Kilkenny legend Walsh hails King Con as hurling’s heir apparent to DJ Carey

KILKENNY legend Tommy Walsh yesterday hailed Con O’Callaghan as the ‘best hurler in Ireland.’ And the eight-time AllStar winner also claimed that O’Callagan reminded him of Cats legend DJ Carey, despite the fact that the 21-year-old Cuala star has not played at senior inter-county level. But Walsh, speaking on Newstalk’s Off the Ball programme yesterday, insisted that he had seen enough of O’Callaghan at club level to declare him the best hurler in the country. ‘I know he’s only playing club but to me Con O’Callaghan is the best hurler in Ireland right now,’ insisted Walsh. ‘He just reminds me of DJ. I remember going to Gowran matches and there used to be an extra few hundred people at ordinary first-round league games just to see DJ. ‘When the ball comes into his space, the whole place is on a buzz. What’s going to happen? ‘You look at Con. When that diagonal ball comes in, it’s usually a two man full-forward line and it’s just, what’s going to happen next? He gets the ball, goes round his man, either gets fouled or puts the ball in the net,’ added the nine-time AllIreland winner. This week Dublin hurling coach Anthony Cunningham did not rule out the possibility of O’Callaghan playing a dual role for part of the season. However, the expectation is that O’Callaghan, who was named Young Footballer of the Year, will return to Jim Gavin’s football panel once Cuala’s All-Ireland club campaign concludes.