Domhnall Nugent is embarking on an exciting new challenge as manager of the Down camogs

By Shaun Casey

HEADING down the coaching route was an avenue that always intrigued Domhnall Nugent, even during his playing days with the Antrim hurlers. Keeping an eye on all things coaching and management was how he spent his years in the Saffron jersey.

Those seasons with Antrim yielded some success as well. The 27-year-old was part of the Joe McDonagh Cup winning team of 2020, Antrim’s first time winning the competition, when they defeated Kerry 0-22 to 1-17 in the final.

But despite his young age, the St John’s clubman already has a couple of pieces of silverware to his name on the coaching front and has plenty of experience built up over the past number of years.

2025 will present a different challenge, however. Nugent is into the big time now having taken his first leap into the inter-county game. For 2025, Nugent will manage the Down camogie team.

It was a path he was always likely to go down and with a second cruciate injury in three years coming along mid-season, that process into management has been fast-tracked, although he hasn’t hung up the hurl just yet.

“It’s my first county job but I’ve been involved with teams for a long time even though I’m still relatively young. Even when I was still playing with Antrim, I was involved with teams and coaching teams on the side,” said Nugent on taking over Down camogs.

“It’s something that I’m very passionate about. I’ve picked up a second cruciate in three years. It happened halfway through the year and I was coaching Liatroim camogs, but I was still playing with the club.

“That door is probably closed now in terms of my inter-county career unless there’s some sort of drastic comeback which I can’t really see happening to be honest. So this is an opportunity to go into management and I just thought, why not?

“I’m very passionate about environments and safe places and making people feel valued and I’ve done a lot of work on that over the last number of years. I feel like I have ideas and methods and I’m ready to get my hands dirty with it all.”

Warming to to the theme, Nugent says he can bring a novel approach when he oversees one of the leading camogie teams in the province.

Down had a fruitful number of years under previous manager Paul Donnelly and managed to stay in Division One back in the spring even though they’ve lost a batch of experienced performers in recent years.

“I ruptured my PCL this time, so basically, I’ve been in a knee brace for the last three months and it’s a slow enough process. But when one door closes, another opens and that’s the way I’m looking at it.

“I’ve always loved coaching; I’ve always loved different ideas. Any manager that I’ve played under, I’ve always had a really good relationship with them, and I’ve always been asked by different managers for advice and things like that.

“From a young age, I’ve viewed the game in a different way and that’s through the people and the players. Whenever I was minor, I was managing our u-14 Féile team to a Féile All-Ireland with Gerard Shannon and it’s been ongoing ever since.”

His time with Antrim gave him an insight into performing at the top level and what that environment looks like. A mental health advocate who works closely with the GPA, Nugent’s philosophy will be to put the person before the player.

“I’m so happy that I have put a lot of energy into coaching and learning how to be a leader,” he continued. “People would say to me about the age thing, but I’m only out of the Antrim set-up two years so I get it, I’ve lived the life that the girls will be living.

“I understand the commitment and I think playing at county level, yes there’s a level of commitment but you have to enjoy it too. You have to get something out of it, and I’ve be there and not enjoyed it.

“It’s about creating an environment that’s attractive and that’s fun for people. We’re looking to develop players but if we’re developing the person along with that, it’ll make them feel like they want to be there.

“That’ll help their own personal development which in turn will help the team at the weekend too so that’s where I’m at with it.”

Even when playing at the highest level, Nugent was honing his skills. He sourced the expertise of sports people from a range of backgrounds, including Australian Rules Football.

“Whenever I was playing with Antrim, I managed our club camogs and we won a Junior Championship and then we went on and won the Junior Ulster, so it’s always been a path I’ve been interested in.

“More recently, probably in the last six years, from being on the journey that I’ve been on with my mental health and being in AA rooms and looking at environments and things like that, I’ve been picking up different things.

“I was picking up things in rehab in terms of the people in that group. They’re open and honest and they’re vulnerable and on a road to recovery but why can we not do that inside a team setting?

“I dug into it a wee bit more and spent time talking to people that have played in the Aussie Rules in Australia and that’s all they do in their team environments. They do a lot of work on the person and on that holistic approach and the well-being of the player.

“That’s something that I find very interesting and it’s something I have done with the teams I’ve been involved with for the last two or three years with Liatroim camogs and I was with Ballela hurlers this year as well.

“I’ve always found that fascinating and I think I’ll have more to offer on the coaching and management side of thing than I did when I was playing, and I can have an impact on people’s lives as well.”

Integration between the Camogie Association, the GAA and the LGFA is coming down the tracks, with a proposed date of 2027, and Nugent is a big backer of the three associations coming under the one umbrella.

“I would know what has gone on in the past in terms of everything not being even and what the girls get compared to what they should be getting. I think integration is very important, but I still think there should be an alignment,” added Nugent.

“If they can get together and there’s an alignment in terms of values moving forward, then that’s only going to have the ripple effect throughout different counties and filter down through the county boards.

“The camogie board have been great to me and especially Teresa Carr. The relationship that I have built with her over the past few months has been fantastic. A lot of my work is through the GPA, so I know the direction of where things are going.”

Nugent also feels passionately that the camogs shouldn’t be left behind when it comes to matters of expenses.

“I know that the girls need to be looked after and should be looked after. I have the girls backs and I’ll be advocating for them to get what they deserve. It’s great because the Camogie Association have a charter and stuff now, so times are changing and it’s really good.

“Girls are getting expenses now and I think they should be entitled to them because it shouldn’t cost a girl money to come and represent her county and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that they’re not out of pocket.

“It’s something that I’m very proud about in terms of equality in sport and I take immense pride in taking on that role of someone that can maybe make a difference to Down camogie, and I think the more hurling people that are involved, the better.

Domhnall also confirmed that he has enlisted former Down star Noel Sands to his backroom team.

“Noel Sands from Down is involved with me in the backroom team so it’s great to see hurling people getting involved and helping camogie and we can all come together and go in the one direction.”

Having grasped the management avenue with both hands, the obvious question is, will Nugent ever enter the Antrim dugout and wear the bainisteoir bib for his native county?

“I don’t really look too far ahead to be honest,” he explained.

“My whole focus now is on Down camogie and once I’m in something, I’m all in. What the future will look like, I don’t know. Do I feel like this is a good time to step into an inter-county setup? I do.

“I have the right people around me. I’m always learning and I’m going to make mistakes in Down, there’s no doubt about that, but it’s about making mistakes together and growing from them and that’s the environment I’ll be trying to create.

“With Antrim, I don’t know. I haven’t really even thought that fair ahead. All I’m concerned about now is helping the people in Down and trying to make that an attractive environment and if I can do that, then the outcomes will look after themselves.”

TIME TO CELEBRATE…Domhnall Nugent celebrates with Darren Gleeson after the Joe McDonagh Cup final in 2022

CHAMPIONS…Conor McCann captained Antrim to the Joe McDonagh Cup title in 2020

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS…Domhnall Nugent works closely with the GPA

END OF DAYS…A second cruciate injury in three years has likely finished Domhnall Nugent’s Antrim career