QUIT COMPLAINING
Fennelly defends flight of the Wild Geese
COLIN FENNELLY has lashed out at the critics of the Wild Geese trophy in Sydney, saying that some people just need something to complain and moan about.
Fennelly was part of the travelling Kilkenny squad, who lost out in the inaugural match to Galway in a free-taking contest. However, the match itself came in for widespread criticism on this side of the world, with many asking why the GAA are bringing hurling to Australia when the game is struggling in large parts of our own country.
However, the Kilkenny forward, who is preparing for another Leinster final with Ballyhale Shamrocks, says that the players get very little out of the game and this trip to Sydney was only one small reward.
‘It was definitely worthwhile. People are going to constantly give out and complain,’ the forward shrugged. ‘I don’t know the ins and outs but I am certain that the money is just a small portion of what the GAA get every single year. A small portion that us as players get. We don’t get that much out of it and then people complain and want to take that from us.’
It was explained to Fennelly that the ire wasn’t directed at Galway or Kilkenny players, rather at the GAA for their neglect of hurling in large parts of the country, but the Ballyhale man pointed out that his club is successful while operating on a shoestring budget. He believes success doesn’t come down to money.
‘Then people shouldn’t attack the holiday or the game itself. They should just say, is there money there; to be honest it’s just giving out and looking for any excuse — I don’t understand it. We all have to fight for ourselves at the end of the day.
‘We have no money in our club but we’re using our experience to bring on the young lads. We’re all working hard and have no lights. We don’t have a stand, barely two pitches and we’re trying to get a youth pitch. Other counties are giving out about money. You don’t need money to win games or develop players although obviously it’s an advantage,’ he said.
Even though Kilkenny took Galway to the brink in Sydney and only lost by two points to eventual All-Ireland champions Limerick during the summer, there is a sense that Brian Cody’s side are now part of the chasing pack. But Fennelly says it hasn’t adjusted how he will approach next season.
‘It’s not really a different perspective but it would be at the back of your mind that we haven’t won an All-Ireland in a few years. But there are plenty of players around who haven’t won one at all and want to win a first All-Ireland. It’s certainly not something you want to get used to, not winning them.
‘Going into this year after losing out just narrowly in the quarterfinal, you always want to do better and you always try to see where you can improve on the year. It’s a hard thing to put your finger on but it’s just a game where there’s a few points in it, no matter if you lose in the quarter-final, final or go out in the early stages.’
Fennelly admits that he has been fortunate to come into a team that was successful, as he did in 2011. Three seasons is the longest he has ever gone without tasting All-Ireland success — as it is the same for most of the Kilkenny players.
‘It is hard when you haven’t won one in the past few years. I was just fortunate to come in in 2011 and we have been winning since then. It was a different format then because there are so many games now that you can’t really look down the line, just hope and look at the next game. It is a lot more distant than then. A lot of it is in your head as well.’ However, the full-forward believes that hurling is at its most competitive since he started his inter-county career. There are probably eight contenders for the All-Ireland next season.
‘It is certainly the most competitive since I started. Every year, the training has just progressed and what you have to do is just madness. Life revolves around hurling every day. Everything is monitored from what you eat, your sleeping. And it has to be like that because the margins are so narrow.
‘There are eight teams at the very top and it is absolutely crazy how close it is between them all. On any given day, any team could beat anybody else.’
Dangerous for everyone else when Kilkenny are still lurking as one of those eight teams.