DUBS ARE MISSING OUT
Star footballers could be making a massive contribution to hurling
KILKENNY’S eighttime All-Ireland winner Michael Fennelly claims that Dublin’s dual status is hurting their hurling hopes and that if Con O’Callaghan or Ciaran Kilkenny were available for selection ‘they’d be a different animal’.
He is still expecting a huge battle when his native county face Mattie Kenny’s side at Parnell Park in a crunch round-four fixture in the Leinster championship.
‘There’s a few Gaelic footballers there for Dublin that would be really strong hurlers. They probably don’t have the full pick either – the likes of Con O’Callaghan is a fabulous hurler, imagine having him in a Dublin squad?
‘Ciaran Kilkenny, fabulous hurler, imagine having him on the squad? So we have a full pick in Kilkenny,
“An All-Ireland
can create huge momentum”
thankfully, we’re fortunate on that side of it. But if Dublin had their full pick, God, they’d be a different animal again.’
Both of those players will be go-to men in attack for the Dublin senior football team in the Leinster semi-final against Meath at Croke Park tomorrow.
Kilkenny was a star hurler underage for Dublin before concentrating on football, while O’Callaghan was a devastating target man up front for Cuala when they made history by winning back-to-back AllIreland senior club titles.
As Offaly senior manager, Fennelly will be down in Tralee for his own vital Joe McDonagh Cup game against the hosts, but recalls his own battles with Dublin during his playing days.
‘We’ve always been competitive with Dublin. I think back in 2013, from memory, that was a big year for Dublin to kick on and potentially to get into an All-Ireland final. Was it Cork that beat them in the semi-final, when Ryan O’Dwyer was sent off? A big moment in the game. If Dublin had got into that final and potentially won it, I think things could have changed for them. Winning an All-Ireland can create huge momentum with players. What you could find is other players dropping into hurling too.
‘So I think that was a big moment in Dublin hurling. In one sense, maybe it was a good thing they didn’t win because we’ve had a dominant football team for the last five, six, seven years and obviously you wouldn’t want a dominant hurling team coinciding with it.’
As to Kilkenny’s All-Ireland credentials, he finds it hard to see beyond Limerick right now. ‘I don’t think they’re frontrunners – we see Limerick in terms of what they’re doing at the moment.
‘Cork have obviously been disappointing in Munster – I thought they’d have progressed a bit more. They have a very young team and I have no doubt they’ll be knocking on the door for the next number of years. Galway are showing a bit of form as well.
‘I think Kilkenny are going to be very competitive and even getting back to the semi-final stage of the All-Ireland would be a big plus. If we could push over into a final it would be great. I think everyone is seeing the gulf, where Limerick are at, how strong they are at this moment in time.
‘I don’t think maybe Kilkenny have the depth at the minute but at the same time, any time Kilkenny put on the jersey, they go out and they give it everything.
‘We saw it in the Galway game, Galway probably were the better team but it went down to the last second of the game, the boys pulled back a goal and probably were unfortunate not to get a draw out of it. They will always be very
competitive and I don’t think any team likes playing Kilkenny.’
As an Offaly manager competing in a lower tier, he hasn’t had any awkward handshake moments in the manner of Brian Cody and his old team-mate Henry Shefflin down in Salthill the last day.
‘Ah, look, I don’t think Offaly is on the radar of Kilkenny. Obviously we’ve come from a lower level and stuff.
‘I think there’s good relationships with Offaly and Kilkenny as well so, no, that thing wouldn’t cross my mind a whole pile to be honest.
‘When I was taking on the Offaly job I knew I wouldn’t be coming across Kilkenny a whole pile in a couple of years. So yeah, it’s very difficult to play against your own county in any shape or form. ‘It’s never easy for anyone. We are obviously seeing managers going into different counties – the likes of myself, Henry is with Galway, Eddie Brennan was with Laois previously and Dave Herity with Kildare. It’s always difficult playing against your own but that’s the game. You’re given a job to do and I suppose you have to do it to the best of your ability.’ As for his own team? Fennelly was speaking as Offaly continues to grow its brand, announcing a new five-year partnership this week with organic dairy producer Glenisk, a partnership that takes in jersey sponsorship and will cover Offaly GAA, Camogie and Go Games. Reaching a Joe McDonagh Cup final then and trying to win a place in next year’s Liam MacCarthy Cup is a key stepping stone in getting Offaly hurling back in the limelight.
“Playing against
your own is always difficult”
‘It’s a big game. Obviously, we need to win and Kerry need to win. We’re coming down to the latter end of the group stages now. The Joe Mac is very competitive this year. We’re not banking on other results to go our way or anything like that.
‘I’d say Saturday will be a big factor in the overall championship, in terms of who potentially progresses to the final.
‘Obviously, the likes of Carlow and Down are still there and you don’t know what can happen. We saw Carlow nearly beating Antrim the last day.
‘All we can do is look after our end of the business. But heading off to Tralee any year is difficult.
‘I was down there two years ago myself and it was a big wake-up call in terms of inter-county management. I have no doubt it will be anything different.’