And finally a fitting stage

Cork's visit to Celtic Park for an April hurling fixture didn't cause much of a stir around the country, but in Derry hurling circles it was indicative of a new time.

In many respects, the day was unsensational - the All-Ireland champions took the field, rapped 4-18 past their hosts and thus all but nailed Derry to the bottom of Division One. But the point was, Cork were hurling in Derry.

"There were times when you'd turn up for a league game in Celtic Park and you'd have maybe a 100 people there. If you were lucky," remembers Derry's Oliver Collins.

"There were about 1,500 there for Cork and there was a bit of atmosphere. Afterwards, we held a reception and the Cork lads really responded, they all attended and it was great to have them there."

It was Collins' late, pointed strike in the Ulster final against hot favourites Antrim which brought Derry in from the cold, reaffirming that there exists a genuine spirit and empathy for the game in the county. Collins' point delivered the county its first provincial hurling title since 1908.

"To be honest, I was more annoyed about the previous ones that had gone wide. I was having an off-day - I had just come back after breaking a jaw and was a wee bit rusty. So shots you'd normally bang over were going astray. So, with that shot it was just a matter of relief at seeing it go over, feeling you didn't let people down. Perhaps what it represents is something that will matter more in years to come, when you might take out the video and live it again."

Collins is a realist. He knows that across the country nobody expects Derry to do anything other than travel down for tomorrow's All-Ireland quarter-final, look colourful and take a roasting from Offaly. Recent history, with Antrim suffering consecutive summer lessons from the midlanders, would point to a bleak outing for the northerners.

"To be honest, there was a bit of disappointment here at the way Antrim played in those games. Of course Offaly are heavy favourites, but I can promise that we will go out and compete for every ball until the final whistle. There will be no quitting. For us to win would mean a huge shock but there have been shocks before."

But it is the event, the participation, which is almost as important as the game. Derry hurling on a box-office day, part of the pageant. Television cameras in their living rooms. Three, four years ago, the idea would have been laughable.

"It's a really positive development for Derry hurling. Obviously hurling exists only in pockets of the county, but I would hope that all of Derry will get something out of seeing us in Croke Park. But in terms of promoting the game in the county, we'd really need to be reaching this stage more often. We'd need to be coming back over the next few years."

Derry's experience in Division One was one of emphatic defeats, but for Collins those games and his outing with the Ulster Railway Cup team offered intangible benefits.

"You'd find yourself marking players like Seanie McMahon of Clare or Nigel Shaughnessy of Galway, high calibre players like that. And it brings your confidence on as well as your game."

While it must have been a strange novelty for teams from the deep south like Cork and Wexford to be heading up to the northwest to hurl, those trips must also have reinforced the realisation that there is an unsung nobility attached to efforts to keep the game alive in such an isolated quarter.

"Well, I don't know what the top teams think about Derry hurling. But, for instance at the All Star do I met Seanie McMahon and talking to him it was obvious he knew what we were about and the progress that has been made in the county. And it's encouraging when a player of that profile has that interest."

Not that Collins views his involvement with Derry hurling as any sort of charity. Lavey, his home village, is perhaps the area most associated with Derry hurling.

"You'd have about 400 families in Lavey, maybe half of whom would play Gaelic games. So growing up, you'd naturally combine both. Men like Tom McGill, a selector tomorrow, were responsible for really raising the interest in the game. I found myself going more for the hurling and I do sometimes wonder about if I'd taken a different path - no regrets, but I do wonder."

Derry and Offaly have met before - Collins remembers a victory over the Leinster side at under-21 level and a comprehensive loss three years ago in an Oireachtas tournament. But he has sampled their laidback genius from his living-room armchair these past few summers.

"Lovely, skilful hurlers. They always seem to turn it on at this time of year and they are a classic example of small clubs, big success."

Oliver Collins is 28 and tomorrow marks the pinnacle of his hurling life. He has run out onto the Croke Park sod before, but not on occasions like this.

"It's where you want to play at this time of year. A few years ago, the idea of us being here would have sounded like a joke. A good few of the lads haven't played in Croke Park before. But we have worked very hard to get here and I suppose we are conscious that we are flying the flag for Ulster hurling as well. And hopefully we'll do it proud."