TALENT NOT AN ISSUE!
Cushendall’s Neil McManus insists his county could compete for titles
IT’S tempting to break the AIB All-Ireland club hurling semi-finals down into their constituent county parts. In Thurles this afternoon, Ballyhale Shamrocks versus Ballygunner is expected to live up to the rich, dramatic tradition of the Kilkenny-Waterford rivalry. In Parnell Park though, the clash between Galway and Antrim is a bit more complicated than the county bloodlines would suggest.
Ruairí Óg, Cushendall have an established tradition of being able to mix it with the best. Three years ago, the Antrim and Ulster champions stunned Sarsfields of Galway at the same stage.
A 3-12 to 1-6 victory only told half the story; the opposition only managed one of those six points from play all afternoon, their goal coming from a flick by 2017 All-Ireland winner Joseph Cooney.
Neil McManus led the charge that day and is bullish about the standing of Antrim club hurling as his team try to secure another St Patrick’s Day outing.
‘A biased opinion no doubt, but I personally feel like the top four clubs in Antrim would be competitive in any county Championship in Ireland. I have no doubt about that to be honest with you.’
So where does the disparity come from at county level then? Antrim are operating in the second Championship tier of the Joe McDonagh Cup while Galway were All-Ireland finalists last year after winning the competition out in 2017.
‘I have no idea and I’d love for somebody to figure that out and come and be Antrim manager,’ he replies.
A case of some players being more interested in club than county? ‘There definitely is some of that but I genuinely don’t know where it stops.
‘There’s certainly a certain amount of apathy within Antrim and getting people to play for [the county]… it should just be a total and utter honour. I get such a buzz out of playing for Antrim. That’s how you get to play against the best players in Ireland. I can’t fathom how people wouldn’t want to play for Antrim.
‘As times change, people see much more to life than they did previously. People are more inclined to go travelling or happy to take a career that takes them outside of Ireland and things like that, which is probably becoming more prevalent than it was previously. That’s probably an input and a factor there.’
And yet there was a still a shock value to Cushendall’s All-Ireland semifinal win three years ago, despite a history of near misses at the same stage.
‘Experience is a big part of it. You look at Crossmaglen in the football, a team that are very used to it. Sarsfields have won it in the past and their management had been part of All-Ireland-winning teams and Galway have produced more senior club champions than any other county but I think that day we played really well, our performance level was very high and they had an off day which was great for us really.’ While Loughgiel Shamrocks stunned Coolderry back in the 2012 decider — the second time the Antrim champions had captured the All-Ireland — Cushendall were outclassed by Na Piarsiagh in the 2016 final when they made it all the way to Croke Park. ‘We were very poor on the day and didn’t do ourselves anywhere near justice,’ admits McManus. ‘Hopefully we will get the opportunity again and we’ll go about things a whole lot differently but to be beaten by 10 points in an All-Ireland final is not nice.
‘Na Piarsaigh are a super team, there’s no doubt about that and we’ve seen that over their past couple of duels with Cuala. They’re a serious outfit.’
One player who is missing now from that run is midfielder Shane McNaughton, son of the famous ‘Sambo’, an Antrim cult hero. McManus explains how McNaughton’s acting career is taking off.
‘Shane is in New York, living in New York and he just completed his first play, just off Broadway there. It’s called “In Danny’s Box”. It came to a conclusion so he’s now effectively a bigger star than Mel Gibson, Liam Neeson and anybody else that you can name.
‘Great lad, a wee small place like Cushendall but it’s very much into the arts. There’s an awful lot of traditional music, there’s an awful lot of story-telling groups. There’d be quite a drama scene there too.
‘I was talking to Sambo, he was just home. He had flown out to watch him in New York and I said, “How did you get on?” and he says, “The wee b ****** s was good at it!” He was as surprised as anybody. Shane’s a brilliant person. I’m sure you’ve probably interviewed him before, great buzz off him, very likeable character. A very brave thing to do as well. He’s given it a shot.’
Now Cushendall get their own shot at the bright lights.
‘I can’t fathom how people would turn down Antrim’