Diarmuid Connolly says he’s letting the ball do the work on his return to the St Vincent’s senior hurling team.
“That moves way faster than I ever will,” says the 35-year-old.
Connolly is in flying, chirpy form. “I’m living the dream,” he says.
The word on the street always was that Connolly is as good a hurler as he is a footballer, so it’s no wonder Pat Gilroy wanted him back when he took over as St Vincent’s manager.
The two-time All-Star certainly can’t hide his great love for the small ball.
“Any chance I get to go and watch a hurling game, I’m there,” he says, in his role as a Boylesports ambassador.
“I played with the club last year, I haven’t played football at all this year, I’m actually playing hurling at the moment with the club.
“Now we haven’t won a club championship in 30 years so am, he asked me would I go back and try contribute a little bit this year.
“I’m only going back the last four weeks so but I’m really enjoying it. I haven’t kicked any football this year at all and I don’t plan on it yet, I never say never, but I don’t plan on going playing football yet.”
Diarmuid Connolly & Lee Keegan took part in an ‘Epic Conversation’ for BoyleSports. BoyleSports is offering ‘Epic Odds’ on the match – 6/4 Dublin, 11/4 Mayo
As a youngster, Connolly says that he had equal interest in both codes. The fact that he was dropped off the Dublin minor team ‘disheartened’ him however, although he did go onto win a Leinster title with his county.
“A manager from Na Fianna didn’t pick me for the hurling.
“They had a very strong minor team that year and were only beaten by Limerick in the All-Ireland semi-final, and to be honest with you, I was a bit disheartened and I kind of picked football from there.
“Well, Dave Billings put the arm around the shoulder and brought me up to Pillar Caffrey’s squad that year 2006/2007.”
We all know what Connolly went onto achieve in one of the most illustrious Gaelic football careers, but he’s loving his return to the small ball, although he confesses his touch was ‘dire’ when he initially returned.
“Let the ball do the work.”
Diarmuid Connolly explains why he chose to go back hurling with St Vincent's this year over football, and how his mantra is 'let the ball do the work' 🔵⚪️
Full interview ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/4Znpa7w0xg
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) June 29, 2023
“It’s so much easier playing hurling, you’re not covering 10/12k.
“Your body doesn’t be as sore the next day, I’m just really enjoying it at the moment.
“It’s all about, it’s a really skill-based game.
“It can be an athletic game but it’s not as athletic as football and not as hard-hitting as football but yeah, no I’m really enjoying it at the moment and my mantra is let the ball do the work. That’ll move way faster than I ever will.
“It was absolutely dire. It was a tackle, my second touch was a tackle every time. It’s getting there, we’re getting there, I got 0-3 against Lucan the last day. Corner forward. Myself and big John Hetherton inside yeah. Two bosses, so let the ball in, any way.”
Reflecting on his own career, Connolly says that extended runs with the club and county, over many years, eventually wore him out and that was why the summer he spent playing for Donegal Boston in 2018 was one of the most enjoyable of his life.
“I actually played two or three years, where you got no break. You literally got a week at Christmas but even at that week at Christmas you’d an All-Ireland club semi-final to play in January, so you never really got to take your eye off the ball.
“I had a lot of miles on the clock, and it did get hard,” he says.
Having been suspended for an altercation with a linesman in 2018, Connolly stepped away from Dublin and St Vincent’s, and that was the year he ended up Stateside.
“I loved the Boston thing in 2018. I didn’t play football all year, with the club or county – I didn’t want to – I completely disengaged with it, I didn’t want to play and I was just pissed off with the year previous what had happened, and I just fell out of love with it.
“I remember sitting down with Shane Carthy and he was like ‘why don’t we go to the States for the summer?’ That sparked that idea in my head.
“It ended up being one of the best summers I’ve ever had. I was coming to an age where I was mature enough to realise that it’s not all about the craic either. That summer we got really, really fit in Boston.
“Myself and Carthy trained our asses off during the week and because of the hot weather, I was as fit as I ever was coming back, and we had a great season with the club coming back from that as well.”
From a spectator’s stand-point, Connolly says he’s loving the championship. Sean Bugler is his player to watch from Dublin while he felt sorry for the ‘incredible’ Galway captain Sean Kelly, after they were knocked out by Mayo.
Which prompts the obvious question. Could we see him on The Sunday Game one day?
“Never say never!”
“It’s different when you’re playing, it’s more like work when you’re involved,” he says of watching games.
“It’s a different dynamic. I never enjoyed reviewing games or anything, or reviewing opposition or doing previews or anything like that. I never enjoyed it because it felt like work sort of thing you know. But now as a fan, it’s a different perspective.
“I don’t put myself out there for all the media outlets. I suppose, I do a small bit with Boylesports and that suits me. The format suits me rather than big tv shows or any of that carry-on. I like to be under the radar.”
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