Gill: It’s not all about Dermo
St Vincent’s defender Hugh Gill insists there’s so much more to the AIB All-Ireland club holders than just Diarmuid Connolly.
Former Dublin defender Gill admitted to being ‘annoyed slightly’ by the suggestion that if Connolly performs for the Marino men then they’re likely to win.
Connolly is currently at the peak of his powers, maintaining a high standard of play throughout the season and receiving a Footballer of the Year nomination.
His 2-5 blast on St Patrick’s Day will go down as perhaps the greatest individual display in an All-Ireland club final.
And footage of his stunning solo goal against St Sylvesters in this season’s Dublin championship, finished with the most nonchalant of volleyed strikes, spread like wildfire online.
More recently, it’s been all about the team though with Connolly failing to score in the county final and delivering just a point from play in each of their provincial championship games.
“Coming up to the county final, personally I heard a lot of talk and people were saying to me, ‘sure all you have to do is get ‘Dermo’ to show up’,” said Gill.
“And it probably annoyed me slightly because there’s a lot of our players there chomping at the bit and doing extremely well.
“I think it showed in that match, Connolly probably had one of his quieter games and they marshalled him pretty well. It was the same with Mossy Quinn but the other lads came up trumps, the likes of Ruairi Trainor, Gavin Burke, Shane Carthy and Ciarán Dorney. They were all absolutely brilliant so I think that answered a few people. I was delighted for the lads to really show their faces in a big game.”
Connolly more often than not delivers on the big occasion though and he will undoubtedly be identified as the key threat to opponents Rhode’s hopes of winning Sunday’s AIB Leinster final.
Gill accepted that as far as talent goes, Connolly has it in spades.
“Ah he’s awesome,” said the corner-back. “I’ve been training and playing with him since he was about 10 or 11, we always played on the same teams.
“To see him this year, it’s probably been his best. He’s probably fulfilled his potential as a player. You know what he can do, as I say from playing with him all the way up, and to see him do it so regularly this year is brilliant.”
As the only Vins player in regular action with Dublin in 2014, it’s perhaps no surprise that Connolly’s club returns have dipped at the tail end of the year.
Even the club players like Gill are finding the going tough after a marathon run of games that has seen them undefeated in championship football since September 2012.
In an effort to deliver some fresh energy to the group, manager Tommy Conroy enrolled them in MMA training at the Straight Blast Gym, home of UFC star Conor McGregor.
“It was great, really good,” said Gill. “A few lads showed up well. Eoin Brady is particularly good, Shane Carthy is a bit of an animal. I think Mossy fancied himself at it! It was great just to do a different sort of training.
“The training is just insane. I’d have followed McGregor from early in his career and mentally how he approaches things is just really impressive.
“It was great then to see the big MMA event in the 3Arena. The atmosphere was brilliant and I was delighted for the lads to back up the talk.”
Gill had a spell on the Dublin panel under Pat Gilroy though hasn’t made it into Jim Gavin’s plans. It didn’t help that he and several other county hopefuls at the club were unavailable to Dublin until late march this year, when most of the fringe players had already made their mark.
If Vins beat Rhode on Sunday, then those same Vins players will miss another chance to feature in either the O’Byrne Cup or the early rounds of the league.
“It probably does count against you in a way,” accepted Gill. “But if you ask any of our lads which they’d prefer; get a call with Dublin or win an All-Ireland with Vincent’s, I think you’d know their answer.”
