Hurling Hands: Anne Dalton - 'With hurleys I have a bit of confession to make - I’m using one of Michelle Quilty’s'

Anne Dalton

Anne Dalton, St Lachtain’s and Kilkenny 

My hands are in pretty good shape - whatever about how they look, they’re healthy enough. I’ve been very lucky in that I’ve never broken any bone which is amazing, given how long I’ve been playing camogie.

I’ve had the odd nick and scratch from games, though I notice that the older you get the slower they are to heal. Because of that I’ve a couple of scars there if you look closely. I don’t have arthritis. Not yet, anyway.

Developing as a player isn’t something I’d have thought about in those terms, particularly as a child. I played because I just loved playing and loved winning, but when you reflect years later it’s possible to pick out something that helped you develop as a player.

For instance, in Freshford primary school we’d play in school leagues, as we called them - teams were made up of the kids in fourth, fifth and sixth classes, and even a few from third. Every day at little break and big break you’d be playing a match against different teams within the school.

I was lucky enough to be allowed to play with the boys, which brought me on an awful lot. When I played underage with the club it was a similar situation, I was allowed to play with the boys up to U14.

That’s always going to speed up your hurling, speed up your hands - you get to learn pretty quick that you’ll only get one chance to gather the ball because it’ll be gone if you need to take a second bite at it.

I wasn’t even thinking of how that brought me on because it was just the way things were in the school, but I can see it now in retrospect. That was just how it was done in the school, but the need to get the ball under control first-time in particular was a big help.

With hurleys I’ve a bit of confession to make - I’m using one of Michelle Quilty’s.

She broke it one day at a game and left it after her. Ann Downey handed it to me and I kept it at home in a cupboard for a couple of years, but when we went back after Covid I broke a few hurleys in quick succession, so I was stuck.

I picked up hers going out training one evening and I haven’t stopped using it since. My conversion rate for frees has gone up so I’m beginning to wonder if her accuracy is down to her hurley . . . I don’t know anything about it, where she got it or whatever, but it works. She won’t be getting it back anyway!

I’d usually go in to Star Hurleys in Kilkenny for my hurleys. I’ve played with theirs for years and I always get a 32 inch hurley with an adult bas: I put linseed oil on it, let it dry and then put a grip on and play away. 

I have four now that I can use apart from the one I’m using - Michelle’s - and there are a couple outside that I’ll have to get rid of them, they’re fairly well battered now.

Two players I’d admire among those I’ve played with, Michelle Quilty and Claire Phelan, are head and shoulders above everyone - and I get to play with Claire at club level as well.

They’re unbelievably skilful, the pair of them. At times when you’re training with them they’ll do something and you just say ‘wow’ to yourself.

I’ve been made a fool of by Claire a few times in training. The other night she did it again - we went in for the tackle together but she was able to rise the ball, spin me and, without me getting close to her, she gave me a nice bruise on the top of my leg.

So she took the ball, made a fool out of me and left me hurting, all in the one move - and then got a goal.

Michelle’s hands are unbelievable - she’ll be facing the wrong way but throw out a hand pass and wrongfoot the defence. 

We played Wexford a lot when I was u14, u16 and so on, but that meant every year we’d come up against Una Leacy, and her skill was incredible. The first time playing against her I could see she was a special talent.

If she was on the pitch you were guaranteed to see a goal for her side. Guaranteed. And she always had that ability, because I was playing against her when she was 12 or 13 and she had that ability even then - she was a lot better than most of us.

The first player I really took notice of playing senior inter county, really standing out at that level, was Eimear McDonnell of Tipperary.

She was very fast - still is - and the first day I saw her play against us she got a couple of goals.

Her wristwork, her ability with the hurley - I’ve seen her a few times since and she proved it wasn’t just a one-off, because she was always able to do something on that level. That’s what great players can do.

Interview: Michael Moynihan