Eoghan O'Donnell excited by Micheál Donghue plan as new Dublin era looms

After being involved in the Dublin football set-up for part of the 2022 season, Eoghan O'Donnell's focus is now firmly back on hurling, where he aims to "thrive in the system and the culture" that new county boss Micheál Donoghue is hoping to establish.

O'Donnell, born in Zimbabwe to Irish parents, featured at full-back in each of Dublin's five Leinster championship games last summer. After a notable win away to Wexford, the side looked well set to make it out of the round-robin phase, but defeats to Galway and Kilkenny saw them eventually lose out to the Slaneysiders on scoring difference.

A few weeks later, O'Donnell, from the Whitehall Colmcille club, got the call to join up with Dessie Farrell's football squad. He would make his championship debut as a sub in the All-Ireland quarter-final win over Cork and was an unused sub in the subsequent loss to Kerry.

There was talk that the 27-year-old might give all his attention to the big ball game. When asked about that prospect, O'Donnell, while not emphatically ruling out a return to the football scene at some point, was in no about as to where his attention will be for 2023.

"We believe massively in what we're doing in Dublin hurling and that's where a lot of my loyalties lie," he told RTÉ Sport at the launch of Dublin GAA's new AIG sponsored jersey.

"It was a big surprise to me to get the call from Dessie; he reached out and I took the opportunity with both hands. It was a new environment, different people, with different approaches, so the challenge was there.

"Micheál now has a fresh panel of 40 plus people and I have to earn my stripe again. As of now I'm looking forward to the whole hurling side of things again. I have put a lot of time and effort over the last nine, ten