Dunne finally begins life at hurling’s top table

London’s opening game against Carlow this weekend will begin an unlikely journey in the Leinster hurling championship for one Tipperary man. Tony Dunne came from a talented bunch of hurlers which won an All-Ireland Minor hurling final in 2006, under the stewardship of Liam Sheedy.

The minor full-forward tasted glory that year with fifteen of Tipperary’s current senior hurling panel. Like many of his former team-mates the progression to senior hurling with the premier county seemed to be the next step for the Burgess native. Dunne moved to London in late 2009 as there was no opportunity of employment in Ireland after he finished his honours degree in Edinburgh.

A talented athlete, he has played football for his county, from minor to senior level. In 2006, he also represented Ireland in the u17 International Rules series. He travelled to play against Australia with players like Dublin’s Kevin Nolan and Donegal’s Michael Murphy.

However, the physical nature and unheralded hard work that makes up Dunne’s game resulted in many injuries after his minor years. This coupled with studying abroad stalled his progression as a hurler and his possible opportunity to play at the highest level.

As he watches Tipperary and many of his former team-mates like Brendan and Padraic Maher, he often ponders to what might have been. “I get the odd idea that I will go back to Ireland and give it one or two serious years. When I come home for a long weekend, I soon realise that I have no job prospects here and there is no other choice for me but to be in London.”

The Kent based engineer’s initial idea when he moved was to remain playing with Burgess in North Tipperary from his London base. After much consideration, he decided to transfer and play with the Kilburn Gaels club.

Jonathon Maher, (who is also from the Burgess club) made the switch to Kilburn around the same time period and this helped Dunne keep a strong connection with home.

A qualified solicitor, Maher was man of the match in the Christy Ring Cup final win against Wicklow. The pair still have some friendly banter about who got the most important touch to the first goal in last year’s final.

To achieve this success since his move, Dunne outlines the commitment it takes to be an inter-county hurler in London. From his Kent home, it is 80 kilometres to London’s training base in Ruislip, “I usually spend roughly 3 hours in the car to get to training and after I usually don’t arrive home until half 12 in the morning.”

Many of his teammates are in the same situation as the nearest tube station is twenty minutes away from the Ruislip pitch. Work is the reason for these Irish men being in London and they can’t expect their English employers to let them off early so they can travel to hurling training.

 “There is a big turnover in the playing population each year and part of the reason for this is due to players not being able to commit to the constant traveling for 6 to 8 months of the year.”

The weekends in London consist of him moving to his girlfriend Aisling’s house in Watford with enough gear and clothes for three days. This is to avoid making the journey on two or possibly three occasions for training or matches with his club and county.

Despite the long commute and commitment for the players, the standard of London hurling has improved over the last three years. St.Gabriels contested the club All-Ireland Intermediate hurling final and the county team won division 2A of the league this year.

Their victory over Meath in that final will ensure that they will be playing against traditional counties like Cork, Wexford and Offaly in next season’s league.

Dunne believes that the league is vital for a team in London’s situation and it is the reason why they become such a tight knit team every year. “We travel to Ireland for our league games and the panel of players are with each other from the Friday to Sunday. This helps build team morale and spirit in the group as we have nothing else but each other’s company in the hotel for the weekend.”

London will be bullish about their chances against Carlow this weekend as they possess former underage hurlers from all the traditional counties. The panel will include, sons of the famous Galway hurler, Noel Lane and well know commentator, ‘Effin’Eddie Moroney, from Tipperary.

Their wing-forward believes that they would have more natural hurlers than their opponents but Carlow have come from playing at higher standard in the league. “They were relegated this year from Division 1B but only lost narrowly to Offaly, Wexford and Antrim”.

“The first ten minutes are vital for us on Saturday. If we can stay in the game and match Carlow’s tempo for them ten minutes, we have the hurlers and game plan to pull off a shock”.

However, the Exiles have been without a game for a month and like other counties their finances are not healthy. This rules out traveling to Ireland for challenge games and limits them to training matches among themselves. Dunne reveals that they do receive 40 pence for every kilometre they travel in expenses along with a pair of boots and some other gear.

 “There is no money to be made by the GAA in London so we rely on fundraising over here, as the county board have no other way of generating income. The club and county games over here don’t attract big crowds or much money from gate receipts, so it’s up to us to raise money to keep the team going”.

London’s debut in Leinster is not being treated as an occasion to celebrate by their team as they began gym training in November in preparation for the championship. A win on Saturday would be an acknowledgment for all the Exiles involved that what they are working towards and trying to build in London is worth all their time and effort.

For the 24 year old, an injury free season and a run of three to four games in the championship would be considered a successful year in a London jersey. An impressive performance on Saturday at this level for Dunne will remind the Tipperary supporters of another player that been has lost due to the country’s economic downturn.