Opinion: It’s time for Antrim to fully unite

By Michael McMullan

The appointment of Davy Fitzgerald as Antrim manager was a very left field one in my opinion.

He has achieved plenty on both sides of the line during his career but I never felt he was the fit for the Saffrons.

Darren Gleeson had done a savage job but it was time for a rebuild and that is always going to need an inside man.

The two names that jumped out at me were Michael McShane and Gregory O’Kane.

I often wondered if they’d be men who could’ve been part of the same ticket.

They were up against each other in the club scene when Sleacht Néill and Dunloy battlled for supremacy in Ulster.

I have nothing against outside managers but if there is a choice, having a native is always the best option.

With the news of O’Kane taking over as Antrim U20 hurling manager, the Saffrons have completed an excellent piece of business this week.

It comes on the back of McShane being appointed as the senior boss. For me, they are two men the county must give their total backing to – players, fans and clubs.

Gregory O’Kane was one of the county’s best players. At club level, as either a player or a manager, he was involved in all of Dunloy’s Antrim and Ulster success.

At last year’s Gaelic Life All-Star awards, he was inducted to the John Morrison Hall of Fame.

Having spent time interviewing him in recent years, his knowledge of hurling is matched by his passion for it.

He has ploughed himself into Dunloy’s underage coaching since signing off on his time with the seniors. There won’t be a hurler in the county he doesn’t know.

In an interview with Gaelic Life, after he was unveiled as Antrim senior manager, Michael McShane said his short-term focus was to get the best players in the county pulling on the Saffron jersey.

He also stressed the importance of having players who genuinely wanted to pull on the jersey.

Having spent a couple of seasons as the county’s U20 manager, he will know who is ready to make that step up.

He is a regular attender of games in the county and will know the hurlers that will add value to the overall picture. I spent a few months doing some video work with him during his first season with Sleacht Néill. I could see the thorough levels of preparation.

After helping the Derry champions break through the ceiling in Ulster, he came on board with Tyrone seniors. Success followed there too.

While having two key men at the helm in Antrim is great, any progress the county makes will come down to the overall package.

That’s where the players come in. Looking in from the outside, it was a frustrating 2025 for Antrim at senior level.

While they lost to Wexford narrowly, who knows what a victory would’ve done for their season. Sport is packed with stories of small margins that matter.

They lost narrowly to Down but people tend to forget the level of progress they have made under Ronan Sheehan.

New Antrim manager Michael McShane

That said, on league placings alone, Antrim’s Division One experience should have been a springboard to establishing themselves as the top hurling county in Ulster.

With Derry having eventually got their hands on the Christy Ring Cup, there will be Ulster teams in the Joe McDonagh Cup next season.

It adds spice to the competition and adds considerable weight to the debate around a return to the Ulster Senior Championship too.

Back to Antrim and the players. I can only imagine the level of preparation needed to be an inter-county player. Many of us on the outside will never fully appreciate the time and energy it takes.

However, a few things must inspire the Antrim players. The first one is a love of hurling.

Secondly, there has to be a desire to elevate themselves above the Joe McDonagh contenders.

There will also be the necessity of securing their Division One status, something that is hard-earned every year.

Finally, and more importantly, the seniors and U20s have two men from their own county who have put their hands up.

Gregory O’Kane and Michael McShane will have the inner desire to want the absolute best for Antrim. That counts for a lot.

I am not close enough to know if any fallout from the recent St John’s v Loughgiel game will leave any tension between two of the county’s leading clubs.

It’s something the county could be doing without, but now that it has happened, it will be a test for the new beginning.

As someone looking in from the outside, with the county having brought out a new broom, there must be a single-minded motivation for the county jersey to come first when the 2027 preparations begin.

At school level, Cross and Passion, St Killian’s and St Louis Ballymena have won three of the last four Mageean Cups. Getting St Mary’s Belfast knocking on this door will be another priority.

However, the flagship team in any county is always the senior group. That’s why McShane and O’Kane need the backing of everyone in the county.

Progress won’t happen in five minutes. It will take time. Antrim need their best players wanting to hurl like demons in Saffron. That’s the first box to tick.

If the fans can see players putting their bodies on the line with two of their own at the helm, that’s what will inspire something that can grow.

Ask the people of Mayo. Andy Moran kept beating the drum of the players needing to give the people of Mayo a team worth backing.

It’s early days in Antrim but that’s where the county is now. Their problem will be that every county looking an early bounce will aim to follow Mayo’s lead.

This is a crucial year for Antrim and one that will need the county to unite.