A cross-county dual mandate

PAUL KINNERK takes you through his week. On Monday night, he trained with the Limerick senior footballers.

Tuesday saw him bound for the gym. On Wednesday he put the Clare minor hurlers through their paces. He was back with Limerick training last night. Tonight he will be with the Clare minors again. And tomorrow evening in the Gaelic Grounds he’ll put on a Limerick jersey, slip into one of the substitute seats in Mackey Stand and be ready if Maurice Horan thrusts him into action against Kerry.

He freely admits that life is hectic. The demands of an inter-county player are intense enough without lobbing an underage training position into the mix. Yet this year, Kinnerk has been double-jobbing, successfully juggling his role as the Clare minor hurler trainer with his ambition to break into the Limerick senior football setup. At 25 years of age, it is a remarkable dual mandate.

Some days are crazier than others. Three weeks ago, Limerick travelled to Swords on a Sunday morning to face Down in a challenge match. Kinnerk drove up on his own and after the game went on the M6 and pointed his car in the direction of Ballinasloe. The Clare minors were playing Dublin at six and Kinnerk fulfilled his promise to be present.

By the time he arrived home to Cratloe that evening, he had covered over 500km of road and passed through 10 counties in a whirlwind trek around the country.

“I just accept every Sunday night, that the week ahead will be manic,” he said. “At this stage, I’d find it strange just to be sitting around, watching TV or relaxing. I’m outevery night of the week and my girlfriend Maggie is patient in that regard. At times it’s mad, for example some Saturdays I train the Clare minors at 7.30am in Clareabbey and then I’d be in Martinstown at 11.30am for Limerick training.”

The plan this year was to focus solely on his own playing career. Kinnerk, a PE and Maths teacher in St Caimin’s in Shannon, had answered the county call at minor and U21level, and dipped his toes briefly into the senior waters during the tenures of Liam Kearns and Mickey Ned O’Sullivan.

But midway through 2007, he smashed his shoulder in a club game with Monaleen and a long spell on the treatment table ensued.

“I did the shoulder rehab, but when I came back in 2008, I dislocated it again. I got keyhole surgery after that, came back playing and did the shoulder for a third time. At that stage I was getting seriously disillusioned and thought about packing it in.”

He persevered and was rewarded. In November 2009, Dr James Colville, who lists Ruby Walsh and Brian O’Driscoll amongst his previous patients, put Kinnerk under the knife in the Santry Sports Clinic. The operation was a success. Kinnerk went back playing football last July and in October lined out at midfield as Monaleen claimed the Limerick senior county title. His displays put him on the radar of new county football boss Maurice Horan. When Horan came last December with the offer to join the senior panel, Kinnerk jumped at it. The only snag was he felt his time with the Clare minors was drawing to a close.

“I met the two managers Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor for a cup of coffee and said I couldn’t see myself going back into it. During the time out with my shoulder, the hurling training had been hugely enjoyable. I’d started off with Sean Stack and the Sixmilebridge U21s, then done Dr Harty teams with Caimin’s, before the Clare minors lads rang me about getting involved last year.”

That call was the start of a wonderful odyssey through 2010. Kinnerk regards Clare’s win overTipperary in a breathless finish inEnnis last May in the Munster MHC as one of his greatest sporting highlights. They went on to win provincial honours in July and only Kilkenny stopped them claiming the All-Ireland in September.

“I was nervous starting off last year but I knew a lot of them from Caimin’s, which was a big help. I got a great buzz working with them. It’s easy to get on when there’s not a massive gap between the ages and since I’m still playing, I can relate with them better.”

Walking away from the Clare camp was not easy and he was lured back in. In December, he brokered a deal with the management so they could organise the schedules to suit him. From January on, he threw himself headfirst into both squads.

Every week, Kinnerk rings Horan for the Limerick senior football itinerary for the week ahead and then relays that information to Moloney and O’Connor. The Clare minor hurling plans are drafted accordingly.

“So far, so good,” he said.

“Clare are in the Munster minor semi-final in a few weeks and then making the Limerick panel for the Kerry match is fantastic after the injury problems. It’s championship days like that make it worthwhile. It’s a lot of hard work but I love it. I wouldn’t be doing it if that wasn’t the case.”