A record eight county medals for Ballycastle and Antrim maestro Eddie Donnelly Antrim has to be considered something of a rare phenomenon in modern hurling. Surrounded by footballing mad counties, the Glens have constantly produced top class hurlers and one of the classiest players to have worn the famous Saffron jersey is Eddie Donnelly. Born and brought up in the hurling stronghold of Ballycastle, Eddie developed into a highly accomplished player who could have walked onto any team in the country. His skill, power and panache made him a forward greatly feared by opposing backlines, a player who punished any mistake in front of goals. He played senior hurling for Antrim for almost twenty years, was a regular on the Ulster Railway Cup team and was named at full forward in the Antrim Team of the Century in 1984. He also won a staggering eight senior county championship medals with Ballycastle. Now, in his late forties, he still appears occasionally with the club juniors as well as filling in as a senior selector, but hurling is in Eddie's blood and it is likely he will always have some involvement in the game in one way or another. Considering his background, it is hardly surprising that Eddie came to love the small ball game. As a child his father Dessie would bring him to Croke Park to see the major games involving the giants of hurling - Kilkenny, Wexford, Tipperary, Cork. "In the '50s we would often travel down to Croke Park to see games, and for some reason the memories of watching Wexford stick in my mind more than any other team. They had a great side in those days, some great players, the Rackards, Paudge Keogh, Ned Wheeler among them." Back home, young Eddie would attempt to emulate his heroes on the Ballycastle underage teams, his evenings spent hurling with his brothers Kevin, Dessie and Brian, who would in time become top class players in their own right, with Brian and Dessie helping Antrim to the 1989 All-Ireland final where they lost to Tipperary 4-24 to 3-9. As a youngster Eddie's talent was clearly see and he was selected on the Ballycastle senior team at a very young age. He was only sixteen when he played in his first senior county final in the mid 60s. "I remember that day I played alongside my uncle Brendan who was my father's twin brother. My brother Kevin was also playing, he was corner back, I was corner forward, it was a terrible day, wet and windy and we were playing Loughgiel. At half time we were leading 0-8 to 0-1 and we finished up by winning 0-9 to 0-3. It wasn't exactly a classic but we were delighted to win. I was very young and didn't really realise what it all meant. I probably thought I would win a championship every year but it took another eleven years before I won another medal, when I was twenty seven," recalls Donnelly, who works as a branch manager for the Northern Bank in Belfast. Once Eddie and his Ballycastle team mates got back into winning ways, they really made up for lost time. "The club hit a purple patch in the late '70s and early '80s and I was fortunate enough to win a total of eight county medals, which I think is a record. My brother Dessie has seven medals so he could catch me yet." The most successful spell for the club was between 1978 and '80 when they won three successive county championships. "In the late '70s and early '80s we had an exceptional side. The club has produced some very good teams down the years but that squad was very, very good. There was a nice blend of youth and experience and for me the highlight had to be achieving the three in a row in '78, '79 and '80." Then there was the great achievement of making it into the All-Ireland club championship final in 1980, when Ballycastle played Galway champions Castlegar, in what became known as the 'Connolly-Donnelly' final. "Castlegar had about six or seven Connolly's playing for them while there was six Donnelly's on our team between brothers and cousins. Unfortunately they beat us (1-11 to 1-8). It was a very disappointing result for us but we did well to get that far." Although he won eight county medals, Eddie also had his own share of disappointments in local competitions. "Altogether I appeared in fourteen senior county finals so my rate of success in them was little over 50%, so there was plenty of disappointment but like any other game you have to take the rough with the smooth." On the inter county front Donnelly also experienced many highs and lows. In the early '60s he started playing minor hurling for Antrim before moving up to the under 21 game. By nineteen years of age he was carving out a regular place on the Antrim senior team. "I made my first appearance for Antrim seniors around 1967. The county wasn't at the same level as it is now - we were usually in the junior All-Ireland championship, but I do remember playing against some of the big teams like Cork in the National League and in 1970 we won the division two as well as the All-Ireland intermediate titles." Even though Antrim were playing most of their hurling well away from the limelight, Eddie Donnelly's reputation as a top class player spread far beyond the Glens and in the mid '70s he was picked twice as a replacement All Star. Donnelly's career was really on the up and up. Then it was suddenly threatened by a serious injury. "I was playing in the quarter final of the club championship with Ballycastle when I received a bad knee injury. I twisted it turning and I damaged the cartilage in the knee. I was just back from the US with the All Stars when it happened. I had to have an operation and for a long time I thought my career as a hurler was over, especially as I made my comeback a wee bit too early and it collapsed again. I thought I was finished but I kept working at it. When I did eventually return the knee was never the same again. I couldn't turn as well as I did so I had to start using the head more than the legs." The Ballycastle man made the switch with considerable success as he continued to play for Antrim for another eight years, making his final appearance in the saffron jersey in '85 even though he had decided to retire the previous year. "I had retired in '84 but Sean McGuinness took over the Antrim team and he asked me would I stay in the panel as cover for Ciaran Barr, so I decided to stay for another while. Then Ciaran got injured and I was drafted onto the team in his place and I kept my position for a couple of games, before finally giving it up in '85. I had enjoyed my career at that level and I had a good long spell in the Antrim team so couldn't really complain. I had won an All-Ireland intermediate medal as well as a couple of Ulster and junior honours. I had a good run." Married to Kathleen with children Joe (who plays under 21 for Ballycastle), Claire (who plays camogie) and Kathleen (who is a swimmer), Eddie gave up playing senior hurling for Ballycastle but he still makes the odd appearance with the juniors. He is also a selector with the senior team and this year he will be working hard to bring another county title to his club. In his playing days Donnelly had great admiration for Cork's Frank Cummins, who used his skill and strength to make life difficult for opposition defences, something Eddie was also very good at. Like Cummins, the Ballycastle man was widely known as a player who rarely got in trouble with referees as he barely broke the rules. As a student at St. MacNissis College outside Cushendall, Donnelly played gaelic football and was good enough to get selected as a sub on the Antrim minor team for the Ulster championship in 1965, but there was never any doubt where his allegiance lay. "I played a lot of football, but hurling was my first love." Donnelly is very encouraged by the advancements Antrim has made in the hurling world in recent years. "There is no doubt Antrim has come on a lot since I first started playing. I think a lot of that is due to the amount of work done at underage level. When I was finishing my inter county career, there were a lot of young players coming into the Antrim team who have since proved they can play at the highest level. Hurling continues to be very strong in the Glens, there is plenty of enthusiasm amongst the young people." Antrim reached the 1989 All-Ireland final but they are still waiting for their first senior title and Eddie Donnelly believes it is a very attainable objective. "I think we have made big strides and if we can maintain the momentum and the progress, we are certainly capable of winning an All-Ireland. We are in there with a shout," he insists. Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 11th March 1994 Tweet

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