Parts of west Dublin are fast becoming a hurling wasteland, despite the county’s apparent rise through the national rankings, according to star forward David ‘Dotsy’ O’Callaghan.
The rising interest in soccer, he fears, may be partly to blame.
O’Callaghan has already been forced to switch clubs to ensure he at least stays competitive at that level, signing over from St Mark’s, in Tallaght, to Ballyboden St Enda’s, on the city’s southside. He believes Tallaght would be better served by a combined club side, such has been the drop off of senior players in clubs across the area.
“Look, it was a very tough thing for me to do,” says O’Callaghan, the former dual player for Dublin, now concentrating on hurling only.
“I’ve been at Mark’s all my life, have had great times and memories there. It’s just unfortunate the hurling has slipped back a lot there over the last couple of years, a gap has developed in underage teams, where we don’t actually have a team.
“Mark’s have also lost a lot of lads to other clubs, and unfortunately they’re unlikely to return. So I would be calling for a combined Tallaght hurling team at this stage, even for underage as well. If you could have something along those lines you could try and raise the standards.
“It was never something I particularly wanted to do. There’s no issue with Mark’s. They’ve wished me well. That kind of helped make the move a bit easier for me.”
Missing out
O’Callaghan, however, reckons the lack of competitive hurling with the club would have impaired his chances of continuing to play for Dublin. On that note, plenty of other potential Dublin hurlers might well be missing out too, as clubs such as St Mark’s struggle to find numbers.
“When I was starting off we had some great success. We won an intermediate football and hurling and then a senior ‘B’ in hurling the following year. From the hurling side, that whole era has literally vanished . . . .
“There hasn’t been an under-21 team in a couple of years, and nothing down to under-14 last year. That’s a big gap.”
This is despite the success of Dublin hurling in both the league and championship.
But O’Callaghan hasn’t seen that success impact in the Tallaght area: “No, it hasn’t filtered through to my area, that’s for sure. Other lads who have been hanging on with teams, those teams have folded, and they’ve gone to other clubs . . . .
“Soccer is probably number one in Tallaght, from what I would see anyway. Shamrock Rovers has created a bit of a buzz there as well. They’d be doing a bit of work around the are. Kids are going to be attracted to that as well. That’s what you’re up against.”
O’Callaghan, speaking at an event to mark AIG’s sponsorship of Dublin GAA for 2015, was more upbeat about Ger Cunningham taking over as Dublin senior hurling manager. Cunningham got his Dublin term underway with a 17-point win over DIT in the Walsh Cup on Tuesday night, a game notable for the unusual positioning of several players, including Johnny McCaffrey at corner back, and Liam Rushe at full forward.
“Yes he has us all guessing now,” says O’Callaghan, who didn’t feature on Tuesday, training instead with the other Dublin panellists. “There’s a big squad out at the moment, we’ve another game on Sunday, so he’s just letting lads hurl.
“So it’s fresh, it’s very enjoyable. I suppose six years with Daly was a long time . . . Ger’s brought in a great team around him, as well, is very organised, and there’ll be no stone left unturned. It’s all in place now for the players to go out and perform.” The Leinster Council have confirmed Kilkenny’s withdrawal from the Walsh Cup, following the tragic death of Johnny Ryan, father of All-Ireland-winning captain Lester Ryan: Kilkenny had been scheduled to play NUI Galway on Friday, but Carlow will take their place, that game set for Fenagh (7.0).
