Nothing beats being there, except maybe being a fly on the Walsh’s kitchen wall for the next couple of weeks. Because even if they’re saying all the right things about each other in public, there must be some private moments of unavoidable sibling rivalry between Tommy and Pádraig Walsh.
Because rarely have two brothers being vying so closely not just for a place on the Kilkenny hurling team, but possibly the same position too.
Stirring it up further is the fact that Pádraig, who at age 22 has yet to play a senior championship match for Kilkenny, is fancied to get the nod this summer ahead of Tommy, who at 30 has already won eight All-Ireland medals and nine All Stars.
When Kilkenny won a third league title in succession, beating Tipperary earlier this month, Pádraig switched between midfield and wing back, scoring two points in the process, while Tommy was kept on the bench, even after the game spilled into extra-time. Perhaps more worrying for Tommy – arguably the greatest number five hurling has ever seen – is that he was also substituted by manager Brian Cody at half-time not once but twice during Kilkenny's league campaign.
Tommy has been able to see the light side of all that, so far anyway, joking after the league final that he’d asked their mother to lock Pádraig’s bedroom door that morning – and that he might have to lock it himself on the morning of their Leinster championship opener against Offaly on June 7th.
Pádraig was able to see the light side of that yesterday, joking that no one actually locked his bedroom door: "I suppose I'll have to keep my eye out, next time." There is the chance both of the Walsh brothers could make the team for the Offaly game, but then no one is entirely sure of their place of the Kilkenny team, such is Cody's unyielding inclination to pick players on form, not reputation. Sibling rivalry So, with both Tommy and Pádraig in Dublin yesterday as guests of hurling championship sponsors Liberty Insurance, the first thing put aside was any trace of sibling rivalry, as both minds focused instead of the Offaly challenge that lies in wait.
“There’s a lot of competition for places, for everyone, so you just have to forget about the two of us fighting for positions,” said Pádraig, showing no lack of maturity even if he’s eight years Tommy’s junior. “I only started wing back for one game so far, in the league. And there have been an awful lot of lads playing in a lot of different positions.
“So it’s not just Tommy you’re up against. You’re up against another six lads that can get in wing back or midfield. There’s fierce competition. You just have to knuckle down yourself. You have to just forget how you went in the league, because it’s all about performing in training. Brian always picks on form, and it doesn’t matter if you are there for one year or 10 years. If you’re going well in training you’ll get a chance.”
Despite his apparently swift arrival on the Kilkenny scene, the younger Walsh brother has served his apprenticeship: he first made a name for himself on the Kilkenny minor team that won the 2010 All-Ireland, although the last two years at under-21 didn't go exactly to plan, including the 2012 All-Ireland defeat to Clare. Younger brother "I was on the senior panel last year, and I was in training the year before, so I did have to work my way in," says Pádraig. Still, he may always be known as Tommy's younger brother, or at least shaking off that tag won't be easy.
“I suppose you’d hear that a bit alright but you just try not to listen to it. You just worry about your own game and try to get into the team and work the best you can. But I’ve watched Tommy all the way coming up, since I was very young. It’s always the thing you aspire to – to try to get on the Kilkenny team. Just watching him play, you’d nearly be more nervous watching than you would playing. It’s great to finally get a chance now.”
Tommy has played 46 championship matches since his debut in 2002, missing just one against Wexford in 2011 due to an injured shoulder: Pádraig still looks to him for advice, although the feeling now is that they both concentrate on their own games.
“We’d talk a bit after games. You’d look at what you did well, what you didn’t do well, and be trying to improve on your game. You wouldn’t be asking for tips the whole time, you’d just talk about it a small bit. Really you’re just trying to focus on your own game. And Tommy hasn’t changed like that at all, no. He’s still the same, still fiercely competitive. It’s just a new challenge for him, to try to win his place back. He’s only delighted to take it on, I’d say.”
Now comes the chance for both brothers to perhaps hurl alongside each other, a dream that began in the back garden of the family home in Tullaroan. “Yeah, we’ve a big back-garden there and there’s a lot of neighbours and cousins all around who’d come up and we’d play matches against each other. We’d play catching games and it used to get very competitive. There were a fair few rows in it I suppose!
“Our dad also hurled for Tullaroan as well, so we always had a hurl in our hand, from as soon as we could walk. Now, it’s not often you get a chance playing with Kilkenny, so you have to try to take it. That’s what it’s all about.”
