Kennelly admits Cork charge was planned

ALL-STAR Kerry footballer Tadhg Kennelly has revealed his opening seconds charge into Cork midfielder Nicholas Murphy in the All-Ireland final was premeditated to ‘set the tone for our side’.

Kennelly, who quit AFL side Sydney Swans to return to the Kingdom earlier this year, sprinted from his wing forward position and crashed into Murphy just after the throw-in at Croke Park.

The Listowel man said his actions were meant to send a warning message of “cop that, it’s different this time, boys” to provincial champions Cork who defeated them earlier in the campaign.

He stressed Jack O’Connor and the management were unaware of the plan but revealed he discussed the tactic the night before with room mate and fellow wing forward Paul Galvin. Kennelly makes the revelations in his autobiography, Unfinished Business, which is to be published this week.

He said: “My theory was that I really wanted to set the tone for our side. We wanted Cork to know we were a totally different animal to the one they’d faced three months earlier.”

He added: “As we got to our positions, I looked across at (Paul) Galvin, who nodded, and then positioned myself on the line ready to race in when the referee put the ball in the air. My eyes were almost rolling around in the back of my head. I was like a raging bull.”

Kennelly said he connected ‘perfectly on the chin’ of the Cork man. Sligo referee Marty Duffy awarded a free to Cork but took no action against Kennelly.