‘We believe we can put it up to Galway or Mayo’
London vice-captain Dunne relishing shot at Sligo and win would make all the sacrifices worthwhile for the Dubliner
CIARAN DUNNE is a typical inter-county footballer. There is not an ounce of fat on this lean centre halfback who has put himself through months of rigorous preparation for a season-defining game against Sligo in Ruislip on Sunday.
Dunne, vice-captain and in his third year with the London panel, is yet to experience the joy of a summer victory.
He has not touched a drop of alcohol all year and is in a challenging job as a physiotherapist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, south London and part-time at Crystal Palace FC’s academy.
On Wednesdays and Fridays, he has a 17-hour day, starting at 6.30am to work with post-op patients in Queen Elizabeth’s trauma ward.
After leaving the hospital at 5.0pm, he makes a 90-minute commute across the city to Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club in west London for training. He normally gets home around 11.30pm.
TUBE
“I do a lot of reading on the Tube,” said Dunne, a 28-year-old native of Rathcoole, County Dublin. “I could be standing for the entire journey.
“I’ve worked with the Crystal Palace academy for the past four years since I graduated from King’s College.
“A few of the players are aware that I play for London after seeing some of the championship games on Sky Sports. I even brought some balls down to the training ground one night.”
Inter-county players sacrifice their free time through the long, cold winters in pursuit of a championship run.
London footballers go through this same process knowing an early exit is the likely outcome.
Since their 2013 Connacht final defeat to Mayo, which earned them a trip to Croke Park, where they lost to Cavan, London have failed to get past the first round of the qualifiers and remain languished in Division 4 of the Allianz League.
Dunne, though, continues to return every January in the belief that something special is being built by manager Ciaran Deely.
The former Wexford captain, now in his third year in charge of the Exiles, has kept a core group of players together consisting of emigrants and home-grown talent.
“I spoke with Ciaran a few months ago and I was unsure about coming back,” Dunne said. “I didn’t feel the spark anymore.
“Those train journeys are difficult where you’re getting home late on a Friday and you see people heading for a night out, while you’re coming from a training session after losing a game the week before.
“I’d given two years and felt it was impacting my career.
“Speaking with Ciaran played a big role in me coming back, along with the quality I believe we have in the panel.”
The team have won three of their last 16 competitive games, the most recent a walkover during the league against Leitrim.
But Dunne, who captained St Mary’s of Saggart at the age of 21, remains bullish over London’s chances ahead of the Sligo clash.
He is joined on the panel by his St Mary’s and Garryowen club-mate, and former Dublin U-21 footballer Eoin Murray, with the pair also sharing a house in north Greenwich.
“The players believe we can beat Sligo and can put it up to Mayo or Galway if we face them,” Dunne said.
“We haven’t focused on Sligo too much, not out of a lack of respect but more out of respect for ourselves, as we want to impose our own game where previously we may have tried to prevent the opposition from playing.”
FACILITIES
But a lack of facilities continues to hold London back despite Ruislip’s redevelopment last year.
The Exiles will be expected to lose to a Sligo team that finished fifth in Division 3.
The sides last met in the 2013 Connacht championship quarter-final, where London’s 1-12 to 0-14 victory at Ruislip kick-started their journey to the provincial final.
“We have a lovely pitch that we can’t use for training,” Dunne said. “Sometimes we don’t help ourselves, how can there not be a facility in London that can host our training sessions?”
Deely, who works in the Queens Park Rangers academy’s sports science department, has developed a backroom staff with experience working in professional football, and high standards are being implemented.
Ross Bennett is head of QPR’s academy sports science department, the goalkeeping coach Adrian Creamer works with Watford’s academy and the Guam national team, while Colm Smith is a strength and conditioning coach for the Chelsea ladies and Harlequins.
“Ciaran has put that structure in place to bring a professional ethos to the team. Someone like Ross, who has no GAA background, has learned the basics and can bring an innovative approach to our training.
“A run at promotion has to be the long-term objective,” Dunne said. “We have no problem with aiming high and we’re tired of getting pats on the back
for our effort. Nobody on the panel is interested in that anymore.
The game against Niall Carew’s side also offers a chance of redemption. Last year, London lost to Leitrim in a Connacht quarter-final by three points despite leading midway through the second half. Their championship ended with a 0-13 0-12 round one qualifier defeat to Carlow.
“We dominated for long periods against Leitrim but were naive,” Dunne said.
“There’s dark arts in sports and knowing how to control a game. It was the same against Carlow where we were right in the game until the end but lacked that bit of control.
“I want to see maturity this year. We have all the parts and just need the mentality – ‘this is our home, this is Ruislip, you need to come and beat us’.”
A perpetual dilemma for any emigrant is whether to return home. For a London player, they live with the added question of whether it is worth sacrificing so much for a cause that is expected to end in failure.
Dunne added: “I’ve thought about going home, the initial plan was to get the masters and move back straight away. But you’re just exposed to so many opportunities here and it’s an incredible place to live.
“You do question yourself and why you’re doing it. You want those big days out. There’s a drive in this team and maybe we have a chip on our shoulder.
“In terms of funds, should the lowest-placed teams in the league and championship get a bit more funding? The GAA ranks itself as a community but that’s not reflected in how funding is distributed.
“There’s a lack of understanding of what players go through. We got a two-minute highlight reel on ‘The Sunday Game’ last year for our championship games. It’s not about getting more airtime, it’s about being respected for what you’re doing.”
For now, Dunne is fully focused on preparing for Sligo. He will line up at Ruislip on this weekend convinced his team have a chance to produce something special, even if the odds are stacked against them.