This is a huge week for U-21 hurling with both the Ulster and the Munster finals taking place tonight, so who better to give us his views on the Munster final than Cork’s Aidan Walsh. Huge weekend ahead of him too in the football so best of luck lad! Not an easy few days for myself and the Galway lads recently but I’ll be back blogging next week.
- Joe
“Would you mind being a guest blogger” they said. No problem I said. But now the problem begins! What to say? I don’t do this week in week out like Joe does! “Just talk about your own experiences with Cork U-21s and what you think of this year’s championship” they suggested. Right so…
But here is the real problem. As I write this, I have the feet up on the couch having come in from a light kick about. I have an All-Ireland Football Quarter Final to look forward to against Roscommon. 2pm on Sunday in GAA HQ. Croke Park.
The last time I was in Croke Park I was at the launch of the Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling U-21 All-Ireland Championship. I was honoured that they had nominated me as one of their ambassadors and I looked forward to their campaign and helping them promote this wonderful competition. But mostly, I was looking forward to doing my bit on the pitch for Cork. So as I look forward to another trip to the Jones’ Road – this time without a hurl but with a pair of boots instead – you would think that I couldn’t be happier! Yet, as I now try to write this blog it is hard not to look back on this year’s Munster U-21 Hurling championship with more than a touch of regret.
Having started at wing back last year for the U-21 hurlers, I was really looking forward to this year’s campaign but due to footballing commitments I was restricted to a substitute’s role in the win over Waterford and unfortunately could play no role at all in the narrow extra time loss to Tipperary.
With the injuries that I have had this year (did the hamstring twice in the build up to the U-21 football campaign and then did it again with the senior footballers in the replay with Kerry) my involvement may have been restricted anyway. But Ger Fitzgerald, theU-21 hurling manager and Conor Counihan, senior football manager were very fair with me and where I stood. Something had to give.
Watching the lads play on without me has been hard and indeed as I watched from the stands in Páirc Uí Chaíomh and saw the heart break they had to endure against Tipperary, I was absolutely gutted for them – I still felt part of that group. They were so close to winning it in normal time, yet had it cruelly taken away from them. A converted penalty in the last minutes of normal time by Tipp’s Seamus Hennessy. But in extra time, Tipperary were very impressive. They drove on and McGrath and Hennessy were inspired. So it is they that line out in Semple Stadium against Clare. A lot of their players now also have the added bonus of a senior win under their belts against Galway. A team with a winning mentality.
No such senior confidence coursing through the veins of the Clare lads. Their seniors lost a few weeks ago to Dublin, but the advantage of that loss is that their U-21s would have been able to concentrate all their efforts on this year’s campaign. This is a huge plus for them. No fear of interruptions – just 100% commitment for a semi final against Limerick and now a Munster Final with Tipp. Wish I was there? Absolutely. I wish I was there with Cork, with Ger Fitz and the lads, lining up and ready to do the job in Semple Stadium. But it wasn’t to be. My road now leads to Croke Park and my focus is solely on getting myself right for Roscommon at the weekend.
It is no less than the lads and Ger Fitz would expect of me.
Tags: Aidan Walsh, Bord Gáis Energy, Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling U21 All Ireland Championship, Bord Gáis Energy Munster GAA Hurling U-21 Championship, Under 21 Championship