Daly recalls dark days as Cork clash looms
First of all there were the circumstances of how he ended up as the Dublin manager four years ago, a team from the other side of the country. “I’d had a couple of years down in Kilmoyley (Kerry), a lovely place to be, grand for the soul I tell you being down there, loving their hurling.
“I had really enjoyed the three years with Clare (2004/5/6) even though there was bitter disappointment losing the two All-Ireland semi-finals (’05 and ’06).
“I felt I went into it a bit green. I had just played the county final (managed Clarecastle), I was 33 when I took over Clare so I hadn’t much experience. Maybe I felt after a bit of time, ‘I’d like to have another go at this sort of thing’.”
Heading for Dublin and Leinster, he felt, would be different, away from the in-fighting of his home province.
“I think people were saying, maybe not a bad move because Dublin weren’t in Munster. There was a nice bit of work done, a nice bit of raw material to work with and you were going away from taking on Galway and Limerick who were on your border and that kind of thing.
“There would be rivalry, real rivalry but as it turned out we’ve played Clare twice in championship and could meet again. With the backdoor now you can meet anyone. At the time though I didn’t know what I was getting into really.”
It wasn’t long though before Daly’s Dublin began making waves and the National League win of 2011 looked to be the breakthrough the metropolitans had been threatening, a first national title since 1939. Leinster and All-Ireland titles, surely, were now just a matter of time. 2012 gradually put an end to that kind of talk — relegation in the league, opening round Leinster championship hammering by Kilkenny, then beaten again next time out, by his native Clare in Ennis. The Banner’s young team came back from a half-time deficit, down to 14 men, to record a mighty win, but for Dublin and for one of Clare’s favourite sons, it was the ultimate humiliation. He doesn’t run from those times either.
“Look sure we’ve had plenty of dark moments as well. It’s easy talking here today when we know we’re in an All-Ireland semi-final and we’re Leinster champions but there have been plenty of times you’d be driving home saying to yourself, ‘Hi, go way back to your pub and fill porter will ya’.”
Dark moments on that long and lonely drive from Dublin to Ennis when he often began to question himself. “I doubt myself I’d say most days, whether it be not collecting the kids in time. Look it, do you not doubt yourselves at all?
“You know, you write a piece and say, ‘Jaysus, what am I doing this for?’ We’re human. When you have a bad day you have to look at yourself and say, ‘God this is not working, what can we do to change this?’ But if you give up, you give up and that’s the end of that then, you won’t be doing that anymore, you’ll move on to do something else.
“We are only on this planet for so long. This time last year I didn’t know if it was worth it for us on our side of the table — Richie (Stakelum), myself, Hedgo (Ciarán Heatherton) — and for the players; would a fresh voice be the world of good for them at the time because I know they are good lads. I mean they wanted us to stay and we in our souls wanted to stay. We’re glad we did now.”
Rightly so, another glass ceiling shattered as Dublin won Leinster, their first senior hurling provincial title since 1961. Now there remains just the one final title, the All-Ireland, and one team now blocking their way to the final, his old friends from Cork.
It’s going to be a huge challenge, says Daly, the appetite of his charges not even remotely satisfied with what they’ve achieved this year. Winning Leinster was a fine achievement, especially the way it was done, taking the scalps of Wexford, Kilkenny and then Galway in turn, but it’s now just a stepping-stone to greater things.
“To win the Bob O’Keeffe (huge Leinster trophy) was great — we’d mention Bob a few times over the five years so it was nice to have him in the dressing room. But the players are mad for road and as hungry as ever; they’re mad keen, they want more out of it.”
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