Moran and De La Salle setting the bar higher
Not that he doesn’t work hard, but there are people up and down the country who work just as hard yet end their careers with nothing.
Kevin? Part of an all-conquering underage team, he came on to the adult scene in De La Salle just as they were reaching their centenary year, with their last SHC final triumph coming in 1914.
Today he has three senior county titles and two Munsters. With Waterford IT he has two Fitzgibbon Cup medals, one as captain. With Waterford he has two Munster medals, a national league medal and just a few weeks ago, his first All-Star award.
“A lovely accolade to have, without a doubt,” he said.
“You’re growing up looking at who were the best hurlers in Ireland any given year and it was seldom any Waterford player was in the mix till 1998.
“Then it started to become more regular through the 2000s. I won’t pretend I wasn’t ambitious to try and get myself up there but I was surprised it happened this year, with Waterford having exited at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage, two All-Ireland semi-finals and two finals after that.
“I feel lucky but you take these things when they come your way. Delighted too but it sets high standards, you must stay on top of your game now.”
The next standard now for Kevin and his De La Salle team-mates is an All-Ireland club title. Yes, they must first win in Munster again, overcome Thurles Sarsfields in Páirc Uí Chaoimh this Sunday, and their focus over the last couple of weeks has been on that game.
But after winning Munster twice, they must now set the bar even higher for themselves.
“You have to be ambitious if you want to reach the top. We’re not looking beyond the Munster club final. You can’t, it would be crazy to do that.
“But that doesn’t mean you can’t dream of winning an All-Ireland club title, that would be the highest achievement this club ever had, or ever would have, most likely, especially when you consider where we’ve come from.”
In that sense De La Salle are lucky that in their ranks they already have the likes of Kevin Moran and John Mullane, All Stars both, but they also have several members of the All-Ireland-winning De La Salle college teams of 2007 and 2008 (one bit of bad timing by Kevin, missed out by only a year or two) along with coach Derek McGrath. That experience will be a help.
“They all have that winning mentality, so hopefully that does have a positive impact.
“They know what it takes, and Derek is an ambitious guy. He’s going to want to win All-Ireland titles for this club, I know that.”
Until they win that title, he says, De La Salle won’t get the recognition they deserve for what they’ve already achieved, in Waterford and in Munster.
“If you look at the number of teams who have won in Waterford over the years, then look at the number of Munster titles won, you can count them on one hand. For us to win two from two attempts and now in a third final in five years, that’s a huge achievement for this club.
“To go down to Páirc Uí Chaoimh, to go to Semple Stadium, play the Cork champions, the Tipperary champions, the Limerick champions, the Clare champions and to come out as winners, being undefeated in all those games and all, away from home, I don’t think we’ve got enough recognition for that and I don’t think we will unless we go on to win an All-Ireland.
“You have to build on the Munster title but it’s difficult, very difficult — Ballygunner won all those Waterford titles, Mount Sion also, but they couldn’t make the All-Ireland breakthrough. It would be an absolute dream come through if we could win on Sunday and give ourselves that opportunity again. As I said though that’s the focus now, the only focus, to win that game.”
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