‘COVID ALL-IRELAND’ WILL BE SPECIAL
Kilkenny legend Jackie Tyrrell feels sympathy for the clubs but believes the inter-county action this winter will go down in history
IT’S safe to say Jackie Tyrrell’s lockdown and pandemic summer has been a hectic period. A second child has that kind of effect. Five months ago, Harry landed into this world, blissfully unaware of travel bans and the social maelstrom outside, joining his brother Freddie – who will turn two later in the year – in the Tyrrell lineage.
It remains to be seen whether that’s two-thirds of a future Kilkenny full-back line sorted.
‘It’s been busy,’ says Tyrrell. ‘Been great. It has given us a real positivity in such negative times.’
With Netflix and podcasts all the rage, he found himself on the list of celebrated subjects of A Hurler’s Life, the podcast by former Offaly hurler and RTÉ analyst Brian Carroll that took on a life of its own during lockdown. It was a fascinating run through his own life and times, from the player who doubted himself so much he turned to Brother Damian Brennan in a bout of self-doubt and yet blossomed into the bulletproof nine-time All-Ireland winner and dog of war.
Then there’s the catwalk element to go with his regular day job with Glanbia, and the collaboration with Littlewoods for the relaunch of its own brand menswear collection, Very Man, this autumn.
In the middle of it, James Stephens’ very own ‘style icon’, as the blurb goes, was being introduced to the he rough and tumble of Junior A hurling after being regraded. And so this local heir to the Paris fashion scene was quickly finding out about a new trend of turning venerated past members of the Kilkenny defence into club b full-forwards.
‘We have four adult teams, from senior to junior A. I got regraded. It was brilliant to go back and play. I got pushed up to the forwards. Something completely different. Never played there in my life.
‘I really enjoyed it. We’re a very, very young team and got to a county quarter-final. We were beaten by Dicksboro. I was playing with lads who were very young and athletic. I was just trying to pass on whatever bit of experience I have.’
All 38 years of it. Like Tommy Walsh’s re-invention with Tullaroan, is full-forward then where all good defenders go, when the legs start to go?
‘The only difference between me and Tommy, he was doing his bit to score and they won an intermediate county final as well! I always remember talking to Tommy about this, “play as long as you can contribute, you’re injury-free and enjoying it” – that’s my motto. If I can play junior again next year, I will. I’ll stay playing at the highest
level for as long as I can.’ And now a winter All-Ireland is on the cards after a busy past six months he describes as a ‘weird and strange time’. Between lockdown and restrictions and Level 3 with the threat of moving to Level 5, it’s a changed business world, a tough economy for nearly everybody, even from a promotional side with this new Littlewoods clothing range. And James Stephens experienced the direct impact of Covid early.
‘I worked for Glanbia, we were deemed essential during lockdown so I worked the whole way through. It was great to still have that focus.
‘The club got locked down but we got back reasonably quickly after the restrictions so that was great.
‘We had a Covid case, we were one of the first clubs, and it was managed diligently. We were back training within a week with the guy self-isolating. He came back and he was fine, no problems.
‘Personally, we were lucky in that we had our second baby in the middle of lockdown, so we probably would have been locked down anyway!
‘It was great to come through it; family and health was all good. And do you know what, it gave me a great appreciation… Look, I’m only playing a small bit of junior club hurling but the first time I went back training, to be able to go up to my hot press and take my boots and my helmet out. Normally I just grab them and go out the door but I was thinking, “Isn’t it great to be picking these up”. And we were only going out to do a socially-distanced skills session. The sun was shining that evening and it was like I was 16 or 17 again, as I was going back in for the first time to play senior with the club. It brought me back.
‘We took it for granted. It made me realise how important the club is, and the GAA world.’
And how fragile it all is still in light of rising cases and the National Public Health Emergency Team’s (NPHET) recommendation to go to Level 5 restrictions which could yet threaten the playing of any intercounty games and, effectively, a winter All-Ireland series.
What he doesn’t agree with though is the GAA’s move to suspend all club activity with a week of county finals outstanding.
‘It was unfair on the GAA not to finish out the club window for clubs who haven’t got to play their county final and are left in limbo now. It leaves a sour taste in those clubs’ mouths.’
As well as that, Tyrrell believes the GAA jumped the gun i n cancelling the provincial and All-Ireland series.
That after spanning 50 years of the richest of history, the club competitions deserve to be played to a conclusion. Especially when we are currently seeing some of the greatest club teams ever. Ballyhale have an opportunity to do what no hurling club has done and equal what only Corofin have done in football and win a hat-trick of AllIrelands. Sixmilebridge manager Tim Crowe is among the chorus to call for their reinstatement, with a view to playing them off in early 2021. So does Tyrrell agree?
‘I do. It’s not like we’re asking for something crazy. We’re just asking for the club campaign to be played off. How many games is that going to be? It’s not going to be a huge fixture congestion. I think the GAA
‘IT WAS UNFAIR NOT TO FINISH OUT THE CLUB WINDOW’
have been admirable for what they’ve done for the community.
The club campaign has been a huge success. Covid is going to land in certain clubs and counties. That just has to be managed on a local basis.
‘I really would urge that this be played off. Give these lads a chance to go out and play against each other because – and I’m just thinking from a hurling point of view – I don’t think we will ever have as many strong teams.
‘I met Shane O’Sullivan the other day, the Waterford and Ballygunner hurler, and he was chomping at the bit to get back. He said they haven’t been training because they don’t know if it’s going to be a runner.
‘He would love nothing more than to pull on a Ballygunner jersey and have a cut off whoever that may be in Munster. And we’re taking that away from players. It’s kind of weird – win a county final and then just stop.
‘I would say then, run off your provincial club championships, run off your club All-Irelands early next year. What games we would have to look forward to. A potential Ballyhale-Cuala final. A potential BallygunnerNa Piarsaigh meeting in Munster. I’d say it would be as good as any All-Ireland ever. That could possibly be the carrot to give the clubs and give players that exposure. I think that would make so much sense, and satisfy the club needs.’
As for any suggestion of a winter All-Ireland having an asterisk attached, he doesn’t agree. ‘Absolutely not,’ he counters. ‘The 2020 All-Ireland champions will be able to stand up the same as any other year. The same as Tipperary before or any other team. It will add a little bit of history to it.
‘I always hear people talking of
the Thunder and Lightning AllIreland back in the day [1939 All-Ireland final between Kilkenny and Cork]. I think this will be remembered like that – oh that was the year of the first Covid AllIreland. And it will stand out more so than any other year.
‘I think it will add that bit of flavour to it – and wouldn’t that be great. For the winners, it will almost stand out a little bit from any other All-Ireland because you came through the Covid battle. Not alone did you win on the field but you kept your squad right, did all the right things – I think that’s the way it will be viewed.’
Even if, as increasingly likely, it ends up being played behind closed doors ‘It will take a small bit of
getting g used to. We got u used to it pretty quickly w with club but probably the in inter-county, getting used to Thurles being so empty and an probably hearing the pl players’ voices… the same as Croke Park. a
‘I think it will be a bit weird we at the start. But the ove over-riding feeling is that we have inter-county hurling and football back, and tha that is brilliant. And it will bring brin its own subplots. I can imagine ima Davy Fitz having a lad and he drifting over to a cert certain stand to get an ear on what wha Kilkenny’s Brian Cody is sa saying. Or what the Dublin manager man is doing. That’s the beau beauty of trying to get one up on y your opponent. That’s the beauty b of the inter-county competitive world.
‘I was at a club game when you could get in 200 and I ended up just sitting, not a million miles away, and I could hear the opposing team’s talk at the start of the game, at the water break, the instructions at half-time – like, I could literally have rang the other team and told them this is what they are doing. ‘And that’s the world we’re in at the minute.’
Then there’s the question of whether a winter All-Ireland will
‘WINNING WILL STAND OUT BECAUSE YOU GOT THROUGH COVID’
suit certain teams, physically or tactically? Where do Kilkenny fit into the winter mix?
‘I wouldn’t buy into that it’s going to totally change the championship. That a team are going to go from middle of the road to a frontrunner.
‘Yeah, it will probably suit certain teams that need to dog it out a small bit and who are more conducive to playing in those kind of conditions. ‘There will be more outside, external factors. We’re coming into flu season – how will counties and teams manage that? Will there be situations where they are playing a team and looking at a certain position and one guy is more rugged and physical and maybe there is wind and rain coming at the weekend. Could a team go tactically a different way? That will all be relevant.
‘But in wetter, tougher conditions, the teams that are mentally harder, have the better skillset, will shine. Cian Lynch is the perfect example. He can rip it up in Croke Park or Thurles when the sun is shining. Will his skill-set be at a really high level in the winter? Absolutely it will. Particularly when other lads are miscontrolling maybe two out of 10 balls, Cian Lynch will control 10 out of 10.
‘When we come to December, the All-Ireland champions will be very deserving of it.
‘They will be the team with the best skill-set and are able to go to the well. And they are the same dynamics that win an All-Ireland in August or September.’