Rebel hurlers moving to CIT

THIRD-LEVEL institution Cork IT has signed an agreement with the Cork county board which will see Jimmy Barry-Murphy’s Cork senior hurling panel base their training sessions at the campus in Bishopstown for the 2012 season.

The Rebels will have access to the facilities at CIT which include a 1,200 seat fully covered stadium and aninternational-standard eight lane athletics track. Last year CIT signed a similar agreement with MunsterRugby which saw the Cork based members of Tony McGahan’s squad and academy use CIT’s elite gym as the primary base for their preparations.

Meanwhile, Cork manager Conor Counihan has made seven changes for Sunday’s McGrath Cup semi-final against Cork IT in Páirc Uí Rinn from the team that defeated Clare in last Sunday’s quarter-final. David Lordan will start in goal, Sean Kiely and Paudie Kissane are drafted into the half-back positions, while Pearse O’Neill and Michéal Ó Laoire will form a new midfield partnership.

In attack regulars Patrick Kelly and Paul Kerrigan come into the half-forward line. Ken O’Halloran, Conor O’Driscoll, Aidan O’Reilly, JamesFitzpatrick, Alan O’Connor, Fiachra Lynch and Seanie Cahalane are the players who make way.

Meanwhile the retirements of three senior figures who between them won 20 All-Ireland senior hurling medals, will leave a massive hole in theKilkenny squad, according to former star, Martin Comerford.

PJ Ryan is the latest to call it quits after the earlier departures of Eddie Brennan and ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick. While Kilkenny are in a better position than most to deal with such setbacks, and manager, Brian Cody has an array of underage All-Ireland winners at his disposal, the trio’s abilities andexperience will not be easily replaced.

“It’s going to be a big gap in the panel in my opinion, even from a training point of view” said Comerford yesterday. “Brian likes to play 15-on-15 and if you take ‘Cha’ or Eddie, they would have been testing a player.

“Look at a corner-back. He might be on an inexperienced panel member, whereas Eddie’s experience and speed would have tested him. You’d know what you have going up to Croke Park if you were trying out a new lad. You’d know he was tested on a quality player of Eddie’s standard before you left Kilkenny.

“The same for ‘Cha’, who was part of four lads trying out for midfield. You knew if either of the Michaels (Fennelly and Rice) were good enough to hurl ‘Cha’, they were good enough to hurl any other midfielder in Ireland.

While he is not surprised Fitzpatrick called time on his career after falling down the pecking order, or that Ryan did likewise at 34, Comerford wastaken aback by Brennan’s decision.

“I thought he had another couple of years in him. If you gave him a chance of a goal, he always took the gamble of going for it rather than taking a safe option. You never saw too many of his shots saved, he always sent them low off the sod.

“He was a great man to train and a great leader in that Kilkenny panel. He will be a very big loss. It’s hard to think of a Kilkenny team without Eddie Brennan there.”

CORK (SF v CIT): D Lordan; E Cotter, R Carey, K Harrington; S Kiely, G Canty, P Kissane; P O’Neill, M Ó Laoire; P Kelly, P Kerrigan, L Shorten; C O’Neill, F Goold, K O’Sullivan.

DUBLIN (SF Panel v Kildare): M Savage, S Supple, C O’Sullivan, M Fitzsimons, D Daly, K Connolly, G Brennan, J Small, D Lally, D Byrne, C McKiernan, S Murray, D Treanor, MD MacAuley, E Fennell, R McConnell, P Brogan, R Corcoran, B Cullen, T Quinn, M McCarthy, P Andrews, D Connolly, G McIntyre, K McManamon, B McManamon.

OFFALY (SH v Westmeath): J Dempsey; M Verney, P Healion, S Wynne; E Murphy, R Hanniffy, D Horan; J Bergin, S Kelly; D Dunne, C Egan, B Murphy; S Dooley, D Molloy, S Ryan.