INTERVIEW: TOMMY WALSH:FORMER DUBLIN manager Paul Caffrey described him as a "man mountain" yesterday and Australian sports agent Ricky Nixon has him atop of the head-hunting list for an AFL contract.
Perhaps Tyrone went and did the Kingdom a favour last September as Tommy Walsh is staying put, reconfirming as much at the belated launch of the Cadbury’s under-21 football championship.
The decision process about whether he should stay or go was assisted by two developing factors in recent months: Jack O’Connor retaking the bainisteoir bib having guided the 20-year-old at club level with Kerins O’Rahilly’s in 2008 – the vehicle that propelled the former Kerry manager back into the intercounty limelight – and then there is Tadhg Kennelly’s hunger to win an All-Ireland despite 10 years as a professional in Sydney.
“That’s the big boost. He’s been on about (returning) for years and maybe some of us didn’t think it was going to happen but, you know, it was nice when it did. He’s back in training now. He’s looking fit and it is going to be interesting to see how he gets on.”
The hurt of last season, combined with the return of O’Connor and Kennelly and imminent return of Darragh Ó Sé, must inject huge enthusiasm into the Kerry camp. The professionalism Kennelly brings home is sure to lift a young player like Walsh to new heights.
“Yerra, it would. He’s coming from a totally different lifestyle where he is training two or three times a day while we’re just going two or three times a week. It’s good to have a player of that experience on your squad. It’s good to be able to go to him. He knows the story.”
After a two-year absence O’Connor returns to a wealth of new riches. The eldest Ó Sé brother is primed to climb back on the horse, possibly partnering Kennelly in midfield, but this dream ticket may well be disrupted by Walsh’s under-21 team-mate David Moran.
“Jack was my club manager last year so I have experience with him. He is very good, a very knowledgeable man, knows a lot about the game. I’m looking forward to the year now.”
Jack O’Shea’s son, Niall, has also joined the Kerry panel and O’Connor’s younger sibling, Barry John, has graduated from minor to the under-21 ranks and could conceivably take the next leap, like his brother, in just one year.
The midfield conundrum requires deep thought with plenty of trial and error to unearth the right combination. With Moran and Kennelly best suited to the middle, Darragh Ó Sé, along with Séamus Scanlon and Tommy Griffin, has a fight on his hands.
Walsh could also be accommodated in midfield or back alongside Kieran Donaghy in the “Twin Towers” full forward line.
For now, though, he and Moran are being left off senior duties, starting with next week’s trip to league champions Derry, to focus on the under-21 campaign.
