‘Brick’ preferred to do his talking on the pitch

Being compared to model Glenda Gilson by his then Waterford teammate Ken McGrath led to Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh keeping as low a profile as possible during his playing days.

Walsh was just 23-years of age when Justin McCarthy appointed him Waterford hurling captain ahead of the 2007 season, a role that gave rise to several media requests and invitations to attend club functions.

Being jibed by his teammates for the regularity at which he was appearing in the local papers encouraged the young captain to steer clear of the media and cut down on his public appearances outside of the whitewash.

“I learnt young. When you are a new kid on the block, a lot of people want to get hold of you. I did a nice bit of local gigs and presenting medals, and there were pictures in the paper and all that.

"I went back to the [Waterford] set-up for pre-season training and I’ll always remember Ken McGrath said to me, ‘oh tis yourself that’s in it, I thought it was Glenda Gilson for a while’, because I was on the paper so much.

"You learn a little bit from that, kept away from it, and my focus was always on playing,” Walsh told the Irish Examiner GAA podcast.

Ever before the Gilson remark, Walsh revealed he was more than content to leave the media spotlight to others.

I am the youngest in my family and I was brought up in a family that maybe would have believed that the fella that gave the big double-page spread on the Saturday or Sunday didn’t play too well on Sunday, so I kept away from it.

"I concentrated on playing throughout my career and kept away from the media. It has been a change in the last couple of weeks for me.”

Walsh, who spent 17 seasons lining out for Waterford, has been encouraged by the county’s start under new boss Liam Cahill.

“Waterford are after having two good wins, but you can’t be getting carried away winning a game in late January against Cork.

"You’d have to be impressed with Liam and what he is doing, bringing a great work ethic to Waterford. The early signs are that it is going well, but it is very early days.”

Dalo's Hurling Show: The media finally catches up with Brick Walsh

Meanwhile, Cork hurling coach Ger Cunningham has recommended free entry to Sunday’s league clash at home to Limerick for the small band of Cork die-hards who followed the team to Mullingar last weekend.

Storm Dennis contributed to an exceptionally small crowd filing through the turnstiles at TEG Cusack Park on Sunday, but dotted among the couple of hundred people huddled together in the main stand were followers of the red and white.

“There were a few Cork supporters in Mullingar, which was great to see. It is a long way to go. A free pass for the Limerick game would be just something to register the fact that they were [in Mullingar],” said Cunningham on the Examiner GAA podcast.

Cork will be without Conor Lehane, Sean O’Donoghue (both injured) and Damien Cahalane (suspended) for the Limerick visit. Returning to the set-up after missing the narrow Westmeath win are Alan Cadogan, Mark Coleman, Robbie O’Flynn, Darragh Fitzgibbon, and Shane Kingston.