Tommy Walsh looking to make up for lost time

LEADING FROM THE FRONT: Tommy Walsh of Kerins O'Rahilly's celebrates after scoring a goal during the AIB Munster club senior football championship semi-final against Éire Óg Ennis at Austin Stack Park. Pic: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

Four days after kicking a pair of points for Kerins O’Rahilly’s in their 2009 Munster club quarter-final win over Clonakilty, Tommy Walsh boarded a plane bound for Australia.

His just beginning AFL journey with St Kilda meant the then 21-year-old watched the rest of Strand Road’s provincial campaign from Melbourne. It was a campaign that ended with a one-point Munster final defeat to Kilmurry-Ibrickane.

Not to be disrespectful to the West Clare lads, but had Walsh been in the Gaelic Grounds - and not Australia - that December afternoon 13 years ago, there’s a good chance a different result would have materialised.

On Saturday week, Kerins O’Rahilly’s will contest the Munster club final for only the second time in their history. Walsh, now 34, will not be marked absent on this occasion.

Thirty-five next February, the two-time All-Ireland winner knows he is in the winter of time spent on the edge of the square. And so, Saturday week against Newcastle West isn’t so much about making history as it is not letting another opportunity slip by.

The evidence provided at Austin Stack Park on Sunday suggests the towering full-forward and those fetching paws of his are well placed to grab said opportunity.

After a frustrating start to this summer’s club fare, his has been an impressive about turn in form.

A knee injury in Round 2 of the club championship saw Walsh sit out Rahillys’ next five games. He had no involvement whatsoever in their winless county championship campaign. The club championship final against Templenoe in late October represented his first game back.

What it all meant was that Sunday’s Munster semi-final visit of Éire Óg Ennis was only his second competitive outing in two and a half months.

You certainly wouldn’t have known it looking out at the 34-year-old.

His third minute goal - a Jack Savage delivery touched to the net - was the first championship goal Éire Óg had conceded in eight games and 11 months.

It was Walsh who kicked back-to-back points after David Moran had been sent off, two white flags that not only settled his visibly riled teammates but doubled his team’s lead to four.

And it was he who rose highest to collect a Shane Foley restart directly after Éire Óg had landed the second of two successive points to narrow the margin to the minimum on 56 minutes.

“I don’t have too many of these types of situations left so I am enjoying it,” said Walsh after their 1-9 to 1-8 victory.

“There is a good buzz around the club again, which is great. That hasn’t been seen there for a while. We’ll enjoy the next two weeks getting ready for the big day. That is going to be a huge evening for the club and hopefully we’ll put on a performance.

“I played in the 2009 quarter-final against Clonakilty. I was gone after that. This is only the second time ever that we have had a chance to play in Munster, so we are a privileged bunch.

“We are trying to get the point across to the younger lads that I was 20, 21 for that Munster campaign and it didn’t come again for 13 years. We’re emphasising to the younger fellas to make the most of it. We are in a hugely positive situation, and it might never come again, so make the most of it.” 

They certainly made the most of a difficult situation on Sunday when they found themselves without David Moran from the 22nd minute onward.

“David is obviously a huge player for us. That was seen in the club championship final when he was man of the match and brought us over the line. Losing him, the same as we lost him in last year’s county final, is an awful loss.

“A lot of guys stood up around the middle. Gavin O’Brien, Tom Hoare, and Jack Savage was around there getting on a lot of ball too. We adapted well and didn’t drop our heads when David went off.

“We owed it to David really to get through to the final for the way he has played for us over the last few years.

“We will take a lot from this result because we’ve been on the other side of those games the last four or five years. We’ve been nearly men, really.” 

They’ll be nearly men no more if they can get the job done on Saturday week.