Commuter says no..to hype after semi-final
DALY WANTS CUAL HEADS AT KILMACUD FOR BODEN CLASH
WHEN Anthony Daly got the call from Kilmacud Crokes, the trek from his Clare home to the capital that he trod so often in the past was the first thing that crossed his mind.
But the idea grew on him. During his six years in charge of Dublin, Crokes stalwart Richie Stakelum was his righthand man (inset).
Daly was often in the club for medal presentations over the years and even held the Dublin launch of his autobiography in Glenalbyn in 2014 so there was a connection, along with the fact that some Crokes players served him well with the county. Additionally, the job had been vacated by Ollie Baker, his former Clare teammate. All the soundings were positive enough to make the commute seem worthwhile, and it has been.
“I had an affinity with them in some ways. But yeah, when the call came in last October, it was, ‘That’ll be a long haul’,” says Daly. “But the heart-strings were pulled by the Borrisoleigh man [Stakelum] and Professor [Chris] Thompson. So I said yeah, I’ll give it a lash. “I didn’t know what I was getting myself in for. Except I knew Ollie [Baker] was there. “Obviously Ollie and myself would be good friends so a quick chat with him and I said, ‘Go on, I’ll have a go’.”
His impact has been immediate, with a county final against Ballyboden St Enda’s on Sunday. Daly is quick to point out that there’s no silverware won just yet but their semi-final victory over Cuala was significant, it being the first defeat the All-ireland champions had suffered in knockout hurling for almost three years.
“Yeah, it’s huge. But ‘tis no cup. It would be great to knock out Cuala and be getting the Championship. To knock out Cuala and get a resurgent ‘Boden then is a totally different prospect.
“To be fair, by the time we left the dressing-room, we tried to numb all that and just say, ‘It’s done’. We may be able to look back at it at the end of the year with a bit of fondness. But there’ll be no fondness if we lose the final.”
He continued: “Crokes to me were always contenders, good and all as Cuala were, nothing keeps going forever.
“I said that I’d have it up there with the Dubs four-in-a-row, for a Dublin club team to win back-toback [All-irelands] was incredible, very well managed in terms of their timings and the breaks they gave their players coming back fresh again.
“It nearly worked for them again but we were slightly more ready for most periods of the game.”
When Daly was starting to make strides with Dublin at the turn of the decade, Ballyboden had the club scene in the capital in the palm of their hand and, naturally, backboned his county team.
Many of them are still prominent for the club ahead of Sunday, not least Conal Keaney, whose surprise comeback for Dublin this year proved to be quite a success.
“Possibly him going off against Kilkenny tilted things, he was having such an influence on the game and he’s in such tremendous shape.
“To come back from that motorcycle accident and to be where he is now from 2011 is some dedication, isn’t it? What a
leader, like.”