Dublin hurler O’Donnell set to join Farrell’s footballers

Dublin hurling captain Eoghan O’Donnell has reportedly switched to Dessie Farrell’s football side in their quest for All-Ireland glory.

The full-back who was given the captaincy this year, has joined days after Dublin claiming another Leinster football title after defeating Kildare last Saturday.

Dubbed “one of the best full-backs in the game” by Irish Mirror columnist Davy Fitzgerald, he has also been described by hurling boss Mattie Kenny as a “natural leader on the field” and “a very good leader off the field.”

As a casual reader, the inclusion of O’Donnell suggests Farrell is bolstering his defensive back line with Davy Byrne out for the rest of the season, alongside Jonny Cooper and Mick Fitzsimons pushing on. However, O’Donnell plays his club football with Whitehall Colmcille and actually togs out at full-forward for them. He has played for the minor Dublin footballers at wing-back in the past.

With the championship season well underway, it will be difficult for O’Donnell to force his way into the matchday squad and there is no guarantee he will make a sufficient impact to earn any game time this summer.

O’Donnell on his football exploits last year said,: “I love playing for Whitehall at the end of the year, it’s such a release.

“I try my hand as a very makeshift forward for the club so it’s a completely different experience. You’re not chasing someone around for 70 minutes. You can actually try to play some sort of exciting style.”

Kenny’s hurlers dropped out of the Championship last month when Wexford and Kilkenny finished ahead of the Dubs, joining Galway into the next round following the Leinster robin round.

The Dublin footballers will know their quarter final opponents at the end of this month following the conclusion of the first two qualifying rounds.

O’Donnell’s involvement identifies the drop in the strength of depth the Dublin team used to possess under Jim Gavin. He may offer something different off the bench, the sort of presence that they’ve been lacking since Eoghan O’Gara was in his pomp.

O’Donnell isn’t the first Dublin hurler to delve into the county scene and probably won’t be the last either. Conal Kearney, Mark Schutte, and Shane Ryan are all previous examples with O’Donnell now joining the list.

Final year Journalism student in DCU. St. Pats reporter. Celtic supporter.

Start a Conversation

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *