DJ Carey: Kilkenny shouldn’t apologise for football’s low standing

Kilkenny hurling legend DJ Carey has expressed huge disappointment with last weekend’s 71-point defeat to Wexford in the Leinster minor football championship – but insisted that county board chairman Ned Quinn should not have apologised for the mauling.

Carey, who first chose football over hurling as a juvenile player, insists that board officials are doing all in their power to develop the big ball code in the county, and insisted that “no team should be beaten by that amount, particularly in football”.

The 0-1 to 17-20 hammering was discussed at a county board meeting on Tuesday evening and Carey reflected: “A result like that is very disappointing, to be fair. I would like to see football stronger.

“People might not believe it but while football is not at a standard in Kilkenny where it is in Kerry, Dublin or Donegal, there’s still a very decent standard.

“I would see Kilkenny being able to compete with half the counties in Ireland at U12, U13 or U14 level. Unfortunately, or fortunately, you have to look at it and say that the success of the hurling team has been so massive, that everyone wants to hurl.

“Take for example my son Sean – he was waiting on a call and waiting and waiting last year, hoping to get a call for the Kilkenny minor panel which never came.

“That’s the ambition of young fellas but he was quite a good footballer coming up along as well at that level.

“I think Kilkenny will have to look at it and say, we’re going to put out a team to compete, and that might not mean win, but compete.

“I’m slightly disappointed with the fact that the Kilkenny county board should be ashamed.

“It’s a very nice gesture but I’m not fully agreeable with apologising for anybody going out on a field and getting beaten.”