DUNLOY senior hurling manager Gregory O’Kane says he will take time to reflect on his future following Sunday’s surprise defeat to rivals Loughgiel Shamrocks in the Antrim SHC semi-finals.
O’Kane has been at the helm since 2014 and guided the Cuchullain’s to five county championships, an Ulster crown and an All-Ireland final.
A host of players under his watch have also gone on to excel at inter-county level.
Several county champions went close to winning five-in-a-row – including the Dunloy team of early ‘Noughties’, O’Donovan Rossa and Loughgiel Shamrocks – but nobody has managed to pull it off.
Whether the former Antrim ace goes for a 10th year as manager with his club remains to be seen – but there were no knee-jerk decisions made in the immediate aftermath of such a devastating defeat.
“You reflect,” O’Kane replied to thoughts on his future as Dunloy manager.
“The ultimate aim every year is to win the Antrim championship and we’ve come up short. These boys don’t become a bad team in an hour, but it’s time for reflection. I’ll enjoy my break and my down time and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
O’Kane’s first senior championship as Dunloy manager came in 2017, probably a couple of years ahead of schedule.
The following year Dunloy fell to Loughgiel in the semi-finals before they went on to dominate the next four county championships, playing an expansive, exciting brand of hurling.
They finally defeated Slaughtneil in the Ulster series last season, beat Galway kingpins in the All-Ireland semi-finals in devastating style and gave a good account of themselves against eventual All-Ireland champions Ballyhale Shamrocks in the final back in January of this year.
Undoubtedly, Dunloy’s five-in-a-row efforts were hampered this year by the high number of dual players they carry that saw the footballers reach their first senior final in 82 years, which takes place at Corrigan Park next Sunday against Cargin.
Loughgiel Shamrocks will face Cushendall in the October 15 hurling decider - a repeat of the 2018 final that the Ruairi Ogs won.
In the group stages of this year's series, Cushendall already boast a 15-point win over the Shamrocks.
