WHEN Daniel McKernan stepped away from the Antrim senior hurling set-up he didn’t expect it to last three years.
One of the tidiest technicians in the county, the Sarsfields clubman was recalled to the county set-up in 2022 and hopes to build on his encouraging return season.
“I was playing under Kevin Ryan and PJ O’Mullan and I stepped aside one year to concentrate on the club and then I did my cruciate and that obviously lingered on. After that, COVID came into play,” says McKernan.
“So that’s three years I was out but once I got a season under my belt I felt good again. I was itching to get back to be honest because you do miss it and you’ve a hunger coming back as well, especially when you’re sitting watching on the sidelines.”
McKernan came on as a second-half substitute in the Joe McDonagh final win over Kerry at Croke Park back in June and definitely added a bit more depth to Darren Gleeson’s middle eight.
“I always had intentions of coming back but when Darren came in I wasn’t in the squad, so he wouldn’t have known who I was, so you have to make a name for yourself again. I certainly wanted to be back but it was waiting on that call to come back.”
McKernan has returned to the Antrim fold to find it in much better fettle than the earlier part of his inter-county career and credits Gleeson’s leadership skills and having a great team around him for the team's ascent.
“Darren, for me, has been exceptional – and there’s a management team behind him as well who are also exceptional. Darren has been there, done it [with Tipperary].
“The level of professionalism is outstanding, you want for nothing in your training sessions, and everyone plays their part. He’s definitely leaving a good impression on this group of players.
On last season’s campaign, McKernan lamented some of the side’s near-misses in Division 1B, which ended in a relegation play-off win over Offaly in Navan.
But they’d established sufficient form that yielded a second Joe McDonagh title in three years.
“The League was a disappointment in a sense,” McKernan says.
“We couldn’t get over the line in games. We were running teams close but threw games away. So looking back we were disappointed of how it went. We went into the relegation play-off which we didn’t plan on being in, but the main thing was we stayed up. We don’t want to be in that position again next season.
“You want to be picking up wins in the league as that’s where you want to build moment
“In the Joe McDonagh we showed in glimpses how good we could be. In the final we hit a few goals in the first half against Kerry and took the foot off the pedal, so it’s getting that consistency and turning us into a 70-minute team where you can see games through.”
Asked what he wants to achieve for the remainder of his county career, he says: “I suppose leaving the jersey in a better place than when you picked it up. You’re only wearing it temporarily for someone else. You want to walk away content with your contribution and leaving Antrim hurling in a place where it should be.”
