At one stage in Parnell Park last Saturday afternoon, Con O’Callaghan rose from a forest of players and, midflight, snatched the sliotar from within a tangle of outstretched branches. In a flash he whipped the ball over the crossbar.
Watching on, just five days after his appointment as new Dublin hurling manager, was Micheál Donoghue. Alongside him was Noel Larkin, who is part of the new management team.
O’Callaghan, being eased back in from injury by Cuala, was on the field less than five minutes and had already boxed off the score of the afternoon.
There were appreciative, knowing smiles and nods on the back row of the stand from the men charged with revitalising the fortunes of the capital’s hurlers. But no words were spoken. What is there to say when looking out at a classic car you are unlikely to ever take for a spin.
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The battle for the hearts and minds, and skills, of the dual player at senior intercounty level in Dublin has petered out somewhat in recent years, largely because players like O’Callaghan and Ciaran Kilkenny have stuck rigidly with the footballers.
While O’Donoghue would love to have O’Callaghan available to him next year, the county’s senior football vice-captain is more likely to remain a leader with Dessie Farrell’s side. The main challenge for O’Donoghue is not to convince the dual players to change lane, but rather to instil genuine belief in the hurlers already there that he is the man to drive them on.
“This is a really important time for Dublin hurling, the next few years are big, and I think Micheál is an excellent appointment,” says ex-Dublin hurling captain David Curtin.
“He had great success in Galway, so to have a person of that recent experience coming to Dublin brings so much positivity. But not only that, it’s the fact he is bringing such a strong backroom team with him.”
That management set-up includes Larkin, Francis Forde and Shane O’Brien. Donoghue, who succeeds Mattie Kenny, has been given a three-year term.
Former Dublin hurling manager Humphrey Kelleher has watched Donoghue at close quarters for many years. During the 1990s Kelleher managed a Bank of Ireland hurling team that competed in inter-bank competitions, where O’Donoghue was one of his players.
“He had this quality about him, he was a very dedicated guy but more than anything he just exuded this air of class,” recalls Kelleher.
“When you look around at the calibre of managers available, I’m not sure Dublin could have got anybody better really. He is a recent All-Ireland-winning manager, comes with a superb backroom team, and has been a winner pretty much everywhere he has gone. I would put him in the same bracket as John Kiely, I really would. He’s a great people manager but he also has the ruthlessness of Brian Cody.”
The end goal for Dublin hurling is to win an All-Ireland title, but there are many steps along the road first before that ambition is attainable. Last Saturday’s Dublin SHC double header at Parnell Park was sparsely attended, no more than a couple of hundred making their way through the gates for games involving Cuala, St Jude’s, Ballyboden and Na Fianna.
Poorly attended club matches in the capital is nothing new, but it would surely have demonstrated to Donoghue the connection that still needs to be established in Dublin between the game and the people.
“It is now the end of August, 2022. You couldn’t sit here and say with any honesty or confidence the Dublin hurlers will win the All-Ireland in 2023? Could you say it about 2024, 2025?” asks Kelleher.
“That will be the measuring stick, give the management the time to work towards a realistic target. Miracles won’t happen overnight, but if they can get some wins, build momentum, then the public will come with the team.”
Curtin is currently managing Ballyboden, who would fancy themselves to go all the way and win the Dublin SHC this year. On Saturday, with Donoghue watching on, they comfortably dismantled last year’s beaten finalists, Na Fianna.
But for all of the positive Ballyboden displays, one of the most influential players on the pitch was 39-year-old Conal Keaney. Curtin feels an influx of younger players could help push Dublin forward.
“From a Dublin hurling perspective, hopefully he brings through some of the successful under-20s of the last few years. Dublin will be a different environment for him than Galway was because when he took over Galway he had fellas who were really close to winning an All-Ireland, players who had competed in finals. Dublin haven’t yet competed at that stage, haven’t played in All-Ireland finals. So that is a challenge, but I think he can work in that environment and bring them on.”
