Tommy O'Neill: 'We've been waiting a long time for a championship in Buncrana'

Buncrana manager Tommy O’Neill admits that his side have had ups and downs in 2024, but are hoping to finish the season on a strong note by taking home the Donegal Intermediate Hurling Championship this Saturday in O’Donnell Park against Carndonagh. 

For O’Neill and his team, this weekend has been a long time coming. After years of underage success, the Inishowen club are hoping that they can finally replicate the years of winning youth titles at an adult level.  

"We’re going into this game really confident and hoping we can bring home some silverware to the club," O'Neill said. "For Buncrana hurling, a championship has been a long time coming, so we hope we can get the job done this Saturday." 

The Buncrana side has seen success at the underage level over the years, but the elusive senior championship title has continued to slip through their fingers.  

"In terms of our seniors getting any success, it’s been a long time, and we’re still looking for that bit of silverware," O’Neill remarked.  

He noted that many of the current players have been on a long journey, dating back to their four-in-a-row minor championship titles between 2014 and 2017. And now, in their mid-to-late 20s, these players are eager to finally capture a senior title. 

"There’s been a lot of people putting in so much work for so many years, so we just hope that now can all pay off on Saturday." 

Standing in their way this Saturday is fellow Inishowen club and current intermediate champions Carndonagh, and The O’Neill is fully aware of the challenge they will present, especially after Buncrana suffered a surprising defeat to them earlier this season.  

"It was a big scalping that day, there was a lot of disappointment considering it was the first time Carndonagh ever beat us, so we know it’s going to be another challenging game, and we’re going to be ready for that." 

Despite the setbacks, including injuries to key players like Declan McCarron and Jack O’Loughlin, Buncrana has managed to pull through and reach the final with a now fully fit squad.  

For O’Neill and his team, he feels it’s now all about staying in the moment and playing to their full potential 

"There’s been highs and lows this season and we’ve suffered a few blows along the way, but it’s all coming together now," O'Neill stated. 

“We lost earlier in the championship to MacCumhaills which was so unfortunate because we would’ve liked to have gotten to the senior hurling final, but we recovered well and beat Aodh Ruadh Ballyshannon in the semi-final and now we hope to go another step further this Saturday. 

"Now, it’s just about getting the heads right for the weekend and getting the recovery as best as possible," O’Neill concluded, hopeful that his team’s resilience and hard work will finally pay off with a long-awaited championship victory.