2024 promised much, but the wait goes on
BY NIALL SHERRY, SPORTS EDITOR
SPORTSEDITOR@KILKENNYOBSERVER.IE
As the new year kicks in, Gaels across Noreside will be hopeful that 2025 can bring an end to the long wait for senior All-Ireland glory. It seems like we have been stuck on thirty-six titles for forever, but with every new year, comes new hope and the upcoming season will be no different with belief that Liam can return to the Marble City.
The 2024 season provided some glimpses of hope for our men in black and amber. As usual, The Walsh Cup was the first bit of competitive action for Derek Lyng’s charges as they sought to claim the pre-season silverware for the first time since 2018. Victory over Carlow gave the Cats a good start to matters, but they came unstuck in the group game against rivals Wexford in Callan, where Keith Rossiter’s outfit progressed to the final, courtesy of a 1-point win, despite finishing the contest with 13 men.
Attention then turned to Allianz National matters as the Cats competed in Division 1A of the competition. We opened our campaign with an entertaining draw in UPMC Nowlan Park against The Yellowbellies, before hitting the road to Leeside, where we fought hard to secure a confidence building 1-point win over the Rebel County. Next up was a home win over Offaly before travelling to Ennis where Brian Lohan’s team emerged winners by 3 points in a game which would be a preview of the League decider. Walsh Park was the venue for the final group A fixture, a clash with neighbours, Waterford. The Cats ran out three-point winners, setting up a las four clash against the green machine of Limerick.
The league semi-final was held in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, and a large crowd was in attendance as Kilkenny lay down a marker against a Treaty side that has dominated intercounty hurling scene for the last few years. TJ was in sparkling form, finishing with 1-8 as Derek Lyng’s men condemned Limerick to an 8-point defeat. This win showed that John Kiely’s team could be beaten and the Cats would take heart from this victory.
The Allianz League decider pitted Kilkenny against the only side to register a victory over them during the campaign – Clare. FBD Semple Stadium was the venue for the clash with The Banner and just like the earlier meeting between the two sides, it would be Brian Lohan’s team that prevailed by 2 points and took the silverware back to Ennis.
Walsh Cup and Allianz League done and dusted; the focus was now on provincial matters as Kilkenny went in search of a 76th Bob O’Keefe Cup. Ulster’s finest, Antrim were first up, as we welcomed Darren Gleeson’s men to UPMC Nowlan Park. Lyng’s charges ran up an impressive tally of 5-30 in a demolition of the Saffron’s. Round two saw the Cats make the journey west, to tackle Henry’s Galway. A real cracker this one proved to be, with matters deadlocked at the long whistle, so a share of the spoils for last year’s finalists.
Round three saw the Noresider’s head to Netwatch Cullen Park to take on the challenge of Carlow. Many expected Kilkenny to get back to winning ways, but a Marty Kavanagh inspired performance saw the Dolmen County claim a famous and deserved draw against their illustrious opponents. Having stuttered in the Carlow game, a trip to Parnell Park to face Dublin was next up for the Cats, and this game turned out to be another cracker, with just 2 points between the sides at full-time, again, TJ top scoring, but it was John Donnelly’s impressive showing that was crucial in propelling his side to the win in the Capital. Round five saw Keith Rossiter’s Wexford side roll into town, and another rip-roaring encounter ensued with the Marble City men getting over the line by the bare minimum, thanks in no small way to TJ’s personal tally of 1-13.
With three wins’ apiece, Kilkenny and Dublin progressed to the provincial decider in Croke Park. Just over 35,000 in attendance for the Leinster final, as another tough contest was expected, following their earlier meeting, but the wide-open spaces of the Jones’s Road venue suited Kilkenny better than the tighter confines of Parnell Park and Derek Lyng’s side ran out 16-point winners in a game that only ever looked to have one winner from the first whistle, with Adrian Mullen putting in an excellent performance for the Cats.
Having negotiated another successful Leinster campaign, Kilkenny advanced to the semi-final of the All-Ireland series where they would face a third meeting of the season against Brian Lohan’s Clare, hoping that it would be a case of ‘third time lucky’. Having got the better of Clare in both the 2022 and 2023 semi-finals the Cats were hoping that that history would be the dominant factor. Eoin Cody scored a cracking first half goal, but by my reckoning, the Cats had five major chances in the first half but only managed to beat Eibhear Quilligan once before the short whistle, as the Feakle man ensure Clare remained in the game with a string of great saves. The Leinster champions held a 5-point lead at the short whistle and hopes were high that a third final appearance on the bounce was about to be secured, but The Banner had other ideas.
Clare fought their way back into the game and kept their opponents on a much tighter leash in the second half, Kilkenny registered only 1-6 after the interval. When Mark Rodgers fired over a stunning effort from distance to level matters, their tails were up, their fans support was echoing around Croker with verve. Richie Reid was adjudged to have fouled the enigmatic Shane O’Donnell, again Aidan McCarthy stood over the placed ball. The Inagh-Kilnamona man split the Kilkenny posts and The Banner led for the first time in the game, with about one minute remaining. In injury time, Clare worked the sliotar to Tony Kelly and the Ballyea man rifled over from way out the pitch to leave his side two points clear. Richie Reid floated in a late free, knowing that a goal was needed, but Clare emerged with the ball and Liam Gordon sounded the long whistle, and the long journey home began for the Cats.
When the dust settled over the summer and club matters take centre stage, the fear begins to creep in, as the inevitable is on the horizon, intercounty retirements. The name on most people’s lips was TJ. Thankfully, it appears the legendary Shamrocks Ballyhale man is signing on for one more year in the black and amber. So far Derek Lyng has lost three vastly experienced trusty lieutenants, Cillian Buckley, Conor Fogarty and Walter Walsh. This trio of All-Ireland winners departing the panel, means the Liam MacCarthy connections are down to Reid’s, TJ and Richie and Eoin Murphy.
It’s not only on the pitch that change has happened, Derek Lyng is making changes to his backroom team, with Conor Phelan and Peter Barry departing the backroom team. Thomastown’s mastermind and senior club winning manager, Noel Doherty is expected to come into the fold as a coach / selector, while Declan Wall who had been heavily involved with match analysis is expected to have more of a ‘hands-on’ role next season. Further additions are expected to the management team before things get underway for 2025.
There are no pre-season competitions across the Island in 2025, so we get straight into Allianz League action in January with a trip to Cusack Park in Ennis to face current League and All-Ireland champions, Clare. More about that in a couple of weeks. Next week we will build up to St Lachtain’s All-Ireland Junior Final against Russell Rovers. It’s unusual to only have one Kilkenny side still involved in the business end of the club season, bit perhaps we were spoilt last season with a trio of champions. New Year, new hope.
