Donegal hurlers set for tough opener against Meath in Division 2 debut

Donegal senior hurlers make the long trip to Meath for their Division 2 opener on Saturday minus three of their top performers (throw-in, 2pm). 

Stephen Gillespie, Steven McBride, and Conor Gartland will not be available for the tough test in Trim.  

Gillespie has stepped back this term while Saturday’s clash comes a bit too early for McBride and Gartland who are coming back from injuries. 

And while Mickey McCann does have Michael Donaghue and Christopher McDermott back in the squad, the absence of the aforementioned trio is still a considerable blow In what is a very competitive second tier. 

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“Stephen Gillespie has opted out for the year for personal reasons and he will be a huge loss,” said McCann.  

“But Steven McBride, Conor Gartland, and Peter Kelly are also out and both will be missed. 

“Steven is one of the best full-backs in this competition and Conor has been out with an ankle injury he picked up in an U-20 football match with Burt. 

“This week came too quickly for him also and Peter Kelly has to go for a scan, and he is one of the finds from last year and he has picked up a foot injury. 

“So, we are not as strong as we would like to be and McBride and Gartland will be huge losses. Steven could have done a job on that Meath full forward.” 

But McCann still has a pretty powerful squad and is expecting a huge challenge from the Royals. 

The hosts are powered by scoring machine Jack Regan who hit 0-10 in Meath’s defeat of Donegal in the NHL Division 2B final two years ago which they won by 0-20 to 0-14. 

Powerful full-forward Eamon O’Donnchadha is also a big presence in a physically strong side. They also have Martin Healy and Padraig O’Hanrahan to spur their efforts. 

“It’s going to be very tough away from home and it’s a bit of an unknown for us really as it is very difficult to get any homework done on them and we don’t know how many changes they will have. 

“But we asked a lot of questions of them in that final two years ago, but we just did not have the strength that they had on the bench.” 

For the first time in their history, Donegal are competing in Division 2 of the NHL and it will be a big battle for survival. 

“You have the likes of Kerry, Kildare Down, and Meath who have all competed in the Joe McDonagh Cup and then you have Derry ourselves and Tyrone. 

“It is a very tough league and we are under no illusions. But it’s a challenge we are looking forward to and we will be looking to learn as many lessons as we can from this league. 

“Two teams go down and us and Tyrone will not be too happy with that as it is very hard to find your feet in this division. 

“We were hoping they would have stuck to their guns and have only one relegated but it puts serious pressure on the likes of ourselves and Tyrone. 

“We have to try and get two or three results, and we will have to take a scalp or two to survive as it will take at least four or five points to stay up.” 

On the plus side, a tough league is ideal preparation for the Christy Ring Cup which McCann has targeted. 

“It is very good preparation and we will take a lot of learnings as you are going in against Joe McDonagh Cup teams and we are well capable of making an impression in the Christy Ring Cup. 

“It is well within us but you need to keep winning.”