Sunday’s win over Clare will be a ‘shot in the arm’ for Antrim hurling, however Neil McManus hopes to see more participation from people in Belfast to help the sport grow in the county.
McManus scored a late point against Clare to secure what some have called a shock 1-21 to 10-22 victory in the opening round of the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 on Sunday.
It was the first time in a number of years that Antrim had secured a victory over an Ulster championship team.
The victory could be seen as a catalyst for the rise of hurling in the county, which has historically not had the greatest turn out for the sport, particularly in the city of Belfast.
Speaking on Monday’s OTB AM, McManus stressed the importance of spreading the sport of hurling to Belfast and encouraging people within the city to take up Gaelic Games.
“The city is the key to [Antrim hurling] in my opinion,” McManus said. “The Glens is always very strong.
“North Antrim as a whole is a very, very strong and vibrant hurling scene at the minute.
“But the city, you have 300,000 people in the city or there and there abouts, and unfortunately only half of those people are interested in Gaelic Games.
“It is still a huge untapped resource for the level of anticipation we have.”
There are already plans in place to grow Gaelic Games in the city, and McManus hopes that the GAA will redouble their efforts and resources to help further the growth of hurling in Belfast.
“There is a GaelFast project that is in operation to try and resolve that and make some headway there,” McManus said.
“Hopefully we will see further funding from the GAA put into that programme and then we can capitalise on that.
“It is the second city in Ireland and the GAA scene here at the minute just isn’t strong enough.”
Neil McManus of Antrim celebrates following the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group B Round 1 match between Antrim and Clare at Corrigan Park in Belfast, Antrim. Photo by David Fitzgerald/SportsfileAntrim were not surprised by their win over Clare
While to the wider hurling community Antrim’s victory on Sunday came as a shock, for McManus and the Antrim hurling group they had felt a big victory coming for a while.
“It has been very well received obviously, but people within Antrim would know of the quality that we have and the work that we are putting in,” McManus said.
“There were a few people that called us, and we felt that we were in with a good shout and that is all that [you can do].
“It wasn’t as big a shock in Antrim, but it is our first time beating one of the Ulster championship teams in a long, long while anyway.”
McManus was not going to get carried away with the victory, even though his late point secured it, as he believes that there is still a lot to do to get hurling in Antrim into championship contention.
“At the end of the day it is still just two points in a league campaign,” McManus said.
“There are four more games to play, but those things are a shot in the arm definitely for hurling as a whole.
“But those things don’t solve the deep-rooted issues that are still to be untangled.”
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
