Kilkenny stalwart Fennelly calls time
WHEN Brian Cody read Michael Fennelly’s retirement statement yesterday, one line will have made him smile.
Fennelly has brought an end to his 12-year inter-county career, and it is no big surprise, given the enormous injury problems he has encountered in his Kilkenny hurling life.
His dozen seasons in black and amber leave a distinguished playing legacy, and the impact the 32year-old made is greater given the chronic back problems that haunted him for years.
There were summers when the awesome power of Fennelly drove Kilkenny like a piston at centrefield, and this would have been after severely compromised preparations, and a spring-time in which he struggled to walk owing to back pain.
The first thanks in the release announcing his retirement went to Cody and his management teams. The second went to the medics.
‘Without their [management’s] understanding and patience, I would not have been in a position to continue playing for Kilkenny during some very challenging injuries and the medical team have also been at the heart of my rehabilitation and prehabilitation training. I owe them a debt of gratitude,’ said Fennelly.
Cody would have smiled, because he understood better than anybody that Fennelly gave more to Kilkenny than he ever took.
He won his first senior All-Ireland medal as a panellist in 2006 and his fourth as a substitute in 2009, the latter the fourth Championship in the fearsome four-ina-row completed by the greatest team in hurling history. Fennelly was captain that season but unable to find a way into the side.
His first All-Ireland as a starter was in 2011, when he was integral to the team at midfield, and his form and influence saw Fennelly finishing that season as Hurler of the Year.
He would add three more titles to finish with eight, along with three All-Stars and three All-Ireland Club Championships with Ballyhale.
However, his best days and his most inspiring performances for Kilkenny came in the years after the four-in-a-row; it was only with the gradual break-up of that side that he established himself, and that made his impact all the more impressive. In a team weakened by retirements, Fennelly grew into a major influence.
‘My family have been with me since this journey started with Kilkenny in 2006,’ he said.
‘Those first few years in the black and amber were up and INPHO/SPORTSFILE down for myself and captaining Kilkenny to All-Ireland victory in 2009 was a particularly challenging year on a personal level.
‘My family have been through the highs and lows and no doubt they lived every second of the games that both my brother Colin and I played with their hearts in their mouths. Hopefully those years were as ecstatic for them as they were for me.’
The end of a years-long battle with a fragile body will come as sweet relief to Fennelly, but Cody must now plan without an inspirational figure.
He and other Kilkenny fans can console themselves with the memories of a terrific talent.