THE easy thing for Déaglán Murphy was to walk away and complain that he didn’t get a fair shake.
He was an unused substitute in Antrim’s Walsh Cup opener against Westmeath back in January.
He got a bit of game-time against Kilkenny the following weekend and a bit more in their final Walsh Cup group game against UCD.
He was a second-half substitute in Antrim’s NHL Division 2A opener against London, but never featured in subsequent games against Carlow or Kildare.
He was thrust from the bench again in Antrim’s win over Armagh.
Each time he played he scored.
Old-school cynics say the young generation are soft and are too easily put off by non-selection.
It’s never been easier to walk away.
But Murphy kept knocking on the door.
In fact, he did more than that. He worked harder.
After hitting 0-7 (0-5 frees) against Armagh, Murphy was given his first NHL start against Westmeath last Sunday.
Handed free-taking duties, the O’Donovan Rossa clubman converted 10 of them and managed two points from play in a game of few chances for the Saffron attack.
Despite losing by two points, Antrim still reached Saturday’s League final play-off against Carlow on the head-to-head rule.
“I was delighted to start,” said Murphy, who has represented his county from U14 level.
“I’ve been working in the gym outside of training and hard work gets you places.
“It was the day we played Westmeath in the Walsh Cup and I didn’t get on.
“After that, I said I’m going to have to do something. It’s not enough just to go to training twice a week and playing a match at the weekend.
“So I texted a friend who is a personal trainer [Aaron McCaulfield] and I’m doing a strength and conditioning course with him. I’ve just been putting in a lot of hard work.”
Hurling is part of Murphy's DNA.
His father Colly was a member of the 1989 Antrim side that reached the All-Ireland final and is now the county’s minor hurling manager.
Déaglán's brothers Tiarnan and Daire are also involved in Antirm's underage teams.
Déaglán was first called into the Antrim seniors by former boss Kevin Ryan following Rossa’s All-Ireland intermediate success in 2014/15.
“I got asked back last year and I said no because I wasn’t ready for it,” he explained.
“I said if I got a call-up this year I would go for it but I knew I wasn’t going to get a start straight away; I knew I was going to have to work hard – a two, three, four-year process. I’m delighted to be here because they’re a great bunch of lads and the management are fantastic.”
The 20-year-old added: “I feel a lot quicker off the mark and I feel a lot stronger. But it’s my hurling that’s going to get me there – it’s not going to be my strength or my speed. I’m obviously glad I’ve impressed the managers and glad to get the start.”
The most obvious aspect playing against Westmeath in Cushendall last Sunday was their physicality, something that Antrim will face again in Saturday’s promotion shoot-out with Carlow.
“You always know what you’re going to get with Westmeath. They’re fantastic hurlers but they’re all big boys.
“Every time you got the ball you were getting hooked and hassled and getting hit. There was no space at all. That’s why I’ve been working hard off the pitch – just trying to get that half a yard.”
Just like the trajectory of his club career, Murphy would love to be playing Division 1B hurling next season.
“For Antrim hurling to progress we need to get out of this division. Once you step up to Division 1B you’re up with the big boys. You look at the likes of Wexford who are flying under Davy Fitz. That’s where we want to be. I know we can compete at that level.”
His immediate objective, however, is retaining his starting jersey against Carlow this weekend.
“I want to keep working hard and I want to stay on the team,” he said.
“We’re just looking forward to the League final and hopefully we can get the result.”
