Dunloy feel county has snubbed them

DUNLOY players were yesterday. only beginning to come to terms with their defeat by Sixmilebridge in last Sunday's All Ireland club hurling final when they suffered another blow to their hurling morale.

They are under the impression that, despite great service, they are being snubbed by the Antrim hurling selectors.

At least six of the Dunloy side, all county panelists from the start of the National League campaign, would have expected to be notified for Tuesday night's training ahead of the crucial National Hurling League Division Two clash against Laois at Casement Park on Sunday next.

But the first they learned of their exclusion from the team and substitutes for Antrim's most important match since their clash with Offaly in the All Ireland semi final last August was in yesterday morning's newspapers.

The Dunloy players had been club tied during the past couple of months and their recognised county players missed the National League matches against Westmeath and Dublin.

Seamus McMullan, an inspiring figure in last Sunday's performance. before he was forced to retire with a dislocated shoulder, says that as far as he knows no Dunloy player was asked to attend training on Tuesday or tonight. "I was amazed not to see a Dunloy player named even in the substitutes," he said.

"If we were not going to be used we should have been notified of that fact. It's only a phone call away. For us, as players, to see confirmation of the team in the paper means that we are no different to the general public. The feeling I am getting is that if the players were asked to attend training this week they would all be there.

County team manager, Dominic McKinley is said to have been surprised not to see the Dunloy players at training on Tuesday. This suggests a breakdown in communications.

Dunloy's club secretary, Martin Cochran confirmed that he had not received any request for his Dunloy players to attend training this week.

A leading Antrim county board official indicated that there was no ill feeling towards the Dunloy club, but that it would have been unfair to the players who had been training and playing with the county team over the past couple of games to leave them out at this stage.

Gary O'Kane, Nicky English's marker in the 1989 All Ireland final, is the longest serving Dunloy player in the Antrim panel but he, along with Sean McIlhatton, Frankie McMullan, Gregory O'Kane and Allaistair Elliott, have apparently beer snubbed in this instance.

Seamus McMullan will not be available for selection for quite some time, due to his injury.