Conor McDonald eager for Wexford to regain higher ground

Not many 20-year-old hurlers from Wexford would openly aspire to winning an All-Ireland given the county’s form in recent years. But for Conor McDonald it’s a hope not without foundation. Sure it’s happened in his lifetime, even if just about.

There is old video footage of Wexford’s 1996 All-Ireland homecoming, after beating Limerick in the final, and when they passed through McDonald’s hometown in Gorey, there he is sitting in a pram, near the front of the stage, aged 13 months.

McDonald watched that video recently, partly to remind himself of his own aspirations with Wexford this season, starting with Saturday’s quarter-final against Dublin at Croke Park. It’s actually Wexford’s first championship match in Croke Park since 2008, the same year they last beat Dublin in a provincial clash, which offers some indication of how far Wexford have drifted off the top table.

Not that McDonald’s attitude would suggest it. Although still only 20, this is his third year playing senior with Wexford, and in his debut season, in 2014, they beat both Clare and Waterford in the qualifiers. And look where they are now.

Same heights

“Of course we aspire to winning the All-Ireland, reaching those same heights as 1996,” says McDonald, speaking at the launch of the 2016 Bord Gáis All-Ireland under-21 hurling championship at Kilmacud Crokes GAA Club.

“Two players from that Wexford team, Ger Cushe and Billy Byrne, are with my club as well (Naomh Éanna), and obviously they’re still very influential at the moment in my club. Ger is in as a selector with the Wexford seniors as well. Those lads have a lot of respect in the county, a lot of passion for the game, and they probably did stuff against the odds. It’s something you’d want to be involved in.

“And if you’d asked us at the start of 2015, ‘where do you see yourself?’, well we’d beaten Waterford in 2014 but where did Waterford end up last year? In an All-Ireland semi-final. Everyone’s so close now at this stage, anyone can beat anyone on a given day.”

To beat Dublin, however, Wexford will need to emulate McDonald’s experience at under-21 level, given he’s going for a fourth Leinster title in the grade, having repeatedly ousted the likes of Dublin and Kilkenny.

“It’s been good a good run but you’re always wanting more,” he says of the under-21 competition. “This year is no different, your last year you want to give it a big push.

“There’s still no All-Ireland there and we’ve come close to it twice. Of course you want to be winning All-Irelands and being in two All-Ireland finals and coming up short, it’s obviously heartbreaking. In a way, that’s your ambition to go one step further. But there’s a lot more steps on the ladder before you get to the final hurdle.

“I think the main thing is we expect more of ourselves than what other people would. It goes hand in hand, if you’re getting success, people are going to start saying it, ‘what’s going on now with the senior grade, where are these lads?’

“Obviously there was that brilliant run in 2014, senior wise. The Leinster minor in 2012, I was involved in that too. I’ve kind of been involved in a bit of success, that feeds the hunger and you want to get more of it.”

Whoever does emerge from Croke Park on Saturday – and it promises to be close – will take on All-Ireland champions Kilkenny in the semi-final. It’s now 12 years since Wexford last beat Kilkenny in the championship, thanks to the late, late goal from Michael Jacob, in the 2004 Leinster semi-final. McDonald remembers the moment well.

“Michael Jacob yeah. I was sitting behind the goal when he scored. And I nearly ended up three seats down, jumping up and down. You’d always be hoping to repeat something like that as a forward.”