A hurling year in review with Derry manager Johnny McGarvey

On June 1st, in a near-empty Croke Park, the final whistle rang out, and the crimson-clad Derry warriors dropped to their knees—undone by heartbreak for the third year in a row. Across the field, the London hurlers scaled the steps of the Hogan Stand to claim just their second-ever Christy Ring crown confining the Oakleaf to another year in tier 3.

This was supposed to be Derry’s year—the season they would finally shatter the glass ceiling and earn their place in the Joe McDonagh Cup. But as Cormac O’Doherty stood over a last-ditch free, needing a goal to force extra time, manager Johnny McGarvey could only watch with his head in his hands.

O’Doherty’s effort thundered into a wall of London bodies on the goal line before spinning agonisingly wide of the post. Winning the Christy Ring can be utterly transformative for a football-dominated county like Derry. With the team currently operating at Christy Ring level many of the county’s top hurlers often choose to throw their lot in with the county footballers instead.

A third consecutive heartbreak could easily be written off as just another disappointing year — but for Johnny McGarvey, while the pain still catches in his throat, there’s no shortage of optimism in his voice.

“I think it was a great year overall. It’s obviously not nice being beaten in Croke Park; there’s no point trying to say any different, but we just have to keep on aspiring to it,” he said.

Derry manager Johnny McGarvey has overcome several challenges during his time in charge. (Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile)

“We have work to do, and we know that. Hopefully we can unearth new players to try to freshen up the squad again for 2026, but look, I think Derry has played maybe 3 matches in our history in Croke Park before 2023; now we’ve been there 3 years in a row.”

Last year, the Oakleafers fell short against a superb Kildare side that went on to win the Joe McDonagh Cup in 2025 and will now compete in the Leinster Championship next season.

They also secured promotion to Division 2 of the National Hurling League—a level they managed to hold this year. For McGarvey, that achievement marks a crucial milestone in the progression of hurling within Derry.

“We came into the year promoted as league champions and felt like that was where we needed to be to try and take Derry hurling up a level,” said McGarvey. “The league start was fairly frustrating; we had three clubs that went to the latter stages of their championships, so coming back after Christmas, we were 16 players down.”

“With the new league format there’s not really any time to be getting it together, so we were trying to pick up new players along the way. We're going to have that problem moving forward, but it’s a good enough problem to have. We want to see our clubs being successful and pushing on.”

With their status secured in both the league and championship for next season, it's very much a case of back down to business for McGarvey and his charges. Maintaining their league and finally going one step further in the Christy Ring will certainly be the targets set for 2026.

Since taking the reins in January 2023, McGarvey has done a superb job of steadying a Derry ship that had long been adrift. He’s overseen a complete overhaul of the setup—one that’s begun to bear fruit in the form of greater player commitment and a growing sense of belief within the camp.

“In years gone by people might have seen it as a chore to hurl for Derry, and outside of the hurling group it might have been seen as secondary to everything else. You would rather a young boy was playing club football than intercounty hurling.”

Derry players look on in disappointment as London lift the Christy Ring Cup, at the end of a challenging year. (Photo: Stephen Marken/Sportsfile)

“I think there has been a massive change of mentality within the people involved. Young boys coming through, they see a reasonably professional setup, and they want to be there and want to be part of it.”

Despite the disappointment, McGarvey remains upbeat about the future and is already looking ahead to the upcoming county championship as a chance to unearth new talent for next season’s renewed Christy Ring campaign.

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“I think Derry hurling is in a reasonably good place. I think there is great work going on within our clubs, and most importantly, we have lads who actually want to play for Derry. We've a few super young players who have come through in the last few years. We have serious potential there.”