Paul Murphy keen to atone for Kilkenny’s ‘waste of a year’

Brian Cody has tended to treat the Bord na Móna Walsh Cup like an old college friend, a show of interest every now and then, enough to keep the relationship from crumbling entirely.

Eddie Brennan’s U21s represented Kilkenny last year, received shellackings at the hands of DIT and Offaly that hardly disrupted the senior team’s efforts. Kilkenny didn’t enter the competition at all in 2015 due to the passing of Lester Ryan’s father.

The previous year, 2014, was the last time Cody showed real interest in January fare and it was no coincidence that the previous summer of 2013 had gone so badly for them.