‘There were tears in the room’ when Richie Power was told his playing days were over
The minutes apply to the total amount of competitive hurling he played with the county last year. They came in no less than an All-Ireland final as he picked up his eighth Celtic Cross medal, a substitute’s cameo which Brian Cody applauded given only sheer grit and prayer saw Power tog out that day.
Bu Power, officially retired from inter-county activities almost two months, wonders had he taken 12 months out last year he might not now be resigned to watching Kilkenny from the sidelines as he did with his son Rory in Walsh Park last month.
In the space of 10 months in 2015, Power had three operations on his left knee, doubling the number of surgeries he had on the joint since he had cartilage removed when he was 16. The trauma ultimately cost him.
Weeks after turning 30 in December, he was forced to call it a day. “I don’t feel bitter. Regrets? Definitely. If I had been told last January (2015) my knee wasn’t in a good place and that taking 12 months off might prolong my career for another four or five years I would have done that. That wasn’t the case.
“I continued to stay going and I probably pushed my body too much, too hard, to try to get back for an All-Ireland. To put my body through what I did last year to get 12 minutes of an All-Ireland final, it’s probably a regret.
“Walking off the field I didn’t think it was going to be my last time in Croke Park but it turned out that way. If I had have taken 12 months off, who knows? It might be better than it is now but we’ll never know.”
Power was hoping for an injury-free 2015 when he picked up a problem in late January before he suffered another setback in a league game for Carrickshock against James Stephens.
“I don’t remember if it came from twisting or turning or getting a belt but walking off the field that night I was crippled. Whether it was wear and tear and the knee couldn’t take any more, I don’t know, but that was pretty much when the real hardship started.”
Power’s last operation was in October, which left him on crutches for 11 weeks. The reality of his situation didn’t full sink in for another couple of months. At the time, renowned surgeon Tadhg O’Sullivan tried to break it to him gently.
“There were tears in the room. It was dropped into conversation rather than being sat down face-to-face. After the operation, the surgeon came in and he dropped it in to conversation — ‘your playing days are more than likely over’. I sat there for a few minutes thinking ‘did he actually say that?’ There was anger, there was disbelief driving back up the road.”
Power was hoping against hope O’Sullivan was wrong. “I went and travelled the length and breadth of the country seeing different people. Tadhg Kennelly arranged for me to meet the Aussie Rules doctors as well because his brother is my dad’s boss at work. I looked at different things.
“I met so many different angles to see what they thought. Unfortunately, it came to the one conclusion, which led to the (retirement) decision being made. It took a couple of months to get my own head around it before the announcement was made. A lot of people close to me and a few lads on the panel knew straight away.”
Power continues to keep fit in the gym in the hope of contributing for Carrickshock later this year but the chances are slight as “the likelihood is I might never run again”. He may yet return to goal where he started as a minor for Kilkenny.
If he was selfish, he might like to think Kilkenny would lament his loss this season but he doesn’t believe that will be the case. “As I said, I only played 12 minutes last year, so they are obviously not going to miss me! I’ve been kind of used the last two years more kind of impact-wise.
“Something like that they might miss coming to the last 15-20 minutes of a game but I certainly don’t see it. There are certain guys after making the step-up in the league this year as well so there’s definitely plenty of talent there.”
- Richie Power was speaking at yesterday’s launch of the 2016 An Post Cycle Series. Five monthly events will be held across the country between May and September starting with the An Post Yeats Tour of Sligo on the May Bank Holiday weekend. For more information, visit www.anpost.ie/cycling
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