Gavin shuts door on dual role for Kilkenny

All-Ireland winning Dublin football manager Jim Gavin has indicated he’s not prepared to accommodate a dual role for Ciarán Kilkenny in 2014.

County hurling boss Anthony Daly asked Kilkenny, a Dublin U21 hurler last season, to play for the senior team this year and is awaiting a response. The Castleknock clubman played in both All-Ireland minor finals in 2011 and is rated as one of the most promising young hurlers in the country.

But Gavin’s comments that he doesn’t believe it is possible to combine both at the highest level and that a player would have to choose one or the other appear to shut the door on any dual role.

“I’ve said it before, I don’t think you can [do both] at the elite level,” said Gavin. “I don’t think it can be achieved. We’ve always left it open to the players to make that decision.

“We’ve set out our plans, as we did last year and our vision for the coming season. It’s up to the players to either say, yeah, they want some of that or make a different decision. That’s my view on it.”

Asked if he was stating that it isn’t possible to combine both and that a player would have to choose between codes, Gavin nodded.

“At the elite level, I don’t believe you can [do both], no,” he added.

Gavin has guided Kilkenny to All-Ireland title successes at U21 and senior level in the last two years. The 20-year old lined out for Dublin in the New Year’s Eve Dubs Stars football challenge which they won thanks to a six-goal haul. But the former AFL rookie has never hid his love of hurling and stated after September’s All-Ireland senior football final win that he still held ambitions of playing for the county hurlers.

“I suppose lads have done it in the past like Teddy McCarthy and stuff but I don’t know,” he said at the time. “I’d love at some stage to play a bit of hurling as well.”

Kilkenny rejected similar advances from Daly 12 months ago. Gavin said he hasn’t spoken to his young forward about the current situation.

“That hasn’t been discussed,” said Gavin. “We’ve just got the squad together over the last number of days.”

Dublin play Westmeath in their opening O’Byrne Cup game in Mullingar on Sunday. The opener will pit Gavin against new Westmeath manager Paul Bealin, a Dublin team-mate from the All-Ireland winning team of 1995.

“He’s a very good friend,” said Gavin. “He’s got a very good managerial background, both at club and inter-county level.”

All-Ireland winning captain Stephen Cluxton looks set to continue leading the team in 2014, with Gavin stating there has been no change.