WHERE’S TOMMY?
Kept out by his younger brother, Tommy Walsh is itching to take up the cause for Kilkenny
SO MUCH about All-Ireland final day seemed out of sync for Tommy Walsh last September.
A first final staged under floodlights on a Saturday evening and here he was, a nine-time All-Star, an eight-time medal winner, taking part in what must have felt like a novelty warm-up act.
Super 11s hurling is a wonderful short-form concept aimed primarily at developing the game abroad, and the GAA opted to stage an exhibition before Clare’s replay against Cork.
So Walsh lined out in an 11-a-side game with soccer-style posts in which only goals count.
If anything summed up how the hurling world had been turned upside down over the course of a summer of shocks and landmark breakthroughs, it was the sight of such a storied Kilkenny player featuring in an offbeat version of a minor curtain-raiser.
After watching the drawn final at home on television, he got a chance to witness the Clare revolution first hand. And while Kilkenny recently picked up the eighth League crown of Brian Cody’s watch, he admits that the reigning champions are still the team to beat.
‘They are All-Ireland champions so therefore, yes, they are. The only thing is that − as we saw last year − it is so open. We are back to the mid’90s. For so many teams from different provinces to have a chance of winning the All-Ireland is something we could not have imagined in the last few years.
‘Last year and this year’s League has proved that in terms of how tight so many games have been.’
It is significant that Walsh namechecks the specific decade that contained the most democratic spread of All-Ireland winners in the history of the game, with Cork, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Offaly, Clare and Wexford all bringing home the Liam MacCarthy Cup.
And Walsh is adamant that Championship 2014 remains wide open. ‘Definitely there are several contenders. Look at last year’s Championship. Wexford were one score away from beating the Leinster champions [Dublin] and one score away from beating the All-Ireland winners. So there is definitely depth. On any given day anyone can beat anyone.’
WALSH has never been precious about the game or Kilkenny’s place in its history. Whether it’s lining out in the Super 11s or for Ireland in the shinty series, he has always been proud to answer the call. Rather than taking a view of the game’s development through black and amber eyes, he sees the increased competition as a positive.
‘If you have more teams challenging for the All-Ireland, it means hurling is strong in so many counties. That can only be good for the game.’
With former Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy tasked with chairing the new committee to examine whether the game needs change, Walsh has a clear message for the man who mas t e rminded the 2010 All-Ireland win over Kilkenny. ‘ I would change nothing. Why should we? We have just had the greatest Championship and had a tremendous League yet again. Why change something that is not broken? ‘If people were not going to our games, if people were not enjoying looking at the television, if there was a reason for change then we should review it. But there is no reason. People are glued to the television watching our games. The stadiums are getting great crowds. Why change?’
If last year’s July exit from the Championship was a shock to Walsh’s system, so too has been his demotion
We are back to the mid-’90s. So many teams have a chance of winning the All-Ireland title
to the bench over the spring. Replaced at half-time in rounds against Tipperary and Dublin, he was an unused substitute in the extra-time win over Tipp in the League final.
The player keeping him out of the team is younger brother Pádraig. Tommy maintains his sense of humour when asked about the prematch banter at home.
‘There is no slagging − they are afraid to at the moment,’ he grins. ‘We are delighted for him. He is doing very well. He played very well for the club last year in the League and Championship and we knew if he continued that form that he would have a chance.’
Watching from the sideline for the first consistent spell in his career since his Championship debut in 2003 hasn’t been easy, and he faces a fight to get in for the Leinster quarter-final against Offaly on June 7.
Sitting out, like he did in the League final, is not something that sits easily with such a ferocious competitor.
IT IS definitely different. You can’t be selfish, thinking you should be out there. The main focus if you are a sub is what you can do if brought on. That is basically what I am thinking of. ‘For any hurler worth his salt, the No 1 aim is to get back on the intercounty team. I am no different. There is no favouritism. You know if you are playing the right stuff at the time that you will get on.’
Still only 31, he has no intention of going anywhere just yet. ‘Most players play as long as they can because when you get towards the end of your career, you are going to be retired for nearly 30 or 40 years.
‘What is the one thing every explayer would love to be doing? To be back playing.
‘We (Kilkenny) have been lucky because we have had success which definitely makes it easier. Because when you have great days in Croke Park or Thurles, when you are enjoying it that much and having that success, there is no better place to be.’