Kelly’s heroines ready for Banner test

AFTER having had his arm twisted to train All-Ireland junior camogie finalists Offaly — by his daughter Aoife —– double All-Ireland medal winner Joachim Kelly quickly found out what he had let himself in for.

He has taken them to Croke Park for this Sunday’s decider against Clare having realised that it would require much more than utilising the experience he gained playing with the county and managing in Westmeath and Wexford.

And he wasn’t just talking about organising the things that don’t really bother any inter-county GAA manager, like raising sponsorship or providing meals after training where possible. Although a former Garda and married, he had to brush up on his inter-personal skills too.

“You can’t eff and blind as much,’’ he joked. “They’re a bit different. With the fellas you can really get stuck in. But you have to take a step back from the girls.”

Aoife had been a member of the team for a few years and when she and a few friends asked him 12 months ago if he would give them a year, he was initially very reluctant. But, he relented and set about putting a management team in place which includes former Offaly team-mate Mark Corrigan (who also has a daughter in the panel).

“They were last in the final in 2001 when Tipperary beat them fairly comprehensively. Last year they were very poor,’’ he commented.

One of his first priorities was to have a sufficiency of new sliotars for training on a regular basis and, of course, plenty of hurleys.

“I was manager, but I was also trying to get a bit of sponsorship. We raised money ourselves rather than trying to go to the County Board. It’s a big thing to try and run a county team, but things have improved since we got to the final.’’

In training, the concentration was on improving their hurling – more so than working on their fitness.

“We worked fierce hard on our skill levels and competitive matches in training and we increased the panel to 30. We wanted to have 15-a-side in training.”

Interestingly, the panel features a 13 year-old, Debbie Flynn, who also has a sister in the panel. From the Kilcormac club, she has won medals all the way up to under-18 and senior ‘B’ level.

Returning to GAA headquarters this Sunday will rekindle a lot of happy memories for him, his last appearance being in the 1993 Leinster final against Kilkenny. “I finished my last ten minutes on DJ (Carey). He scored nothing,’’ he says proudly.

Having lost to Clare already in Ennis by three points, he’s encouraged by improvements.

And they have been boosted by the return from America of one of Tina Hannon. “She’s very good and very fast. Just like Eddie Brennan!’’