DONAL KEARNEY, the chairman of the local GAA club, is only half joking when he predicts "nearly everyone in the town, population circa 2,500, will participate in a mass clear out to support Cushendall's bid to conquer Wolfe Tones of Shannon in the AIB All Ireland club hurling semifinal at Parnell Park on Sunday.
One of the players goes even further. Alastair McGuile - "I'm 35, the second eldest player on the team," has heard of clubs in Belfast and, closer to home, in Dunloy organising buses for the weekend excursion south in support of their hurling brethren: it appears a goodly portion of the Glens of Ant rim will shift temporarily to Dublin's northside.
McGuile, who will line out at corner forward, was one of Cushendall's heroes in the Ulster final win over Down champions Portaferry, almost four months ago. But the long wait over the winter months hasn't unduly affected the team, who have maintained their sharpness, under manager Sean McNaughton's guidance, with a number of league matches and challenges, including one two weeks ago with Antrim.
"We have learned from our previous campaigns in the All Ireland series," explains McGuile, who has played in all of Cushendall's All Ireland endeavours. "This time round we kept in matches and got all the hard work done before Christmas, and we have worked hard on our sharpness since then. It is all about getting the head right on the day, but there is definitely a high level of confidence among the players in the team's ability."
Indeed, Ruairi Og GAA Club, Cushendall, who wear the same maroon jerseys as Galway, have an edge on their Clare opponents in one regard the Ulstermen have been at this stage of the competition before, unlike Wolfe Tones (powered by the Lohan brothers, Brian and Frank) who are making a debut appearance in an All Ireland semi final.
Cushendall have been boosted by the return of their star forward Conor McCambridge, and also boast the considerable presence of Antrim's hurling cult figure, Terence "Sambo" McNaughton, as they seek to overcome the Wolfe Tones hurdle and book a final date in Croke Park on St Patrick's Day. If Sunday's match finishes in a draw, the replay has been set for February 23rd.
An indication of just how serious Cushendall are taking Sunday's match is that manager McNaughton spear headed a spying mission to watch Wolfe Tones in the Munster Final - and the squad has also viewed a number of videos of their rivals in action.
Still, Cushendall will likely enter the game as underdogs, despite their greater experience of this stage of the competition. McGuile and company, however, are intention covering the semi final and are hopeful of claiming a final showdown with the winners of the other semi final which brings together Connacht champions Athenry, of Galway, and Leinster kingpins Camross, of Laois, who meet at Semple Stadium, Thurles.
