Why Walsh savours Killarney

AIDAN WALSH was hooked from the start. From his home in Kanturk, he can reach Fitzgerald Stadium in less than an hour and, growing up, there was plenty mystique surrounding Cork and Kerry football clashes in Killarney.

He has vivid memories of being carted off for Munster senior championship matches, yet it is a day when the rain teemed down in June 2002 he remembers most rather than any sun-drenched afternoons.

The hostelries in Killarney had been packed earlier that day as the images were transmitted from Suwon where Ireland and Spain were slugging it out in the World Cup. After Ireland’s penalty shoot-out defeat, a scrappy Munster semi-final clash ensued amidst torrential downpours with the teams tied at 0-8 apiece at the finish. But, for the 12 year-old Walsh, the absence of fireworks on the pitch did not matter when he secured a cherished memento at the final whistle.

“After the match I was calling Colin Corkery as he was walking off. He came over and gave me his jersey through the fence. It was class. I was absolutely drenched but didn’t really care as I had his jersey. We used to go back to every game in Killarney when I was younger but 2002 is one I’ll always remember.”

Eight years on he had moved from being peripheral on the terraces to standing under the spotlight on the field. Last June he boarded the Cork team bus as one of the men primed with the task of dismantling Kerry. His previous senior experience consisted of a brief cameo against Limerick in the 2009 Munster final and last year’s National League campaign.

Yet, on his first championship start, Walsh impressed with his ball-carrying and aerial prowess. The other memories of that day are his wild shooting but Walsh has a positive approach and he viewed those misses as constructive.

“I’d never really be a fella who’d dwell on stuff. When I kicked bad wides, I just thought they’re gone now and it was time to move on. I really enjoyed the day and I know it sounds strange but I was kind of happy that those misses happened. I learnt so much more from it than if the points had gone over. And I felt I was all the better for it for the rest for the championship.”

His subsequent performances reflected that. By the season’s end he was an All-Ireland senior medal winner, Young Footballer of the Year and an All Star midfielder. His willingness to absorb tips from those who had been there before served him well. For Cork’s away trips last summer he roomed with Nicholas Murphy and relentlessly probed him for advice on midfield play. When the final whistle sounded in Croke Park last September, his first recollection was of Murphy wheeling towards him in celebration.

“He was a guy I always looked up to and he was a massive help. I found talking with him helpful when I was marking the likes of John Galvin and Micheal Quirke. They’re very big men and it’s very tough to try and catch a ball over them. But the toughest guy I found to mark all year was Michael Dara MacAuley of Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final.”

2010 was not without its regrets though. He was a bystander for Cork’s two Munster U21HC games in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, with the underage grade a victim of his hectic schedule last July. As he has got older the demands have intensified and he is no longer able to juggle the commitments he used to. Growing up Walsh was used to a manic games programme.

In 2008 he lined out for a staggering 18 teams between both codes at intercounty, school, colleges, club and divisional levels. That year, Walsh featured in five championship matches in the 14-day period between April 24 and May 7. One Thursday afternoon he shot 0-4 from centre-back as Coláiste Treasa lost an All-Ireland Vocational SBHC final to Nenagh VS after extra-time and the following night he curled over a sideline ball at the death to rescue a draw for Kanturk against Newmarket in the Duhallow U21AFC final. It was crazy, yet he never complained.

“You wouldn’t even know what burnout is at that age. You’re just going from game to game, playing away and you’re happy out. Now you’d realise how mad a schedule it was. It’s tougher now, but I’m really hoping to push for a place on the U21 hurling panel this year. It was my biggest regret last year, I hated watching on from the stands. Ciarán (Sheehan) and Mark (Collins) are in the same boat and we’re hoping to get some hurling work in after the Munster final.”

Hurling still plays a big part in his life. Growing up in Kanturk, goalkeeper Anthony Nash was who he looked up to and it was Nash that used to drag himself and current Cork hurler Lorcan McLoughlin to the gym to introduce them to weights programmes. He credits Jim O’Sullivan from Banteer, who coached him in Duhallow underage hurling sides, as a major influence. And, in his spare time, he has his own workshop where he makes hurleys, having got a grant from a Duhallow FÁS scheme, and lists Tipperary senior Noel McGrath as one of the customers for his sticks.

But those interests will all be parked this week. Next Sunday is his focus. He’s no longer a fan yet those trips to Killarney are still something to savour.