Connolly teed up to join Boston cream

As Dublin star Diarmuid Connolly looks set to head out to the US for the summer in the coming days, the allure of Gaelic football in Boston is proving extremely attractive, with a host of inter-county and elite club talent basing themselves there this summer.

Donegal Boston will have two All-Ireland senior club-winning defenders after Dylan Wall was confirmed yesterday as having joined his Corofin team-mate Liam Silke in the Massachusetts city.

They will be joined by Crossmaglen Rangers and Armagh midfielder Oisín O’Neill, a 2017 Sigerson Cup winner with St Mary’s College. Micheál Carroll, on the Donegal panel earlier this year, will also line up.

Aidan McAnespies, who are favoured to lure Connolly, have already seen five players with inter-county experience transfer to the club, including Robert Piggott, who was on the Laois panel that claimed the Division 4 title.

Connolly’s Dublin team-mate and St Vincent’s club-mate Shane Carthy, Carlow’s Brendan Murphy, and Laois’s Colm Murphy will also be playing in Boston in the coming weeks.

Other recent Dublin panellists Shane Carthy (Naomh Mearnóg), Emmet Ó Conghaile, and Ciaran Reddin could also play in Boston.

Kerry’s 2016 All-Ireland JFC-winning captain Paul O’Donoghue will represent Shannon Gaels alongside Austin Stacks duo David Mannix and Denis McElligott.

They will join Limerick squad member Brian Fanning and Brian Egan, who debuted for Sligo two years ago.

The six-team senior championship is one of the most competitive club competitions overseas, with Shannon Blues the reigning champions.

SHIPPING UP TO BOSTON

Aidan McAnespies:

Declan Hughes (Derry); Seán Cochrane (Down); Robert Piggott (Laois); Nathan O’Brien (Meath); Jason Knight (Offaly).

Christophers (intermediate):

C. Dooey (Antrim); Christopher Moynihan, Mark Russell (Cork).

Cork (intermediate):

Ian O’Callaghan (Cork).

Connemara Gaels:

Kenneth Gavigan (Sligo).

Donegal:

Conor Small (Antrim); Oisín O’Neill (Armagh); Niall Keenan (Derry); Micheál Carroll (Donegal); Liam Silke, Dylan Wall (Galway).

Galway:

Ronan Patterson (Cavan); Declan Walsh (Donegal); Thomas Greene (Roscommon); Peter Codd (Wexford).

Kerry (intermediate):

Seán Lucey (Cork).

Shannon Blues:

Michael Cotterell, Patrick Crowley (Cork); Brian Fanning (Limerick); David Mannix, Denis McElligott, Paul O’Donoghue (Kerry); Brian Egan (Sligo).

Wolfe Tones:

Dean Curran (Derry); Eoin Buggie (Laois); James Lyons (Mayo); Ronan Jones, Seán Tobin (Meath).