Joe Boyle might be playing in Mayo but he'll 'never turn his back on Donegal'

Donegal hurlers should have no fear they will never have to face former teammate and inspirational leader Joe Boyle in the red and white of Mayo or any other county for that matter.

“I could never do it,” Burt native Boyle tells DonegalLive. “I could never play against Donegal and my former teammates. No way it will never happen. I know I’m living now in Mayo and playing with Toreen but I’m still a Burt man and a Donegal man and that is never going to change.

“I’ll be 35 in May and I have been playing for Burt since I was a wee lad and I have played for Donegal since I was 17. Maybe if I had moved down here when I was 27 or 28, I might have considered it. But it would be hard.”

The three-time Nickey Rackard Cup winner with Donegal and captain of the 2013 Lory Meagher Cup success was speaking ahead of this weekend’s All-Ireland Intermediate Club Hurling semi-final.

Toreen, the Mayo senior champions, face Naas the Kildare champions tomorrow in Duggan Park, Ballinasloe.
Boyle transferred to Toreen last year. Already a 10-time Donegal SHC winner with Burt his trophy cabinet now boasts of a
Mayo senior championship winner’s medal and a Connacht IHC medal.

“When I first moved down here a few years ago I was living and working in Galway,” Boyle adds. “I still continued to play with Burt and Donegal. I found travelling up and down for Donegal and Burt tough going and it was difficult to give the commitment required. I moved here to live in Mayo, outside Knock at the start of this year. I still work in Galway. Toreen is my local club .

“It is an all-hurling club so I decided to join them. I had already called time on my days with Donegal. It was a big decision for me and I thought long and hard about it and it was hard to leave Burt.

Boyle and Toreen defeated Moycullen from Galway to book their place in tomorrow’s All-Ireland semi-final. Toreen also defeated Athleague from Roscommon and Robert Emmets, London, on their way to Connacht final win.

“I’m enjoying my hurling,” Boyle adds. “It is a good standard. Moyucllen had Fionn McDonagh, a member of the current Galway squad, and fella by the name of Matt Donoghue. He was in the Galway All-Ireland winning squad of 2017. And we played Robert Emmetts, the London champions, and they had a number of ex-Cork hurlers and a couple of the Loughgiel players that won club All-Irelands.”

Toreen were crowned Connacht champions at the beginning of December yet only found out who their semi-final opponents were at the weekend. Naas, the Kildare senior champions, defeated Oylegate-Glenbrien from Wexford on Sunday in the Leinster final, running out convincing 3-12 to 1-11 winners.

“I watched the game on TV and they looked good,” Boyle says. “They have up to 13 players in the Kildare senior squad with a good few of them on the team. They also have three lads that were also on the club football team that lost the Leinster senior final to Kilmacud Crokes.

They have also beaten the Dublin champions and the Kilkenny champions, Glenore in Leinster. They are fair good side. We are naturally looking forward now to the semi-final. The chances of playing in an All-Ireland semi-final and a crack at playing in an All-Ireland final does not come round that often.

“I remember I won an Ulster Junior Hurling Championship with Burt back in 2011 and we played in a number of Ulster Intermediate championships after that with little success.

“You have to make the most of your chance when you get it. Toreen have played in four of the last five All-Ireland Intermediate championships and they have never won it. They have never even reached the final.

“The bulk of the team played in those championships. So they have a lot of experience to call upon and they are determined to give it their best shot and hopefully make it through to the final at least.

“We have 12 of the Mayo players that won the Lory Meagher last year in the team and Fergal Boland is a member of the Mayo senior football squad.”

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