Kelly has the final say

HE was 19 when he first got his hands on a Celtic Cross.

Nineteen years of age and a long career of September memories ahead of him. Or so Eoin Kelly must have thought. The reality has been very different.

Having claimed that All-Ireland title in 2001, Tipp’s tradition demanded that they build on it. They didn’t. Instead, they spent the next eight seasons sitting at home watching either Cork or Kilkenny mounting the Hogan Stand steps.