Mickey McCann and Donegal hurlers get back down to business

Mickey McCann admits that there was some deep soul searching done before deciding to come back on board once more as Donegal senior hurling boss. 

The Burt native has worn the county banisteoir’s bib now since 2017. And he’s been hugely influential in giving Donegal hurling some of its biggest days out since, like 2018 and 2020’s Nicky Rackard Cup wins. 

But following last season’s championship semi-final loss to Tyrone, he believed he’d finally be stepping aside ahead of 2023. Talks with the county board were direct - they wanted him to remain on board for a sixth successive campaign. 

However, it was the intervention of the side’s senior players that finally persuaded him to remain at the helm. 

“It was a big decision and it wasn’t taken lightly,” he said. “On one hand I wanted to go back and, on the other, you’re wondering if you’ve served your time and maybe it’s right to let someone else have a go now. 

“I met the county board about six weeks ago. They were keen for me to stay on but I was still mindful of not wanting to overstay my welcome as a manager. But having sat down with a good few of the more senior players soon after, they were the ones that really convinced me to hang on.

“We have that traction, maybe, as a group. We’ve all been through the really bad days together. And maybe this is one last fling for a few of us. We want to give it another big push to see what we can wring out of this squad before it does finally fragment or begin to break up a little.” 

He added: “Donegal hurling is in a good place. We’ve been in Division 2 now for a few years and it was a tier we never really stayed in before. And that probably is as important as the Nicky Rackard in its own way. 

“Obviously, the way it ended last season in championship against Tyrone, that was a disappointing day. I think Tyrone are a side that are on a real rise. They’re a force now under Mickey McShane and they proved that, the way they went on to beat Roscommon in the final.”  

Donegal are scheduled to get back down to business next Saturday with on-field training set to commence. 

Setanta - who McCann explains have ten spots on his county panel - will be hoping to advance to the All-Ireland JHC series if they can overcome Antrim’s Shane O’Neill’s in tomorrow’s provincial decider at Celtic Park. 

So the collective landscape for the squad will be much clearer when the dust does settle there on Sunday evening. 

“When someone goes on an Ulster run for us, at club level, it’s a completely different scenario. The likes of Naomh Conaill, in the football, might have three or four county players max. But ten is a huge number of us. So we’ll just keep an eye on that. Of course, it’s been a really long season for the Setanta lads already. 

“That can be mentally draining more so than physical sometimes. So regardless of how they fare, the plan will be to take them in accordingly. But they’ll need a wee break, definitely, to get a bit freshness back into it. They’ll come back in great shape, they won’t need a pre-season. It’ll be more so maintenance for those guys.” 

Donegal have a number of notable drop offs but, by and large, the majority of last season’s group are back on board once more. 

“Davin Flynn has left the group,” said McCann. “Work commitments and other things means he just cannot commit. Christopher McDermott is another that has dropped off. That’s two big senior players. Sean McVeigh, I know he announced his retirement, but Sean still has plenty to offer at this level so that is something I might try to revisit.”