Diarmuid Connolly Contemplating Spending The Summer In The US Playing Football
There seems to be another twist in the continued absence of Diarmuid Connolly from the Dublin team with fresh reports in the Irish Examiner that the St Vincent’s man will be heading stateside to play football in either Boston or New York this summer.
The five time All Ireland winner had a fractured 2017 season missing most of the championship as he served a three month ban.
Although available for the All Ireland semi final Connolly was only introduced to that game in the dying minutes with the result of the semi already secured.
Diarmuid Connolly was again omitted from the starting team for the All Ireland Final against Mayo, but he was brought on at half time and made a telling contribution to Dublin securing their third All Ireland title in a row.
As per usual Diarmuid and other senior established players missed the early rounds of this years league, but when Connolly made a second half appearance against Mayo in Castlebar in February it seemed he was back in the side.
But rumours started to fly around when Connolly’s name was missing from the squad for the next two games. The main one doing the rounds was a falling out between the player and Dublin manager Jim Gavin.
As that unfathomed rumour gathered pace it was then reported that the player had become disenchanted with the game and was taking a break from all Gaelic games for both club and county.
With a barrage of questions from the media about the situation with Connolly at every press event, Jim Gavin spoke about it at the end of April.
Jim confirmed that Diarmuid had decided to take a break from the game for the foreseeable future, but he hoped the forward might be part of the panel later in the year.
“The situation is that Diarmuid just hasn’t been available to play football and hurling with his club, and with the county as well. We respect that position, and hopefully everyone does as well.
It is an amateur sport, but that said, the door will always be open for Diarmuid, and I know for sure with the club and also the county. Hopefully, we’ll see him back playing Gaelic games soon.”
With news breaking that Connolly is heading to the USA this summer Dublin hurling manager Pat Gilroy, his former football boss and club mate was asked his thoughts on Diarmuid’s departure and the hurling supremo believes it might be good for the player.
“He obviously is a loss said Gilroy, but coming so late into the season, he probably has decided he wants a break from everything and I don’t think it will do him any harm.
“With the footballers, certainly a fella of his class is going to be a loss to them, but he’s not been around. They will have well and truly moved on from expecting to have him back.”
If St Vincent’s grant Diarmuid Connolly a temporary transfer he will definitely be unavailable to Dublin this summer, but he will likely return in time for his clubs senior football and hurling championships in September.
If Connolly does head stateside he will be joined by four of Dublin’s 2018 league winning panel who have also decided to spend the summer in the USA.
They are Connolly’s clubmate Shane Carthy, Ciarán Reddin, Emmett Ó Conghaile, and Naomh Mearnóg’s Shane Carthy.
None of that quartet were involved in the Leinster Championship quarter final win over Wicklow two weeks ago as they had made their decision to travel at the conclusion of the league campaign.
So it now seems that Dublin supporters will sadly miss the sight of Connolly lighting up Championship 2018. But in all honesty no one can blame the player from deciding to take a break from the game as well as the media fishbowl he is subjected to on a consistent basis.
The St Vincent’s club man will turn 31 this summer and that will throw up the question as to whether Connolly will ever don the famous sky blue jersey again.
If he doesn’t the Diarmuid Connolly owes nothing to the jersey, county or Dublin supporters, but if that comes to pass it’s will be a sad day for the game to lose one of the most naturally talented footballers to ever grace a gaelic football pitch and the league and championship will be poorer without him.
