EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS TO GAELIC STAR

Paddy bangs one in for Dunloy against Ballycran in the Ulster Club Final

By Paul Kelly

THERE’S nothing like an enforced winter break to tear the ass out of any momentum you’ve built up in the process of winning an Ulster Championship.

Dunloy won their 10^th Ulster Senior Hurling title at the end of October but rather than actually get on with the All-Ireland series, they’ve been forced to put their hurls away for the rest of the year.

It’s frustrating for all concerned but, for more seasoned campaigners like Paddy Richmond, the break comes as something of a relief.

The 30-year-old plumber has a 10-month old baby girl at home and has juggled club and county commitments all year. With seven Ulster Club titles to his name, Richmond has learned the value of patience. There’s plenty of time to get geared up for Dunloy’s assault on that elusive first All-Ireland title.

“I don’t really know what the plans are at the moment,” said Paddy.

“We’ll probably have a meeting around the middle of December to see what we are doing

“I imagine the management team would like to get us out a couple of nights before Christmas, just to keep us all interested.

In action against Newtownshandrum in the All Ireland Club Final

“It’s always nice to get through to this stage of the competition, but I suppose it’s also great to get a break when you have been playing all season with club and county.

“As a club we will just have to look at it again and get our heads right for the New Year.”

Dunloy last featured in an All-Ireland final back in 2004 when they lost out to Cork kingpins Newtownshandrum but there’s a sense that this current group, boosted by an influx of younger players might finally make the breakthrough.

“In 07 we were playing Birr and we matched them in the first half, it was nip and tuck but in the second half we failed to get going and Birr just pushed on,” added Paddy.

“If we can get back into shape and get a lot of hurling into us you never know what might happen.”

With no hurling on the agenda, at least in the short term, Paddy was able to savour his first experience of representing Ireland in the annual hurling/shinty international, which this year was held at Bught Park, Inverness.

It turned out to be an excellent debut for Richmond, with Ireland coming through to win 14-11 for the first time in six years.

Ireland celebrate their win over Scotland in the Hurling/Shinty International

“At the start it was a bit confusing because you are not allowed to lift the ball, take it in your hand, you’re not even allowed to kick it,” said Paddy.

“It shows when you are playing hurling how much you use your feet to get yourself out of trouble. When you get into a ruck, the first thing you try and do is kick it out.”

Ireland, captained by Offaly’s Shane Dooley, met just once before they left for Scotland, so they were forced to do a lot of learning on the day.

“It took us a while to get going but they [Scotland] seemed to tire a bit getting to the finish. I felt we were a bit fitter and we pushed on over the last 10-15 minutes,” he said.

“It felt like a big deal. There was a big crowd there and Scotland had a fair bit of support and there was a guy singing the national anthems.

“It was definitely nice to win it and to get something out of the game. I saw it as a big honour to play for Ireland.

“The atmosphere within the squad was really good. I was staying with a boy from Laois called John Reilly. We always seem to mark each other during games, so we knew each other.

“All the boys got on well with each other. It was a great weekend away. It was well organised and we were well looked after. That Ireland jersey will take pride of place in the house for a while.”