Shinty: Scotland eager to make amends in annual clash with Irish hurlers

SCOTLAND’S shinty players face their broader sticked Irish counterparts today in the annual shinty/hurling series, with the drawbacks of having international games 12 months apart hitting home for the dark blues.

Last year, Drew McNeil’s men summoned up an epic performance to stun the Irish by a point in the vast cauldron of Croke Park. After the delirium of that, though, there was the flavour of flat champagne as the Irish, buoyed by a masterclass of distance hitting by Shane Dooley, secured the series in Inverness in the return leg.

Undeniably, for the Scots players, the biggest disappointment in that result was that they couldn’t dispel that hurt from their minds soon enough.

Demons and might-have-beens lurked in the consciousness through the last winter and on into the new domestic season and only now, in Kildare, do those individuals have the opportunity to address all that seemed unfair about 2010. That is why it is a highly motivated Scottish squad that gets ready to face Joe Dooley’s hurlers today in Athy.

“Last year, I had to pinch myself when we walked out onto Croke Park and, when we won, it was an amazing feeling,” says Scotland and Kyles forward, Grant Irvine. “It was a feeling you never get in domestic shinty. However, losing the series in Inverness felt awful. Having to replace Ronald Ross through a bad injury was a big blow and maybe the Irish got more used to the game or did their research more after the first leg, I don’t know. However, we definitely want to make up for that this time.

“I think that, if we go toe-to-toe with them in the air, they will embarrass us but, if we get the ball wide and play to the strengths of ground shinty, they will struggle.”

Today’s clash will be broadcast on BBC Alba on Sunday and the live BBC2 cameras will be sited at Bught Park for the return leg on the 29th. Still a big draw for broadcasters due to its Celtic uniqueness, Scotland, nevertheless, must pull the series back if they are to maintain the fixture’s recent high profile. “When we had a run of wins not long ago, that forced the Irish to field five or six All-Stars. They recognised they had to do something to try to beat us, so, for us seeing some greats against us was a back-handed compliment,” said McNeil.

This year, Dooley has selected three recent All-Stars in Brendan Murtagh, Eoin Kelly and captain Michael Rice of Kilkenny. This week, Rice received a 2011 GAA/GPA All-Star Hurling award and it is clear the Scots are facing a quality side keen to maintain the upper hand after two straight victories. “The team we beat last year at Croke Park was probably the best I have seen,” said McNeil.

“We managed to beat them but maybe we were a bit naïve in Inverness. This time we will have learned from that.” Let’s hope that is the case. Scottish pride demands it.