Setanta look for revenge on holders Burt in the SHC semi-finals

It is a clear sign of how much the hurling landscape has changed in Donegal that St Eunan’s are being cast as favourites to take the county championship for the first time since 2021.

They have been shoulder-to-shoulder with last year’s finalists Burt and Setanta, and some are already casting them as favourites in a year when we will have a county final that will not feature one of the reigning champions Burt, or Setanta.

That would have been unthinkable a few short years ago-but the emergence of Eunan’s and the revival of Sean MacCumhaills have been two big stories in hurling in the county.

On Saturday, the Letterkenny lads collide with the men from the Twin Towns in O’Donnell Park in the first part of an attractive double header with Burt and Setanta clashing in the second game.

And while Eunan’s are the warmest of favourites, experienced official Paddy Flood is wary of a resurgent Sean MacCumhaills.

“Hurling is on the rise in Sean MacCumhaills, and they have a great youth setup, so they will be around for a long time.

“But more significantly, they gave ourselves, Setanta and Burt very competitive games, and they ran Burt five points last week.

“We ended up on top of the round robin, and MacCumhaills are a strong physical side and have a number of their senior football squad as dual players.”

Flood added: “MacCumhaills have dominated underage hurling in Donegal for quite a few years now, and already 

Jacob Malone and Dan Donnelly (who is unfortunately injured) are stellar prospects.

“They have a strong physical team, and the Griffins (Conor and Fintan), Gavin Browne, Lee Henderson, John Chambers and Aaron Toner are imposing figures.”

But Eunan’s have a huge panel with a strong second squad as well, with a number of players who would pretty much get a starting spot on most club teams.

“We have Kieran Harkin, who has added a good bit to us, and we have more of our own players available to us for the first time in quite a while,” Flood added.

“There is great competition for places, and we don’t have Sean McVeigh and Daire O’Maoileidigh available, but we do have some real strength in depth.

“It will make us favourites as we beat them in the round robin, but we don’t see it that way.

“We see it as a very even game, and what we have seen from MacCumhaills is that in their defence and midfield, they bring a lot of intensity to their play.

“They have a lot of physicality as well and have a great work ethic, and we are expecting a fierce battle.

“If we go in with anything less than a 100 per cent attitude, we could be in serious trouble.” 

Meanwhile, the outcome of the clash of old rivals Burt and Setanta has the makings of a real cracker.

“Burt may have been a bit short in some of the round robin games, but there is no way they will be giving up their county title without a massive fight.”

“We hear that Liam Óg McKinney will not be coming back from the States for the semi-final, which would be a big blow to Burt.

“But then, he would be a huge addition to any team as he is one of the finest hurlers to come out of the county in many years.

“He has gone to the States for the summer, but even if he were available, it would not be the easiest thing to gel back in right away.”

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On that basis, Flood is tending towards a star-studded Setanta side who have been operating without Steven McBride for most of the summer.

“Burt are also down Caolan McDermott (Australia) and Ciaran Curran (cruciate) and those are further blows.

“However, they still have Ronan McDermott, Stephen Gillespie and Christopher McDermott as real stalwarts, and Conor Gartland is a real leader as well.”

But the absence of McKinney especially could spur Burt on to prove the critics wrong that they rely too much on the talented McKinney.

Setanta will be keen to avenge last year’s narrow county final defeat to Burt where they were hot favourites.

But a forward line that has Danny Cullen, Ruairi Campbell, Josh Cronolly McGee, Oisin Marley and Gerry Gilmore will be very hard to contain.

Add in Declan Coulter, Dean Harvey and Ryan Coyle and you get an idea of their sheer power.

“Setanta are favourites and have a very experienced side.

“And they are on a mission this year as they are scheduled to take part in the Ulster SHC.

“They won the Intermediate title already, and the only way they can get into the SHC is by winning the Donegal county title.

“So that is a huge incentive for Setanta.

“And the hurt of losing to Burt last year will be a big motivating force also.”