Greatest Antrim Hurler

[glens73]

Of more interest than the Antrim footballers one.

[maxpower]

all terrific players,

[johnneycool]

all terrific players,

Bloody hell, the scary thing is that I've played against them all barring clute who hurled mostly in Div 2 with Armoy although he took a weakner and played a year for the bodies from Loughgeile and helped them win their last volunteer cup.

I had the pleasure of Eddie Donnelly as a youngster playing against Ballycastle reserves a whole load of years ago and he was no spring chicken then, the man was a monster. I'd loved to have seen him in his prime.

They all were great in different ways, Sambo under a high ball was deadly, Clute was very sharp at the pick, turn and strike, Humpy was a very consistent all round hurler, nothing flash but mightly effective, Pappy was also good under the high ball and finding team mates with hand passes and flicks, the starting point for a lot of Dunloy attacks in their prime, Dessie had spells at both ends of the field and even in nets, a fierce one for moaning in your ear the whole game and a wicked left hand.

You could add Ciaran Barr, Mushy, James McNaughton, Aidan McCarry, Brian Donnelly and a few other hurlers to that list very easily. It was a good time to hurl in Antrim with club hurling being very strong all over, Ballycastle, Cushendall, Dunloy on the rise, Loughgeile with Woody and the Jew and Rossa with big Barr and the mad Ger Rogey, a fine hurler in his own right, give Harry Ryan his fill of it in Dundalk one year. If only club hurling was as strong as that now

[aontroim abu]

Johnny you are 100% right, the times when these boys played was when Antirm could compete at the highest level. I was on the minor team that played the day Rogy marked Harry Ryan in dundalk. I have played against some of these and with Barr and Rogy (guess what club i am from), why are these 2 not part of the poll? in fact why are Jim Fegan, Aiden Hamill and Sean Collins not included?

[glens73]

I've put the players I thought personally were the best I've seen for Antrim. I've not seen Jim Fegan, Aiden Hamill and Sean Collins, that I can think of. though I've heard Hamill was good.

While Ciaran Barr was good, I don't rate him as highly as the others. I've always thought he was overrated.

Ger Rogan was a good servant as well as was James McNaughton, Brian Donnelly, Leonard McKeegan, Beaver, Woody and others.

I always thought Mushy was a class hurler and maybe as good as a few of those in the poll but neve did it enough for Antrim.

Johnny, you're right club hurling was a lot better in those days. I've been an exile for over a decade now and my brother says club hurling in the mid 90's is a lot better than it is now, I think that it was much more competitive in the 80's. Ballycastle, in recent times, are a pale shadow of the team they had in the 70's and 80's.

[BottleOfStout]

What about Danny McNaughton, Brian Donnelly , Dessie Donnelly , Leaonard McKeegan, Conor McCambridge, Aiden McCarry !!!!!!!  Would Terence McNaughton even be the greatest Cushendall Hurler never mind Antrim.

[milltown row]

Best hurler played against, Clute.
Best hurler I've seen in Antrim was Eddie Donnelly
Best club hurler I've played with Karl Stewart

[glens73]

What about Danny McNaughton, Brian Donnelly , Dessie Donnelly , Leaonard McKeegan, Conor McCambridge, Aiden McCarry !!!!!!!  Would Terence McNaughton even be the greatest Cushendall Hurler never mind Antrim.

I've added Danny McNaughton in, he was a very good player.

From what I've seen Sambo has been Cushendall's best performer for Antrim.

Dessie Donnelly is already in the poll.

[johnneycool]

What about Danny McNaughton, Brian Donnelly , Dessie Donnelly , Leaonard McKeegan, Conor McCambridge, Aiden McCarry !!!!!!!  Would Terence McNaughton even be the greatest Cushendall Hurler never mind Antrim.

No offence but Conor McCambridge isn't in the same league as a lot of the names mentioned.

Of the most recent hurlers still playing Gregory O'Kane is the only one i can think of who would come close to this standard.

[milltown row]

would agree with you there, Johnney

[aontroim abu]

What about Danny McNaughton, Brian Donnelly , Dessie Donnelly , Leaonard McKeegan, Conor McCambridge, Aiden McCarry !!!!!!! Would Terence McNaughton even be the greatest Cushendall Hurler never mind Antrim.

No offence but Conor McCambridge isn't in the same league as a lot of the names mentioned.

Of the most recent hurlers still playing Gregory O'Kane is the only one i can think of who would come close to this standard.

if you're gonna mention Dick then surely Ally Elliott must be in there too

[Antrim__Lad]

What about Danny McNaughton, Brian Donnelly , Dessie Donnelly , Leaonard McKeegan, Conor McCambridge, Aiden McCarry !!!!!!!  Would Terence McNaughton even be the greatest Cushendall Hurler never mind Antrim.

No offence but Conor McCambridge isn't in the same league as a lot of the names mentioned.

Of the most recent hurlers still playing Gregory O'Kane is the only one i can think of who would come close to this standard.

Have to disagree with you johnny, in all my days hurling i would have Ally and Conor in my team long before Gregory any day.

[slow corner back]

I never saw him in his prime but I do recall Brendan McGarry of Loughgiel blowing the great Ballycastle team away in the final in 1982. He must have been near forty at the time, his heyday was with loughgiel great team of the sixties. By all accounts he was the finest ever to pull on a shamrock jersey which is a fair big claim. Other worthys not mentioned probably due to age were John Butler from Ballycastle and Kevin Armstrong of Rossa from the 1943 team. Obviously I never saw them play but the stories were legendary. There used to be a letter in the Ballycastle clubrooms addressed simply to John Butler, Best midfielder in Ireland, Co antrim. It got delivered some time in the forties.

[BallyhaiseMan]

allways thought Paul McKillen was a great hurler...
He shone even when Antrim were getting hammered in all ireland semi finals by the likes of Killkennt and Tipp etc...

[johnneycool]

What about Danny McNaughton, Brian Donnelly , Dessie Donnelly , Leaonard McKeegan, Conor McCambridge, Aiden McCarry !!!!!!!  Would Terence McNaughton even be the greatest Cushendall Hurler never mind Antrim.

No offence but Conor McCambridge isn't in the same league as a lot of the names mentioned.

Of the most recent hurlers still playing Gregory O'Kane is the only one i can think of who would come close to this standard.

Have to disagree with you johnny, in all my days hurling i would have Ally and Conor in my team long before Gregory any day.

Obviously its only my own personal opinion based on my own experiences, there is no right or wrong answer.

I still feel Conor is short of being viewed in the same company as Sambo, Clute and Co and from the get go I said I'd include Gregory 'at a push' so to speak.

Of the three (Ally, Dick or Monty) and who I'd want on my team I'm sticking by my guns with Dick. I still feel he's the better all round hurler of the three, strong, good in the air, plays intelligent stuff and seldom found wanting when things get tough. Of the three you would have to admit Dick has done most in an Antrim jersey!