Darragh Egan’s mentor plan gave Kiladangan room to improve

RTÉ’s “Room to Improve” brought Darragh Egan to national attention last February when renowned architect Dermot Bannon assisted him and his wife Sarah to renovate their home in Puckane.

Hurling folk would have already known him as the inter-county forward turned goalkeeper. A member of the Kiladangan side that won the inaugural All-Ireland intermediate club hurling title in 2005. A member of the Kiladangan side that won the All-Ireland senior sevens in 2011.

But what they might not have been aware of was how integral Egan has been in transforming his club. Just 30, Egan is the principal of Kiladangan National School. From Eamonn Kelly in 2000 to Liam Flannery in 2004, there have been individuals who have helped bring Kiladangan to within 60 minutes of a first county title since 1938 and their current centre-forward is among them in more ways than one.