By Niall Gartland

DUAL star Gerard Walsh is in contention to see action in Sunday’s Tailteann Cup showdown against Meath.

A key figure with the Antrim hurlers, Walsh has now focused his attention to football and was a surprise inclusion in the squad for last weekend’s quarter-final clash against Carlow, coming off the bench for his first taste of senior intercounty football.

The O’Donovan Rossa clubman has been a stalwart on the hurling team for years and was among seven Joe McDonagh All-Star winners from the county last season. He started in the half-back line in their crucial Leinster Championship win over Westmeath last month, staving off relegation back to the Joe McDonagh ranks, and now he has thrown his lot in with Andy McEntee’s senior footballers.

Walsh, who is 26, has achieved a bagful on the hurling scene during his playing career. He first came to prominence with the club’s senior team that won the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championship in 2015 and won Ulster titles at minor and U-21 level with Antrim. He subesquently made his debut with Antrim senior hurlers in 2018 and was a key part of the Saffrons team that won Joe McDonagh Cup titles in 2020 and 2022.

His experience of playing in Croke Park should be an asset as Antrim footballers travel to Croke Park this weekend to take on Meath with a place in the Tailteann Cup final the prize on offer.