Kerry player at the centre of Cuala’s Leinster club campaign

How does a hurler from north Kerry find his way to a south Dublin club on the verge of winning a Leinster title? That's not a joke question, although Darragh O'Connell still smiles at the thought of how far he's come in such a short time.

Still only 24, O'Connell is a key component of the Cuala team that is seeking to win a first Leinster club hurling title on Sunday. The Dublin champions start as favourites against Wexford's Oulart-The Ballagh, and O'Connell's dynamic pace around midfield is one of the main reasons they've come this far, 21 years after last winning a Dublin title.

Although he still considers himself a hurler from Abbeydorney, O’Connell also considers Cuala home, having been living in Dublin since 2011, and now teaching at Gaelscoil Na gCloch Liath in Greystones. Originally, he commuted home at weekends to play senior hurling with Kerry, but eventually that journey, three and a half hours each way, took its toll.

“I actually played senior hurling with Kerry for five years, from 2010,” says O’Connell, speaking ahead of Sunday’s AIB Leinster final. “So I was up and down for a few years, and was in Limerick in college for a year of that. It was a lot of travelling, every weekend, during the week too, sitting in the car on your own.

“You are not recovering properly. You are not preparing for games properly. Along with that, I had also gone back to college with Setanta College, so I was kind of working and doing part-time study at the same time.

“I went to a Gaelscoil myself for primary and secondary, spoke Irish at home, so it was only natural I would apply to a Gaelscoil. At the time I didn’t really mind where I was going to get a job, it just happened that I got a job in Greystones, and moved up and started living here. So it was my own decision, at the end of last year, to transfer and to go through with it.”

By then, O’Connell was living in the area, originally in Shankill, and now in Stillorgan, so Cuala was a natural fit. He also knew some of the players with the club, given that some of them had also transferred from their local clubs.

Cameraderie

"Yeah, and a few of them have been there for years now. Shane Stapleton from Tipperary, Cian Waldren and Nicky Kenny from Kilkenny. But we're all as one. I got on well with the lads, enjoyed the camaraderie from the beginning. No matter where you go, I suppose you are always going to get one or two jokes about being from Kerry and playing hurling. But I am well used to it at this stage."

His transfer took another turn at the start of the summer, when he got a call from Dublin hurling manager Ger Cunningham. O'Connell came on in the drawn Leinster quarter-final against Galway, then started in the replay, and although Dublin lost heavily, he's nothing but thankful for the experience.

“When I transferred to Cuala, my sole aim was to make their 15, for championship. Then Ger Cunningham gave me a call, around the end of April, beginning of May.

“Of course I was very surprised, I didn’t expect that. It was disappointing the way we got knocked out, but the run with the club now has been brilliant. I certainly didn’t think, this time last year, I’d be sitting here talking about a Leinster Club final.”

Kerry roots

Despite his Kerry roots, hurling has always been his first game, although his mother hails from football territory around Minard, on the way in to Dingle. “Growing up, it was all hurling, no football. And Abbeydorney is where it all started, and I’m still great friends with all the lads. But I made my decision, no regrets. I can’t look back now. There are certainly no ‘what ifs’ there.

“I suppose I’m representing Dublin now and I’m representing Cuala and I’m trying to do that to the best of my ability. When we started off at the beginning of the year, our aim was to win the county championship.

“We achieved that goal, got some momentum, especially to beat Clara, the Kilkenny champions. It’s all about Sunday now. Only one Dublin club has ever achieved a Leinster title, going back to 1979, with Crumlin, so it’s a long time. It would be huge for the club, everyone involved, to win on Sunday.”