’Sullivan/INPHO

The Royals also had Andy Colgan and Ethan Devine booked after the brawl involving almost every player on the field. Alex Beirne was the sole Kildare player to be disciplined with a yellow card.

“It seems slightly imbalanced to me,” remarked McEntee. “But obviously I’m biased.”

He felt there would be no point appeal the red cards as their Leinster championship begins on 4 July against Carlow or Longford.

“There’s no appealing it, you’re wasting your time appealing. That’s always been my experience. If the referee says he struck, he struck.”

With just three weeks to go before their championship opener, both Keogan and Bryan Menton are injury doubts at this stage.

“Keogan [had] an AC joint [injury], maybe separation, that doesn’t look good. Bryan Menton [hurt] ankle ligaments, so we’ll assess them during the week.”

Meath paid the price for a poor start to the game as they trailed by six points at half-time.  Six unanswered points at the finish brought them within three in stoppage-time, as Kildare needed Mark Donnellan to pull off a couple of important saves in the finale. 

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“We weren’t at the pitch of it all the first half I’m afraid Kildare dictated the pace and physicality of the game, we weren’t winning the contests, and the scoreboard probably reflected that, although we had a number of chances, we had four scores from 10 attempts I think.

“I don’t see any particular reason for it, it was an important game,” the Royals boss added. “You don’t have to be off by much in games like this, if you’re off a little bit it shows. It looks like a lot.  

“Kildare were certainly at championship physicality, unfortunately I don’t think we matched them until it was probably too late, and even though we probably could have snatched something.”

Originally published at 16.51

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Dublin 1-22
Roscommon 0-16

A NINE-POINT victory for Dublin in a league game that won’t live long in the memory banks.

The six-in-a-row All-Ireland champions got the job done in Roscommon to open up their Division 1 South campaign with two points. In truth, the game took on a challenge match feel at times, particularly in the second period.

Anthony Cunningham’s side got themselves within four points (1-12 to 0-11) in the 46th minute, but were outscored by 0-8 to 0-3 in the final quarter.

Dublin kicked 1-22 and missed just four shots at the posts. They looked impressive at times and were coasting at other stages. It was the sort of performance where they were below their best yet they never looked in danger of losing the game. 

Mick Galvin donned the bainisteoir bib in the absence of Dessie Farrell, who’ll sit out the entire league through suspension. 

Roscommon will be quietly happy with plenty of aspects of this performance. They kept Con O’Callaghan, Brian Fenton and James McCarthy relatively quiet over the 70 minutes.

Dean Rock wasn’t part of the travelling Dublin party so Cormac Costello took over placed ball duties. The Whitehall Colmcilles attacker finished the game with 1-13. He took three penalties over the 70 minutes: slotting home the first, striking the post with the second and popping the third over at the death.

Roscommon added former Carlow coach Steven Poacher to the set-up and they gave a decent effort defensively, although Costello was allowed kick the majority of his eight frees from close range. 

Roscommon shipped two black cards, one in either half, and conceded three penalties. Two were awarded for trips and one for a foot block.

Dublin made four late changes as Evan Comerford, Mick Fitzsimons, Jonny Cooper and Sean Bugler dropped out, with Michael Shiel, Tom Lahiff, Dara Mullin and Sean McMahon added to the starting XV.

It was a competitive debut for Shiel between the sticks and McMahon at corner-back. Lahiff partnered Brian Fenton at midfield as Mullin played at wing-forward.

Dublin looked efficient from the off. In the opening quarter they scored 1-8 from nine shots. The goal arrived from a well-taken Costello penalty in the 18th minute after Brian Stack tripped Paddy Small as he bore down on goal.

It was deemed a goalscoring opportunity and the St Brigid’s star was sin binned for 10 minutes. Roscommon had chances of their own and were left to rue a golden chance to raise a green flag when Diarmuid Murtagh palmed a ball off the upright with the goal at his mercy.

With Niall Scully supplying good ball into the full-forward line, Costello had 1-8 on the board by the interval. Roscommon did kick some good scores from distance through Niall Daly, Donie Smith and Ciaran Murtagh.

It was the third minute of first-half stoppage-time before Dublin registered a wide, through Paddy Small.

Roscommon lost a second player to a black card after Fergal Lennon tripped Dara Mullin. It was deemed a goalscoring opportunity and a penalty was awarded for Dublin, but Costello struck the post from his second spot kick of the afternoon. 

Still, Roscommon refused to go away and hit the next two scores from Donie Smith frees after they down the middle of the Dublin defence.

The scoring slowed down considerably in the second period, but Kilkenny did come to life and clipped over three fine efforts in the final quarter.

Ciaran Murtagh was one of Roscommon’s best performers and he finished with four from play and two frees. Costello popped his third penalty over the bar after the Rossies were penalised for Niall Daly foot block on Fenton.

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It handed the travelling Sky Blues a nine-point victory. Kerry in Thurles await next weekend.

Scorers for Dublin: Cormac Costello 1-13 (0-8f, 1-1 pen, 0-1m), Ciaran Kilkenny 0-4 (0-1m), Paddy Small 0-2, Brian Fenton, Tom Lahiff and Dara Mullin 0-1 each. 

Scorers for Roscommon: Donie Smith 0-6 (0-5f), Ciaran Murtagh 0-6 (0-2f), Eddie Nolan, Niall Daly, Enda Smith and Diarmuid Murtagh 0-1 each.

Dublin

16. Michael Shiel (St Sylvesters)

23. Sean McMahon (Raheny), 3. David Byrne (Naomh Olaf), 5. Eoin Murchan (Na Fianna)

9. James McCarthy (Ballymun Kickhams), 6. John Small (Ballymun Kickhams), 7. Robert McDaid (Ballyboden St. Enda’s)

8. Brian Fenton (Raheny), 19. Tom Lahiff (St Jude’s)

10. Niall Scully (Templeogue Synge Street), 11. Ciaran Kilkenny (Castleknock), 24. Dara Mullin (Kilmacud Crokes)

13. Paddy Small (Ballymun Kickhams), 14. Con O’Callaghan (Cuala), 15. Cormac Costello (Whitehall Colmcille)

Subs

2. Mick Fitzsimons (Cuala) for McMahon (50)

17. Colm Basquel (Ballyboden St Enda’s) for Mullin (50)

21. Conor McHugh (Na Fianna) for Paddy Small (57)

26. Peadar O Cofaigh Byrne (Cuala) for Lahiff (57)

20. Eric Lowndes (St Peregrines) for McCarthy (66)

4. Ryan Basquel (Ballyboden St Enda’s) for O’Callaghan (65)

22. Philly McMahon (Ballymun Kickhams) for Murchan (68)

Roscommon

1. Colm Lavin (Éire Óg)

3. Fergal Lennon (Clann na nGael), 4. Gary Patterson (Michael Glavey’s), 2. David Murray (Padraig Pearses)

5. Conor Hussey (Michael Glavey’s), 6. Niall Daly (Padraig Pearses), 7. Brian Stack (St Brigid’s)

8. Eddie Nolan (St Brigid’s), 9. Shane Killoran (Elphin)

10. Niall Kilroy (Fuerty), 11. Cathal Cregg (Western Gaels), 12. Enda Smith (captain – Boyle)

14. Donie Smith (Boyle), 15. Diarmuid Murtagh (St Faithleach’s), 13. Ciaran Murtagh (St Faithleach’s)

Subs

25. Conor Devaney (Kilbride) for Kilroy (ht)

20. Cian McKeon (Boyle) for Cregg (41)

19. Conor Daly (Padraig Pearses) for Stack (45)

23. Conor Cox for Diarmuid Murtagh (50)

17. David Neary (Strokestown) for Lennon (50)

18. Richard Hughes (Roscommon Gaels) for Conor Daly (66)

Referee: Derek O’Mahoney (Tipperary)

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FOUR-TIME ALL-Ireland winner Katrina Parrock has returned to the Wexford camogie panel ahead of the 2021 season.

Parrock, who was part of Wexford’s three-in-a-row All-Ireland champions, has linked up with the squad after stepping away from inter-county camogie in 2017.

She was 17 when she played in her first All-Ireland final, coming on as a substitute to score a goal against Cork in the 2007 decider and help secure a first O’Duffy Cup for the county in 32 years.

A talented athlete across various sports growing up, Parrock went on to join Wexford Youths in 2018 and scored the winning goal as they captured the FAI Cup.

They finished that season with three titles, winning the Women’s National League crown and the Women’s Development Shield along with the FAI Cup.

Parrock, who is also a three-time All-Star winner, posted “It’s Great To Be Back” on her Twitter account today as she prepares to resume her Wexford camogie career.

It's Great To Be Back 💜💛

— Katrina Parrock (@KatrinaParrock) May 3, 2021

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She brings plenty of experience to the squad ahead of their Division 2 campaign which is set to begin on 15 May against Kilkenny.

The Camogie Association has come under criticism in recent days over the proposal of a controversial split-season format.

The planned camogie schedule for 2021 is inter-county league, club championship and then inter-county championship, in that order, rather than the county-before-club split season the GAA and Ladies Gaelic Football Association [LGFA] have followed.

However, the Gaelic Players Association [GPA] has revealed that 84% of players who have responded to a survey voted that they will not participate in the camogie leagues, should the current season structure be implemented.

The Camogie Association has also released a statement saying it intends to poll its members over the next seven days which “will guide our fixture calendar.”

Always worth zooming in on posts like this pre-National Leagues…! 4-time All Ireland champion & 3-time All Star sharpshooter Katrina Parrock is back with the Wexford Camogie panel for the first time since the 2017 season 👀 https://t.co/NZvxt1hChG

— Elaine Buckley (@ElaineBucko) May 3, 2021

IF DIARMUID O’KEEFFE has learned anything from being an intercounty hurler during the rolling lockdowns of the past year, it is an increased admiration for athletes in individual sports.

The Wexford player will finally get going with his team next Sunday afternoon with their league opener against Laois.

Over the past twelve months, the 2019 All-Star has got too accustomed for his liking to training on his own instead of in a collective environment.

“There’s only so many 4-5km runs you can do. Last March and April when the first lockdown came, I was running on the roads around Wexford town. I was genuinely broke up. I just couldn’t do it any more. I had to try and find a grass area to go running.

“It’s you and your own thoughts, just pushing yourself the whole time. It’s far from easy. It’s a great skill for people in a single sport like boxing or rowing or running or whatever it may be, that they’re just able to motivate themselves consistently on their own.

“I think the ratio of training to matches as it is, is nearly too much. We were doing enough training on ourselves, (now) just eager to get going and playing matches.”

Wexford had planned to return to training on New Year’s Day, aiming to start with a boxing programme. The layoff ended up being longer than they had could have imagined with the firm focus now placed on bouncing back from a limp showing in 2020.

A 13-point loss to Galway in their province, a seven-point reversal against Clare in the qualifiers and that was their year done.

“It was as tame an effort to retain a Leinster title as probably anyone has come out with,” admits O’Keeffe.

“We just didn’t perform at all. It was flat, they were stale performances. On a personal level you just want to forget your performances, they were so below par. I expect so much more from myself and I know the lads do as well.

“The standout thing was we probably anticipated games to be coming back sooner than what they did. So we were trying to keep our fitness levels up during the lockdown and probably pushed a bit too hard at the beginning.

Diarmuid O’Keeffe in action for his club St Anne’s last year.

Source: Bryan Keane/INPHO

“As a result when games did come back, we were greeted with club championship first. Some of the lads probably reckon they had a better campaign with their clubs than they did in their county campaign, and hit form earlier in the season. 

“The year had dragged on so much, and for a long period of time you couldn’t really see the light at the end of the tunnel with games coming up. So the immediate thing was you just wanted to get a break from everything, completely remove yourself and just freshen up totally.

“Davy, he played his cards well in that sense that he only lasted a couple of hours and he said ‘I’m 100% committed to 2021′. And that gave the players a little bit of… We don’t have to worry, because in previous years it was ‘Will Davy/Won’t Davy come back?’ That was it. We knew where we stood.”

Dejected Wexford players after their loss to Clare last year.

Source: Lorraine O’Sullivan/INPHO

Off the pitch, O’Keeffe works as a secondary school teacher, a role that has been challenging in itself this year after teaching remotely before the return to classrooms.

“For the first couple of weeks it worked fine, but the more it dragged on, it became very challenging to keep the kids motivated.  From my point of view, it provided structure to my day and was still okay that I was doing my training in the evening. It was far from straightforward to be honest, while the kids did well at the beginning, it didn’t take too long where they lost motivation. 

“I’ve seen a change in the kids since we’ve come back to school. I have found they have become a lot quieter, they have taken longer to come out of themselves. Before Christmas even, I would have thought they were interacting a bit better. It will come back eventually, the more time they spend in school.

“I know in my own club there is a big push on to actually try and make sure that all the kids that were there pre-lockdown come back and participate again. That’s really important, it’s inevitable that people lose interest and they are finding entertainment in other ways, gaming online, whatever it may be.

“You will lose numbers in underage setups, that’s inevitable. All you can do is keep plugging away and trying your best to keep the kids going.”

Diarmuid O’Keeffe at the 2021 Allianz hurling league launch.

Source: David Fitzgerald/SPORTSFILE

At the end of October 2019, O’Keeffe went travelling after his GAA commitments had ceased for the year. He visited Florida, Abu Dhabi, Australia and New Zealand before returning home in February 2020.

The world went into lockdown a few weeks later as the pandemic took hold and he appreciates that he got the chance to take that break abroad.

“We were only chatting about it with friends over the last couple of weeks, we were blessed to get away when we did. Looking back on it now, there’s an argument to say that we actually could have stayed away for a little bit longer than we did.

“I have a brother living in Australia and him and his wife had a child due at the end of February but it actually arrived the first week of February and we had only left there about a week or 10 days beforehan. Hindsight is great. We could have stayed an extra couple of months.

“Thinking back, I think the first game I was back for was Clare in Wexford Park. I wasn’t togged out at all. I got about 10/15 minutes against Kilkenny the next day and then Dublin in Croke Park and then everything just shut down after that. At the time we were probably saying ‘Jesus we could have stayed away for a little bit longer than we did.’

“Delighted to get away when we did and loved every minute of it. Wouldn’t change a thing. We were one of the lucky ones I suppose.

“He (his brother) FaceTimes me every Sunday morning when he’s on the golf course at 7 o’clock and the sun is beaming down. You don’t get long before you’re jealous of that!

“But he’s hoping to get home this Christmas, all going to plan. We have a wedding or two so he’s hoping to get home for that. He’s been over there 10 years now, so he’s happy out.”

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