The Championship game where players almost outnumbered spectators

KILKENNY footballers know their place in the scheme of things.

Clear evidence is in the Kilkenny People and Kilkenny Voice, neither of which carried a single line on their preliminary round clash with London in the Tommy Murphy Cup on Saturday.

Not that any publicity would impact on the attendance in Freshford. A quick hand count registers just 40 people inside the grounds of St Lachtain’s, the club of Kilkenny senior hurling star, Michael Kavanagh.

Driving there you can collect a necklace of hurling villages and towns, match the places with great hurling names of the past, but the sound and colours of Championship football are absent today. However Kilkenny and London, like any team in any grade, deserve their few paragraphs in this summer’s GAA story.

It’s a cliché now but football continues to be hurling’s poor relation in Kilkenny. Men like manager Tom ‘Cloney’ Brennan (brother of Mick who won four hurling All Stars in 1970s) and his selectors Joe Brennan, Eoin Maher, Tommy Duggan and Dick Mullins continue to fight against the grain. For example, many of their inter-county footballers had to play club hurling championship last Thursday and Friday night, and preparation for the Tommy Murphy Cup consisted of a single get-together the Saturday before — six weeks after the conclusion of their first participation in an NFL campaign since 1999.

“We had a great response from the players here but there are demands from the hurling clubs once the (football) league was over,” says Tom Brennan. “The managers of the hurling clubs demanded all the lads back. It’s very hard to play both codes, because 95% of them play hurling as well.

“We beat London 1-13 to 0-12 in the league, but we haven’t played football for six weeks — it showed straight away out there today. The hand-passing was diabolical. Our lads need to be playing football every week but it’s not possible at this time of the year with the hurling Championships.”

Their sole win this season came against the Exiles in Nowlan Park prior to an NHL game. A big day in front of their biggest ever attendance for a football match. Kilkenny’s best player on Saturday was Eddie Brennan who notched 0-5. No, not the man from Graigue-Ballycallan, tormentor of hurling defences, but Eddie from the Erins Own in Castlecomer and nephew of the manager. Despite his position as the county’s pre-eminent footballer, he admits he prefers the small ball.

“Hurling is my number one, but apparently I’m better at football!” he laughs. “There are stronger family connections with hurling more than the football but there’s a good connection with football as well. My father and his brothers played with Railyard, which is a famous club going back a few years.”

Brennan is also on Brian Cody’s extended training panel but would love to see football get a fair shot at county level. “Time is everything. We can’t get lads together. Even for the Wicklow league game, we couldn’t get lads together. It’s hard with lads so committed to the hurling.

“The good thing about that team there is that we’re going to stick together. The lads are very interested in the football, a lot of new lads came on today and hopefully they’ll come back early next year and give it another go.”

THE future for London footballers is looking brighter, however. Playing a good, direct brand of football, they will fancy their chances against Sligo in next Saturday’s first round match in Ruislip. Numbers are on the increase as well — transfer requests from Irish people wanting to play Gaelic games in London have doubled this year as recession takes hold in Ireland. “I have signed 200-250 transfer request forms for players moving from Ireland to London this year already,” said Niall Erskine, secretary of London GAA board. “That is double last year’s number and it won’t end at that. We are heading for dramatic increases.”

However, while recession bites in Ireland and workers are forced abroad, others make a lifestyle choice to move to London. Like centre back and former Galway All Ireland under 21 medal winner (2002), Eamon Ó Cuiv — the great grandson of Eamon De Valera and son of Minister Eamon Ó Cuiv, who made the journey to watch his son. A more cynical observer might say Minister O Cuiv’s party are responsible for Eamon junior having to move abroad but the fully trained solicitor is there by choice. “I’m working with an Irish firm McCann/Fitzgerald who’ve an office in London. I’m there since February. I was over on secondment and was offered a permanent job.

“A lot of guys go over because it could be a lifestyle choice — some people go there looking for work, depending on their circumstances. When you’re over there, I think it’s important for people to go out and meet people. It’s a good way to meet Irish lads over there. And no better way than to play football with them.”

O Cuiv plays for Fulham Gaels, a thriving senior club which also has former Tyrone minor and U21 Marty Hughes on its books. Centre fielder Paul Geraghty played league with Galway this year as has Alan Raftery in the past while half back Paul McDermott has lined out for Leitrim. They could rattle managerless Sligo on Saturday who will also travel to Ruislip without star midfielder Eamon O’Hara.

The game itself was over as a contest after just 25 minutes with goals from Raftery, Hughes and Eoin Henry making it 3-7 to 0-0. It finished 4-13 to 0-8. London’s Donal Conlon was red-carded in the 52nd minute and manager Brian McBrearty intends taking Conlon’s case to the CCCC.

There won’t be any saturation coverage of Conlon case’s in the papers like those of Paul Galvin, Marc Ó Sé or Conal Keaney, but Conlon is an important cog in London’s wheel.

Just as Kilkenny and London are important parts in the GAA summer season.