In a blow to new Dublin hurling manager Niall Ó Ceallacháin, Eoghan O’Donnell has opted to switch codes for the 2025 season and so will link up with Dessie Farrell’s football squad.
O’Donnell, from the Whitehall Colmcilles club, previously captained the county’s hurlers, and has been a member of the squad since 2016.
His decision to switch allegiance, however, would not appear to be a huge surprise, with Ó Ceallacháin, telling the Irish Independent: “It’s not something that we are very surprised by. Eoghan has been very up front and has had an itch for a long time to have a go at the football and he has taken that opportunity now.
“We wish him well, the footballers well and we will be getting on with things.”
In 2022, O’Donnell did switch mid-season, this after the hurlers exited the championship. He linked up with the footballers ahead of their All-Ireland quarter-final against, where he saw only a few minutes of action. He subsequently did not feature on the field of play in the narrow loss to Kerry in the semi-final.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport after O’Donnell’s switch, Dublin football star Paul Mannion said that it was a “great move” for the full-back.
“He obviously brings a lot of leadership and a different perspective from the Dublin hurling team so I think it was a great move by management to get him in.
“Fair play to Eoghan as well for taking on the challenge. It will be a tricky one for him, walking into a new dressing room late in the season but, look, he has a tonne of experience from the hurling and I’m sure he’ll be fine and the lads will help him settle in too.”
After his brief move in the summer of ’22, O’Donnell was back with Micheál Donoghue’s squad for the 2023 and ’24 campaigns, with his last game for the Boys in Blue coming in the All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Cork on 22 June.
Donoghue would eventually vacate his post, with Na Fianna manager Niall Ó Ceallacháin coming in. Ceallacháin guided the Mobhi Road-based outfit to a county title and on Sunday next and will face Clough Ballacolla in Sunday’s Leinster quarter-final.
Watch Ruairi Og Cushendall (Antrim) v Slaughtneil (Derry) in the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship semi-final on Saturday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
