The values of Lent and the celebrations of Easter – sacrifice, reflection, service – were instilled early in McManus’ life, writes Éanna Mackey.
Easter Sunday will see parishes across the country alive with the joy of the Lord’s resurrection. But in the Glens of Antrim, a different kind of devotion – just as serious to those who follow it – will also take place.
Saffron-clad supporters will make the long trip south to Wexford for the opening round of the Leinster Hurling Championship or the short trip down to the great Sambo McNaughton’s pub. Up here, hurling isn’t just a sport—it’s a way of life, tied as tightly to identity as faith itself.
Rythm
At least that is how it has always been for Neil McManus, a modern-day great of Ulster hurling. After sixteen years of service between the white lines for Antrim, McManus remains part of the intercounty setup as a performance coach with the Saffron seniors, having retired in 2023. For him, Easter always carried a dual meaning: a celebration of the risen Christ and a time of year when hurling and community were at their most alive.
“My Sunday morning ritual had both faith and hurling wrapped up into one,” McManus recalls. “I’d go down to Mass and then straight up to the pitch with the added bonus of Jackie Carson and Conor McCambridge out hitting frees. We’d go to Mass every Sunday, and then on the way home I’d be eagerly awaiting the drive past the pitch to see if either Conor or Jackie was out hitting frees.”
That rhythm of life – Mass, community, sport – remains the beating heart of Cushendall, a village where God and the sliotar are not separate but intertwined. For McManus, the enduring power of both faith and hurling lies in how they anchor people in something deeper than themselves.
Faith has kept us all very tight-knit, but whenever it comes to times of need, the community will rally around them”
“It’s a major component of society in Cushendall. It’s just a huge part of Irish life. It’s maybe the rural nature of the Glens of Antrim and the isolation of it; it’s kept those traditions intact here,” he said.
“We have a very strong community and a very strong identity of where we come from. Faith has kept us all very tight-knit, but whenever it comes to times of need, the community will rally around them. It would be a big part of the Glens as a whole.”
Traditional
In a rapidly changing Ireland, the Glens have held firm. Where other places have seen tradition fade, Cushendall continues to cultivate it. McManus sees this as a strength, not a limitation. He speaks proudly of the way the Glens have resisted the erosion of identity in an increasingly globalised world.
“We are very traditional people in the Glens. Traditional music is a big part of the culture, along with hurling and faith. They’re kind of all intertwined, and I think in the last two to three decades, Ireland has changed an awful lot, but I think that the best parts of Ireland have actually stayed really strong in the Glens of Antrim.”
“The world has become a smaller place as globalisation has continued, and it’s easier to be influenced from outside, but I think the tight-knit nature and sense of community of the Glens of Antrim have been a real bonus for us.”
As well as going off the sweets and the chocolate, you were encouraged to do something in the community”
The values of Lent and the celebrations of Easter – sacrifice, reflection, service – were instilled early in McManus’ life.
“My mother and father would have been people of faith. They would have always persuaded us to go off something as well as going on something for Lent. As well as going off the sweets and the chocolate, you were encouraged to do something in the community.”
He remembers raising money for Trócaire as a child, an Easter tradition that reinforced the importance of giving back, of seeing oneself as part of something wider.
“Giving up something gives you a very small insight into what it’s like to live in a society where things are not as plentiful.”
Resonation
But beyond the spiritual, Easter also resonates deeply with McManus for its historical significance.
“Obviously there’s the historical significance as well as the spiritual with the Easter 1916 Rising. Easter historically was the seminal moment in the Gaelic revival,” he explained.
“Irish culture was so heavily suppressed during the famine times. The Irish revival at the beginning of the late 19th century meant that people were starting to understand again what it was to be Irish—our religion, our culture, our language and our heritage. People had to work so hard to keep it all alive, and to see it thriving now is incredible.”
In Cushendall, where the hills meet the sea and the past feels vividly present, these things are not relics—they are lived realities. The Glens of Antrim are a predominantly Catholic area, and McManus believes they offer a reflection of something deeply and uniquely Irish.
“We see ourselves as a very good representation of what Irish people are. We’re rural, fairly rugged, fairly resilient, and people of great humour. We think we represent Ireland very well in our sporting endeavours. It really is all tied in together, and Irishness is something that’s passed down from generation to generation.”
Tying all of this together in McManus’ view is the GAA. More than a sporting organisation, it is the framework through which identity is celebrated, supported, and passed on.
When the GAA was formed, it was a part of that Celtic revival to give us our sense of identity”
“In such a changing world it’s very important to have places like Cushendall, and I think the GAA plays a massive role in that,” he says. “What the GAA provides in terms of a social network and fabric for parishes and villages across the country simply could not be replicated.”
“When the GAA was formed, it was a part of that Celtic revival to give us our sense of identity and what was so important to us, and that lives and breathes in places like the Glens of Antrim. That is where we get our sense of ourselves.”
As Easter arrives and the Saffron faithful make their pilgrimage south, McManus hopes the next generation understands what they are inheriting. An area steeped in hurling folklore, but also its devotion to its faith, community and identity.
“It’s massively important that that continues, and we are the custodians of that to ensure that our children grow up in the same way with the same support because that’s what we do. We support each other. There’s a huge onus on us to make sure that we give our children the opportunity to grow up with the support that we had and to teach them about who we are and where we came from.”
