'Should I have fired my hurl or rugby tackled him?' - TJ Brennan on Cillian Buckley's final winner

Old rivals Galway and Kilkenny go at it again in another Croke Park final this weekend.

Fri, 19 Jan, 2024 - 00:05

John Fogarty

TJ Brennan will level with you – he’s thought about what he could have done illegally to stop Cillian Buckley scoring the winning goal in last year’s Leinster final.

As Galway and Kilkenny go at it again in another Croke Park final this weekend in the form of St Thomas’ and O’Loughlin Gaels, the Clarinbridge defender could be lining out for the county in a Walsh Cup clash with Dublin.

But it’s not difficult to bring him back to the stunning 11th-hour events of June 11 in GAA HQ last when Buckley’s intervention won the game.

"It was a sucker punch to the gut. When Cillian Buckley got that goal, I was actually only a few yards from him. Thinking back, should I have fired my hurl at him or rugby tackled him or done something different? I think we all had those sorts of questions in our minds after a one-point loss.”

Galway are without championship silverware since 2018 and haven’t win any of their last eight SHC games in Croke Park, losing seven of them, but Brennan doesn’t get any sense of anxiety in the county even when the board are one of the biggest spenders on preparing teams.

"I haven't felt any pressure like that, to be honest. I think we were very unfortunate not to win silverware last year obviously in the Leinster final.

“If you look at other counties, I think Cork are spending huge money too and they've been struggling with Munster and All-Irelands as well. A lot of counties are in the same boat. Limerick have raised the bar so high, we're all just trying to match them. I don't really think about that side of it, really."

Three of those Croke Park defeats have come in All-Ireland semi-finals against would-be champions Limerick. As a student in UL, Brennan knows all about the feelgood factor in the county. “Part of you has to tip your hat to Limerick too and acknowledge that they got their game plan right and their match-ups spot-on. They really just pulled it off.

“We've spoken about it in our camp and hopefully we can find places where we can improve, cutting down on frees and things like that. Another side of you has to just say that the best team also beat us. You have to acknowledge that part too."

As he seeks a third straight Fitzgibbon Cup medal and a starting spot in the Galway backline, Brennan is fortunate to have understanding managers in Brian Ryan and Henry Shefflin.

“I'm trying to make the Galway team as well and that I'm trying to make inroads there, so I feel very fortunate to have that understanding from managers when it comes to my own career."

Following the tragic loss of his girlfriend and inter-county camogie player Kate Moran in April 2022 as she played a league game for her club Athenry, Brennan is thankful for his sport as a release. "Out on the pitch, you kind of forget about real life when you're playing a hurling match. It helps you escape from anything in your own life so, yeah, I love going out on the field, giving it my best and seeing where it can go."