It's doubtful if there is a county 'keeper in Ireland in the same position as Antrim hurling custodian Chris O'Connell.
His county place is safe but he is pushed hard to hold on to the Number One position with his club Loughgiel.
Former Saffron star DD Quinn is still lurking in the shadows.
“DD stood down from the county panel a few years ago but is still an excellent 'keeper and, I suppose, the situation does give our manager a few headaches but it is a good position to be in. I had to wait for my chance to play for Antrim,” recalls O'Connell who has been in the squad for around 10 years.
He waves away the rumours that he might have been thinking of changing clubs.“You will always hear rumours like that but there is, usually, no truth in them. They should be ignored,” he insists.
After a string of super shows during the Walsh Cup, including a stunning performance against Westmeath, O'Connell (28) has closed a 15 months gap since the last hurler was awarded the Quinn Building Products-UGAAWA Monthly Merit Award as he gets the honour for January, ahead of Tyrone football pair manager Mickey Harte and player Peter Harte.
O'Connell made camán fans sit up and take notice the length and breath of Ireland with his spectacular displays in the Walsh Cup, particularly his stunning half-dozen saves against Westmeath.
“I can't take all the credit for those saves” protests the Loughgiel man. “The defence played its part, too. Goalkeepers can't do it all on their own and the cover I have been getting has been very good.”
Awards don't come often for Antrim hurlers and the Belfast-based Freight International Forwarder is delighted to be honoured.
“It is a great honour for myself and my family,” he enthuses. “It is surely much appreciated and it gives me great confidence. It is a good boost, now, at the start of the league. We got off to a winning start against London but we will take one game at a time, as the saying goes, and we won't fear anybody.”
Chris doesn't completely confine his sporting talents to hurling as he also plays a little golf, at Galgorm Castle, when time permits. “It may be stretching it a bit saying that I play golf but I do try from time to time,” he says.
Time many be curtailed a little more in the future as he will be getting married next year.
It used to be that GAA outdoor action, during the early months of the year, was pretty slim but not any more. Last month, there was the Dr McKenna Cup in Ulster and Antrim hurlers were involved in the Walsh Cup, in Leinster. Slaughtneil camógs showed the way to their footballers by winning their All-Ireland Club semi-final and there were club All-Ireland semis in football and hurling plus Sigerson and Fitzgibbon Cup action, as well.
Tyrone completing a six-in-a-row McKenna Cup successes was a tribute to the managerial skills of Mickey Harte, while his nephew Peter was the outstanding player of the tournament.
However, Chris O'Connell emerged as the winner of the Monthly Merit Award and was presented with his trophies - an engraved Belleek Living Vase, training gear from O'Neill International Sport, specially designed Silver Cuff Links from Carlingford Design House and a medical kit bag from 3FiveTwo on behalf of Kingsbridge Private Hospital - at a reception in Quinn's Corner.
Seamus McMahon, Quinn Building Products Sales and Marketing Director, mde the presentation.
