Galway footballer Shane Walsh has admitted he remains somewhat in the dark as to whether his proposed transfer to Dublin’s Kilmacud Crokes will see the light of day.
Given no objection was made by his home club of Kilkerrin/Clonberne, his desired move to the capital side will now be considered by Croke Park’s Central Competitions Control Committee, who are expected to rigorously examine all the relevant factors behind it.
“I’m waiting for it to stop or start or whatever the conclusion is. In some ways I thought I might have an update, but I don’t. There is nothing to discuss about it yet, but whether that may change in the next couple of days, I don’t know,” Walsh remarked at a media event on Wednesday, where he was unveiled as one of four PwC GAA/GPA Players of the Month for July/August.
“There’s a process with it. I’m not in control of that kind of thing, so I’ll wait and see whenever the decision is made. I’ll wait and see what the decision is, and it is what it is at the end of the day then.”
While the notion of switching clubs wasn’t necessarily on Walsh’s mind at the beginning of the year, he acknowledges it was something he started to think about as a memorable year with Galway progressed.
“It was probably the four weeks after the Connacht final when I had the most time to think about it and come to a decision then. Was there ever going to be a good time to say it to your club? No there isn’t,” Walsh added.
“It wasn’t suitable to do so during an inter-county season because it’s a huge distraction to the team and this is about a team. It’s not about Shane Walsh. I have huge respect for my team-mates and my management and I wasn’t going to make a big fuss about that.”
On the same weekend that Walsh produced a stellar performance for the Tribesmen in their defeat to Kerry in the Sam Maguire Cup decider, Brian Cody announced he was stepping down as Kilkenny hurling manager after an extraordinary 24 seasons at the helm.
Although his 1-5 haul helped Limerick to get the better of Cody in the last of his 17 All-Ireland finals as Cats boss, Gearoid Hegarty paid a glowing tribute to the James Stephens man.
“I was surprised, to be honest. Brian Cody is the greatest GAA manager of all time, without doubt. I don’t think anybody will ever get even close to his record. He’s managed some of the greatest hurlers of all time,” said Hegarty, who picked up the hurling player of the month gong.
“Obviously they beat Limerick in 2007, but I grew up watching that team. He brought through another team then in the 2010s and there’s another really top class Kilkenny team that has developed over the last number of years. He goes out with his head held high as the greatest ever so, you know, it’s not a bad place to go either.”
PwC GAA/GPA Players of the Month for July/August:
Football:
Shane Walsh (Galway)
Niamh O’Sullivan (Meath)
Hurling:
Gearoid Hegarty (Limerick)
Camogie:
Katie Nolan (Kilkenny)
