Bennett: Plan to play Déise home games in Kilkenny ‘crazy’

WATERFORD hurling selector Pat Bennett has described county secretary Timmy O’Keeffe’s proposal to stage their “home” Munster championship games in Kilkenny’s Nowlan Park as “crazy” and “a purely political move”.

Bennett, who was part of Davy Fitzgerald’s set-up that delivered the provincial senior title in Thurles earlier this year, said that both management and players wouldn’t countenance the idea of Nowlan Park being designated as their home venue.

“It’s crazy even thinking going outside of Waterford,” said Bennett. “We wouldn’t be for going to Kilkenny to play our matches. That’s no disrespect to Kilkenny but they’re not in Munster and Kilkenny is not Waterford.

“The fact that we don’t have a home venue for any home and away agreement is our own fault. I feel that we should have decided on redeveloping one county ground two or three years ago rather than staying with the two we have now (in Waterford city and Dungarvan), neither of which are sufficient for a senior Munster hurling game. That was the time to build a proper one and for both sides of the county to recognise it as Waterford’s designated county grounds. But it’s the county secretary’s belief if we were to build one now it would be a white elephant because we wouldn’t get matches there.

“Every county in Munster bar Waterford can come to a home and away arrangement for championship matches but we can’t. That’s our own problem. I don’t give a damn what anybody says, mine is a simple view: we can’t hold anyone else responsible but ourselves.”

Bennett is of the mind that O’Keeffe’s comments are merely a comeback at the Munster Council for what happened earlier in the year when the Waterford County Board had to apologise to the Munster Council after suggestions were made that they were part of a plan to have the provincial SHC final in Páirc Uí Chaoimh instead of Semple Stadium if Waterford and Cork won through to it.

“It’s my belief there’s still some bad feeling with the Munster Council after what happened earlier in the year when Waterford suggested moving the Munster final to Cork before we had even qualified for it,’” he said. “These comments are a purely political move and we in the Waterford camp have no interest in that.

“All we’re interested in is Waterford hurling. We’d a good season this year but we want a better one in 2011. Money is the X factor, though. You look at the resources Tipperary have and how much they’ve invested in their hurlers of all ages.

“In that regard, they are the example to follow. The board officials have a job to do but we’ve hurling to play. I, for one, can’t see us ever playing our games in Kilkenny. Every other county in Munster has a grounds to call their own which are good enough to host championship matches.

“We don’t and they are the facts.”