Athlone link to Dublin hurlers' famous victory
Last Saturday's sensational victory for the Dublin hurlers against Limerick sent shockwaves through the GAA world - and a resident of the Athlone area was part of the victorious team.
Conor McHugh started the game in defence as Dublin claimed a 2-24 to 0-28 win over a Limerick outfit which has dominated hurling in recent years, winning four All-Ireland titles in a row from 2020 to 2023.
Conor is married to Coosan native Lorna Mulvihill, who is well regarded for her exploits with the Athlone ladies football team. Having been based in Dublin through work for a number of years, Lorna recently moved back to Athlone and the couple live locally.
Lorna's sister Aileen has been closely involved in ladies football at Páirc Chiaráin for several years and she still coaches some of Athlone's youngest players, whether they are Cubs or Tigers, on weekend mornings. Indeed, the extended Mulvihill clan, including Lorna's father Brian and her brother of the same, have been prominently involved with Athlone GAA activities over the years.
Dublin's stunning victory over their vaunted opponents last Saturday was all the more extraordinary considering they lost team captain Chris Crummey to a straight red card, for a challenge on Gearoid Hegarty, after just 15 minutes.
Yet goals from John Hetherton and Cian O'Sullivan, combined with some wonderful points and resilient defending, inspired Dublin to what was, by some distance, their biggest hurling win since claiming the Leinster senior crown in 2013.
It has been a hugely memorable year for Conor McHugh so far for all sorts of reasons. Earlier this year Conor and Lorna got married and he was part of the Na Fianna team that won the All-Ireland senior club hurling title. That Na Fianna team was managed by Niall Ó Ceallacháin, the man who now occupies the Dubin hurling hotseat.
Back in 2014, Conor was a key figure on the Dublin team which won the All-Ireland U21 football title. The Dubs emphatically defeated Roscommon, captained by Pádraig Pearses stalwart David Murray, in that year's final played in Tullamore. On a Dublin team containing such stars as John Small, Jack McCaffrey, Brian Fenton, Niall Scully and Paul Mannion, Conor was joint top scorer in the final with a tally of 1-6.
McHugh's hopes of breaking into an all-conquering Dublin senior football team in subsequent years were made very difficult by the fierce level of competition for places.
Turning back to the present, next on the agenda for Conor and his Dublin hurling teammates is an All-Ireland semi-final showdown with Liam MacCarthy Cup favourites Cork on Saturday, July 5. And that eagerly awaited Dublin vs Cork clash looks like it will be played in front of close to a sellout crowd at Croke Park.