Eoin Kelly: Babs Keating lost the dressing room

Eoin Kelly insists comments he made during his 2010 All-Ireland winning captain’s acceptance speech were not aimed at former Tipperary manager Babs Keating.

Kelly was dropped by Keating for the 2007 All-Ireland quarter-final against Wexford. In his address on the Hogan Stand steps three years later, he said about Keating’s successor Liam Sheedy: “What can any of us say, guys? He came in when the ship was sinking but my God, is that ship sailing today!”

In his Laochra Gael programme on TG4 next Sunday, Kelly clarifies his remarks: “You don’t want to let your emotions get too carried away but you know how much it means to you and the squad. People said to me afterwards that you were getting a dig in at the previous management team in the speech but I can tell this truthfully, that was not the case.”