Irish darts is in the headlines and rightfully so off the back of Shane McGuirk's WDF World Darts Championship success at the famed Lakeside on Sunday night.
The County Monaghan man was imperious all tournament as he became the first ever Irishman to win a senior world championship title, in the code formerly known as the BDO.
His win comes ahead of the big one, the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace which gets underway this Sunday and is due to culminate on January 3.
There will be a whole host of Irish contenders as they look to outperform the likes of Luke Littler on the most famous stage in the sport.
Unlike Littler, their darting journeys did not begin when they were 18-months-old, instead dabbling in other sporting codes.
For a handful of Irish players it was their local GAA clubs where they got their first taste of sport, up and down the country before finding their feet at an oche.
Irish darts players GAA backgrounds
Brendan Dolan: Belcoo O'Rahilly's (Fermanagh)
Dolan, the most accomplished Irish dart player on the circuit, has been gracing the PDC World Championship stage since the noughties.
A loser on debut against James Wade, Dolan has had two runs to the quarter-finals of the event, including 12 months ago when he stunned both Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson.
A 10-time winner of the PDC Pro Tour, Dolan grew up under the GAA umbrella with his local Belcoo O'Rahilly's in Fermanagh.
As Declan Bogue of The42, who played underage soccer with Dolan, explained: "He was rooted in the Gaelic football sensibility from his upbringing in Belcoo O’Rahilly’s that he was more of a corner-back, minding his patch.
"During the day he worked in the Elite Electronics factory in Enniskillen. In the evenings he drank and threw arrows in the cross-border Fermanagh and Cavan villages of Belcoo and Blacklion.
"At weekends he turned out for Belcoo’s second team, the Dolans being strongly committed and recognisable figures around their club."
A proud GAA man.
Mickey Mansell: Clonoe O'Rahillys (Tyrone)
Dolan's best friend on tour and former World Cup of Darts teammate Mickey Mansell also has a past in his local GAA community.
The pair, who played out an epic at the Worlds just 12 months ago, both found themselves the wrong side of 30 before they committed fully to professional darts.
For Mansell, club football was the priority as he explained to explained to RTÉ's Micil Glennon back in 2018.
'I was playing club football for Clonoe and I loved it," Mansell.
"I played football until I was 33. When I quit that, instead of training two or three nights a week, I had a bit more time."
He added: "When I quit football I’d more time to practise and I went to a few tournaments around Ireland.
"I won the Tom Kirby [Memorial] in 2010, which got me on to the World Championship.
"That was the big breakthrough, it opened the door and gave me a bit of belief to go and see what I could achieve."
Fresh off a career best run to the Grand Slam of Darts semi-finals, Mansell could cause a few upsets this Christmas.
Keane Barry: Duleek-Bellewstown GFC (Meath)
The brightest young talent south of the border, Barry has become a regular on TV screens in December off the back of underage success in the sport.
Unlike Dolan and Mansell, he strongly pursued his darting talents from a young age.
He did, however, play underage football for Duleek-Bellewstown GFC.
His club are well aware of his individual feats.
Well done Keane, on a great success from all at Duleek/Bellewstown GFC https://t.co/B1BQQSuztm
— Duleek Bellewstown GFC (@DuleekBellewGFC) December 21, 2019
Dylan Slevin: Borrisokane GAA (Tipperary)
Another bright young talent in the Irish ranks, Tipperary's Dylan Slevin made his debut against Florian Hempel last year and threw some dazzling darts on the big stage.
Returning to the Ally Pally would've been the aim for the year and Slevin did it at the 11th hour, coming through a competitive qualifier to fill one of the final vacancies at the event.
He is still finding his feet in the sport but clearly has bundles of talent, having spent some of his younger years playing Gaelic football with his local Borrisokane GAA.
Like Barry, we figure his best years on the oche are ahead of him.
Shane McGuirk: Aughnamullen GAA (Monaghan)
While McGuirk, fresh off his WDF success will not compete for the Sid Waddell trophy, he does have his own roots in GAA.
A former underage player with Aughnamullen GAA, the 29-year-old received the well wishes of Monaghan GAA after his big win.
Huge congratulations to former @AughnamullenGAA Juvenile player SHANE MCGUIRK - WORLD CHAMPION!!! Not only did Shane win the WDF World Darts Championship Final but he also become the first ever Irish winner🇮🇪 Historic night, well done on an incredible achievement Shane! 🎯🔵⚪ pic.twitter.com/tToGdL7Vyu
— @monaghangaa (@monaghangaa) December 9, 2024
His local club held a homecoming celebration in honour on Monday and it looked like the community was out in force to welcome him home.
The club described his win as 'a momentous occasion for our club', urging people to 'come out and support our hero'.
Full house welcoming our world Champ home Shane Mc Guirk 🎯🎉🎉🔵⚪️🇮🇪
Posted by Aughnamullen GAA on Monday, December 9, 2024
It appears they did just that.
