*Darragh McCarthy and Donach O’Donnell.
DONACH O’DONNELL has experience of big-game finals in Cusack Park as he makes a return to the Ennis venue for Saturday’s Harty Cup decider.
O’Donnell was in charge of O’Callaghans Mills’ senior hurlers when they contested the Clare SHC final in 2020, their first appearance in the county final since 1993. Two years later, his time in charge of the Mills ended abruptly amid claims of internal politics which prompted his exit.
He returns to Cusack Park this weekend as manager of Nenagh CBS with the Tipperary school competing in the provincial final for the first time since 2012.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Donach admitted he was surprised that the game was to be held in Cusack Park. “I think Thurles and the Gaelic Grounds were mentioned but they weren’t available. Our guys are used to different surfaces and travelling, our first match was in Meelick and it was a really wet day and the pitch had taken a lot of rain, two weeks later we were on a beautiful Astro-turf surface in Banteer which was totally different, our players are conditioned to deal with the situation and I’m sure they will do it again on Saturday”.
Coach of the Limerick senior hurlers when they won the Munster SHC in 2013, Donach was also involved when Nenagh CBS last contested the Harty Cup final, losing 2-14 1-10 to Coláiste na nDéise. “It’s been a long time, 2012 was our last Harty Cup final and we didn’t go very well in it but we regrouped and won the All-Ireland that year, the experience of the occasion and the hype involved is different this time in that I think we managed it a bit better. We’ve managed it a bit better and have kept things a little bit more low-key”.
On what has been done differently, he explained, “We were a little naïve the last time, we embraced the idea of hype, the more interviews, media and hype around the place and we hyped it up ourselves and it didn’t really work for us, our fellas were over emotional and didn’t perform, hopefully we’ll manage it a bit better this time”.
Similar to Ard Scoil Rís, their semi-final win was far from easy with a dramatic four point win over Charleville CBS seeing them home. “We started very poorly and were lucky to in at six points at half-time but I think they showed great character to finish out the game”.
Nenagh’s workrate has been key to reaching the final, O’Donnell believed. “Their ability to work as a team and a unit, I keep saying that word but it is what we try to instil in them the most. They are unselfish and they work for each other, I think that is why we’ve been so successful to date, hopefully it will see us well in the final”.
Dealing with the talent in the Ard Scoil ranks will be a big test, he predicted. “Individually they are really talented hurlers with a really good panel, they were favourites coming into the competition at the start of the year, themselves and Thurles CBS. As a collective, they are a really good team and we will have to play our best to compete with them”.
According to the PE teacher, access to players has been a reason why it has taken the school twelve years to get back to a Harty Cup final. “We find it hard early on in the year to get enough time with them as a group, we develop fairly well when we have time with them where we can coach them and organise them a bit better, there’s a lot of teams with really good talent from day one which gets them over the initial stages whereas we struggle to get over the initial stages because of not having the time with them so when we can get a good run with them then they can improve and we have the work done which allows us to become a very good team”.
Elite sides are now finding it more difficult with the earlier start for the inter-county championships at minor and U20 making it more important for school managers to be on the same page as county bosses. “I’m dealing with Tipp minor footballers, Munster rugby, Tipp minor hurlers, the U20 hurlers and senior hurlers so there was a lot of people to talk to but most of them have been very good and at this stage of the year we’ve a little bit of a free run with them. We had a little bit of a problem with some of the minors early on but I think it’s sorted now”.
With the split season it has also increased the amount of coaches double-jobbing with county and club sides. Donach himself was with Laois and the Mills in the one year but has pulled back on coaching commitments. “I’ve stayed away from it, I’ve been very busy for the last couple of years, I was involved with Laois and with O’Callaghans Mills, I found I was going seven nights a week as well as the Harty so it was draining, I’ve pulled a back a bit since last year and I probably won’t do anything again this summer, I’m quite happy to take a break and Harty is enough at the moment”.
