Meet Wexford wonderkid Conor McDonald

Conor McDonald took the summer by storm, starring in the Wexford full-forward line in their run to the quarter-final of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

Little was known about the 19-year-old Naomh Éanna clubman until his goal-scoring exploits for Liam Dunne's catapulted him into the limelight.

McDonald, in fact, made his senior debut, while still a minor, in last year's Qualifier defeat to Clare, coming on in the closing stages of normal time at Semple Stadium.

[highlight/>

He was called into the squad by Liam Dunne at the last minute, having starred for the Wexford U21 team that won the Leinster U21 title, and having played for three years with the county's minor team.

This summer, he scored 5-10 in six games for the senior side and is a leading contender for Young Hurler of the Year following a string of superb performances.

We caught up with the talented second year UCD student ahead of Saturday's Bord Gáis Energy All-Ireland U21 semi-final clash with Galway.

---

Q: You appeared to emerge from nowhere on the Wexford senior team this summer, but you were actually called into the Wexford senior set-up while still a minor last summer. Can you tell us a little about how that came about?

A: It was literally the morning after the Leinster U21 final win over Kilkenny. On the Thursday. I got the call then off Liam (Dunne) with their match on the Saturday.

I thought it was a prank phone call after winning a Leinster final. I was nearly going to hang up. I couldn't believe it. He wanted me in training on the Thursday night. Never did I think I'd be involved. I thought I'd just go down on the bus and get a bit of experience out of it but as much as shock as the phone call was, being called out as number 25 or 26 I just couldn't believe it and it was a great feeling. I did the Leaving that summer, it was a busy year.

Q: So, you made your Senior Championship debut in the Qualifier against Clare at Semple Stadium last summer?

A: I came on against Clare about 10 minutes before the end and it ended up going to extra-time so I got a little longer than I would have thought. It was a weird situation, but obviously like everyone else you take it in with open arms.

Q: Could you ever have imagined that you would establish yourself in the team so quickly and that the 2014 championship would go so well for you, personally?

A: Not really. The first match against Antrim, we had a good league and everything was set towards the Antrim game. We went well and personally it kind of fell my way a small bit but I never thought I was going to play against Dublin. I felt that I could have done more but I suppose it was a good thing because there was always that pressure on to keep going. Maybe it was a good thing because I was never happy and knew I had to perform.

It was good because you are always working to get better. It worked in that I used that mentality to keep going and not listen to anything until after the Limerick match when you can reflect on things. It was a good year and i didn't expect it to go as well as it did and it really gave the county a lift.

Q: Winning ball in the full-forward line has been a huge feature of your game this year. Surely the way you play has meant you have taken a few belts along the way?

A: I've actually never broken my hand. I broke my left hand which isn't my catching hand. People ask me have I marks on my hands but I don't. First phase possession was always important in my eyes, I was never really one for taking a touch over your head and I suppose it works because when you have the ball in your hand you are in control and you can think a little bit faster. When you need to you can try things but even when I was younger I felt it worked and trying to hold lads off was a big part of my team.

Q: You are part of a young crop of young hurlers who are quickly changing the perception of Wexford hurling. Is that something you are conscious of?

A: My first year minor I was new to all of that and the kind of half professional set-up our minor set-up was very good and. You could sense in the players that even going to Wexford matches we might play a minor match before a senior match and we might be more positive and try to really push forward.

There's a lot of U21 lads on the senior panel and are very positive and want to put Wexford back on the map.

There were a couple of Leinster finals "I was involved in previously and there are a lot of them lads still around like Liam Óg McGovern, Podge Doran and Paul Morris and them, and everyone is thinking and rowing in the same boat. It's a good thing that a lot of young lads there want to put us back where we really want to be.

Q: Given how the All-Ireland quarter-final against Limerick panned out, having an All-Ireland U21 semi-final against Galway to prepare for must be a very welcome distraction?

A: It was easier to come back to it. We came back to the lads and they were able to kind of put the arm around the shoulder and say we have something to go for now and something more to work on now with an All-Ireland semi-final.

Q: Is there a huge determination in the Wexford set-up to ensure there is no repeat of the mistakes from last year's shock semi-final loss to Antrim?

A: It was a bit of a disaster. We really didn't perform in any way to what we thought we could have. We basically took them for granted and we just didn't turn up on the day. Our heads were in the clouds and we really bit the bullet then.

Q: From the outside, it looked like a classic case of having one eye on the final. Was that the case?

A: I think everyone was trying not to think of it but a lot of people on the outside would have said, 'ah sure ye'll be grand and we'll have Clare or Galway in the final.' I think it was not so much the players putting it on all the time that we were saying 'ah look we'll get over these now and be back in September'. It was more that everyone else was kind of drilling it into us and that mentality rubbed off on us a small bit. It certainly looked like that anyway and there was a small bit of taking for granted that day too, unfortunately.

Q: Have you learned anything from that experience?

A: Definitely. Anything can happen on the day and you can never take anyone for granted. Every team and every county are getting so much stronger physically and mentally as well. Anyone can beat anyone. If anything, we took from that this year and we were able to start a building process with the seniors. We saw that with the likes of going down to Ennis and stuff like that. It builds you in one way as well because it takes you down a couple of steps on the ladder. It was a good year to help build on the mental side of stuff as well as the hurling, obviously.

Q: How big a deal would it be for Wexford to win an All-Ireland U21 title?

A: It would it would be brilliant it is a great competition it will lift the county if we were to get an U21 title or make an appearance in the final it would bring lads forward an awful lot more and if the elder statesmen of the panel saw that it would give them the extra little lift forward.

Q: There was a huge buzz around the senior team's progress in the championship this year. Are there similar levels of expectancy surrounding the U21 side?

A: Not really. I'm surprised there is as little expectation as there is considering we had such a good year with the seniors I think everyone is optimistic and hopeful and a lot of people don't want to see what happened last year but we are in with ourselves and expect ourselves to perform and expect to do our very best and see where that takes us.

---

Wexford v Galway, Bord Gáis Energy All-Ireland U21 Championship Semi-Final, Thurles, Saturday, 6pm.