“A wise man once said to me, you don’t write history, you try to make it”

Honesty – how often have we heard Brian Cody use that word in praise of his players, of his team?

Honesty of effort, that’s what the legendary Kilkenny senior hurling manager looks for above all else in his players, nobody hiding, nobody shirking the hard work.

There’s none more honest on this Kilkenny team than Henry Shefflin. When the need is greatest, that’s when the man they call the King is at his greatest. So many times in his long career that’s been the case and this year again, as Kilkenny won its ninth All-Ireland title in the 14 seasons of Cody’s tenure, Shefflin was to the fore.

Against Galway in the second half of their Leinster final humiliation he was the one who led the comeback that restored some Kilkenny pride. Against Limerick in the first half of an All-Ireland quarter-final, Henry’s two goals kept the Cats’ challenge alive. Against Galway in the second-half of the drawn All-Ireland final Henry almost single-handedly dragged Kilkenny back into the contest.

And then in Sunday’s replay, and from the pivotal centre-forward position, he was the master, the maestro, the conductor.

Off the field, Henry Shefflin is just as honest. Through all their generations of success Kilkenny hurlers have built a reputation of being modest and humble, of never glorifying either themselves or their deeds, no matter how great. Modesty doesn’t preclude honesty, however; in fact – and just as Cody does on the field – true modesty demands honesty.

So it is that this week, as he reflects on his and Kilkenny’s record-breaking achievements of the last 14 seasons (and remember, Henry has started in every championship game of that Cody era, that’s 62 consecutive appearances, a record in its own right), Henry acknowledges that what he has achieved, especially in winning an unprecedented ninth All-Ireland senior medal on the field of play, is something extraordinary.

“A wise man once said to me, ‘You don’t write history, you try to make it’ — it’s great now to make a bit of history. It’s a wonderful, wonderful feeling to be honest, something I’ve dreamed about for the last few weeks and now it’s a special occasion.”

They’ll tell you in Kilkenny – the likes of Noel Hickey, who also has nine, eight won on the field, of JJ and Tommy, who are both coming up fast behind Henry on eight apiece – that they don’t keep count, that none of this matters until your career ends and you have time to look back.

Even Henry has said that over the years. Not this time, however; this time, it was unique.

“I think so, yes, this one was a special one. You’d be a fool to say it wasn’t motivational this year – it was of course, for myself. I think when you get older as well every one (medal) you can get your hands on is special, it means a lot more to you. It was always going to be a wonderful occasion but it was a wonderful, wonderful team performance as well which makes it all the more special.”

Adding to his achievement was that for the third time in his career, Henry was coming back from major injury and from the major rehab involved in trying to regain full fitness. On the first two occasions it was the dreaded cruciate; in 2007 it happened in the All-Ireland final against Limerick, Henry doing enough to inspire the win before going off at half-time; in 2010 it was the semi-final against Cork, gone before half-time, and though he still started the final he was replaced in just the 14th minute as Tipperary went on to record a famous victory.

On this occasion it was the shoulder damaged in a club game with Ballyhale Shamrock’s against O’Loughlin Gaels in the Kilkenny semi-final last November. Yet – as a mark of his commitment to his club – Henry finished that game, then took a full part in both the drawn game and replay of the subsequent county final (they lost to James Stephens), before undergoing surgery.

Even for someone of Henry Shefflin’s single-mindedness, it was a long and hard road back, many valley periods. “I’ll be honest, after having the two cruciate injuries I was looking forward to having a clear run at this year, a good pre-season, then look forward to the championship. With this one (the shoulder) I didn’t know what was involved with the rehab, I didn’t know what it entailed and I definitely did struggle. It took me a long time to get going, it was a frustrating injury more than anything else. From that side of it there were two major emotions, a lot of dark days in February and March — even May and June weren’t great for myself; to finally get it turned around, to get the season going, to be here this week — I suppose those are the two contrasting emotions of sport.”

Those days in May and June were the worst of all – all the months of painful rehab behind him yet still no payoff, looking like it might have all been for nought.

“Yeah, I didn’t say it at the time but I remember going for a few pucks the Monday night before we played Dublin in the championship and I couldn’t hit the ball, I had to get back in my car.

Lucky enough Brian (Cody) started me (against Dublin). I wasn’t happy with my performance that day but I suppose the Galway match, the second half of the Leinster final, I felt it was coming a little bit and since then I really drove it on.”

In his case then the Limerick game was much needed, the back-door quarter-final – unfamiliar territory for this all-conquering side. “Oh definitely, for myself yeah but I think for the team as well. We were probably being fooled and the media was probably building us up after the league final (big won over Cork) and the Dublin game as well (another huge win), but to be fair I think both Cork and Dublin would say they were absolutely brutal in both games. We were set up for a fall but it was lucky we had the opportunity of the back-door because I couldn’t see us winning it if we’d kept going like that.”

With Henry now back to full fitness and again driving them on, Kilkenny did get over Limerick, fairly demolished Tipperary in the semi-final, before eventually getting past the dogged challenge of Galway. Nine medals now in the bag, it puts Henry clear of his erstwhile teammate Eddie Brennan and of two greats of former times, Christy Ring (Cork) and John Doyle (Tipperary).

“I’m not much for the stats or the history books, I let that to others, but obviously I’ve heard about them, two unbelievable hurlers. I think it’s a great testament to them back then to have won eight All-Ireland medals when there was no back-door — the longevity of their careers, the toughness of the hurling. They didn’t have the strength & conditioning training we have now and all that goes with it, so for them that was a magnificent achievement.

For ourselves, I think all of this is testament to the team and to the management, to all the support we’ve had.”

It’s great for Kilkenny to have this (his) record.”

He’s not done either and isn’t ruling out the drive for a 10th medal.

“I’d love to say yes, please God, but at this stage of my career I think I’ll just evaluate later in the winter. I’d love to sit down coming up to Christmas and not be coming back from an operation or something and then I’ll think about it. If the body is right, if the mind is right, I think definitely, why not? But just for now I want to soak this up, then get back to club action. Brian (Cody) said it — that’s what makes us, going back to our clubs, all our friendships go out the window! I think that club hurling has stood to Kilkenny strongly, the hurlers are there, which is great.”

Great, yes, but none greater now – officially! – than the great man himself, Henry Shefflin. Long may he reign.