Richie Power: Kilkenny must enter real world or All-Ireland wait will become lengthy famine

Richie Power Sr explains in striking terms what he considers Kilkenny hurling’s current detachment from hard realities.

Kilkenny’s TJ Reid leaves the field dejected after defeat to Limerick in this year's All-Ireland final Photo: ©INPHO/James Crombie

“If we don’t come into the real world,” Richie Power Sr stresses, “the nine years Kilkenny will be without an All Ireland in 2024 could easily become 19 years.” 

The publication of Power: A Family Memoir this month counts as a hurling event. The book naturally leads on the playing careers of father and son. But there is a world of thoughtful comment between the lines, quite aside from compelling portraits of difficulties overcome and successes achieved.