Northern lights not prepared to fade out

Ian O'Riordan talks to O'Donovan Rossa midfielder Jim Connolly who believes the role of underdogs suits the Northern club as they prepare to face James Stephens

It used to be that whichever club drew the Ulster champions in the All-Ireland semi-finals would first laugh quietly among themselves and book a hotel in Dublin for St Patrick's Day. Then Dunloy of Antrim changed all that, and the days of underrating the Ulster clubs are a thing of the past.

Still, the Northern hands are never expected to actually win. When O'Donovan Rossa take on James Stephens in Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final at Parnell Park even the dilettantes of hurling could tell you who should prevail. Antrim against Kilkenny, is that not a mismatch? Yet O'Donovan Rossa have beaten Dunloy in the semi-final of the Antrim championship, and have risen to every challenge put before them.

So for midfielder Jim Connolly the more people expect from James Stephens the better for them. "Bar the Carrickmore match in the Ulster semi-final we've been underdogs all year," he says. "And that definitely suits our team. We like a challenge, like to get stuck into teams bigger than us. No one gave us a chance to beat Dunloy in the semi-final."

That hypothetical percentage rate would normally be necessary whenever Antrim were taking on Kilkenny at county level, and yet Connolly is right in believing the gulf is not as wide at club level.

"Yeah, it's completely different between club and county, because you have a lot more players doing the same kind of training. Dunloy have proved it, and we'll hope to prove it to. And they've been a big inspiration for us . . . they should have won an All-Ireland. So since beating them our confidence has just grown and grown."

Connolly doesn't need reminding of the last time an Antrim team got a little too confident (Cork's 22-point championship victory last summer) but he knows they need to believe in themselves: "We're just confident in our own ability. We're fit and playing well. Our half forward line is flying, and will give anyone a run for their money. Definitely. But if we go down with any other kind of attitude we may as well not show up."

O'Donovan Rossa coach Aidan Hamill was involved with the side that lost to Wexford's Buffers Alley in the 1989 All-Ireland final. Ironically, former Wexford manager Liam Griffin took them through a training session last month, and according to Connolly the team came away inspired.

Connolly, however, feels his playing days with the Antrim team, which stretch back to 1994, are over: "I just don't have the appetite. I'm loving the club scene at the moment, but I don't know if I can go back to the 9.0 starts on Sunday morning. And what happened at the end of last season against Cork sickened the life out of me."