Boyle excited about carrot of playing as curtain-raiser to All-Ireland hurling final

THERE is a significantly heightened buzz in the Kerry hurling camp this week after the double boost that they received when the GAA published their re-scheduled inter-county fixture list for 2020 last Friday.

Firstly, there was confirmation that Fintan O’Connor’s team will play their Allianz League Division 2A Final against Antrim at Croke Park on the weekend of October 17 and 18, while there is a gigantic carrot now on offer for the Joe McDonagh Cup finalists with their decider taking centre-stage as the curtain-raiser to the All-Ireland SHC Final on December 13.

“It is brilliant. I can’t wait for the league final. When everything was called off on that Friday in March, we were set for Croke Park on the Saturday,” said the experienced Mikey Boyle.

“There was fierce disappointment back then. Would we ever get to play again at Croke Park? Now, we are absolutely delighted that it’s going ahead. We will have a good shot at Antrim and see if we can get one over on them,” added the 32-year-old.

The Kingdom are fixed to begin their Joe McDonagh Cup campaign on the weekend of October 24/25 with a home outing against Meath.

That will be followed by Westmeath (away), Antrim (away) and Carlow (home). The top two in the group will qualify for the showpiece final.

“This is really the cream of the crop. You want to be playing on the biggest day of the hurling year. I’ve been saying it all week. What an incentive now to drive the team forward. Imaging playing at Croke Park before an All-Ireland Final between Kilkenny and Limerick or anybody else! I would be just itching to get out there and play,” stressed the Ballyduff man.