Joey Holden Ballyhale's most consistent hurler says Eoin Cody

CONSISTENCY: Eoin Cody has hailed his Ballyhale Shamrocks’s team-mate Joey Holden as the club’s most consistent hurler. Picture: Ray McManus/Sportsfile

Eoin Cody has hailed his Ballyhale Shamrocks’s team-mate Joey Holden as the club’s most consistent hurler.

The 35-year-old was excellent at full-back against Kilcormac-Killoughey on Sunday and Cody has compared him to some of the club and county’s greats.

“He's like a fine wine, so he is. I suppose people might have an image of Joey, or maybe a stereotype of Joey around the county, around the country, in terms of hurling. But in Ballyhale and definitely in Kilkenny, in terms of club hurling, I reckon, aside the likes of TJ, Mick Fennelly, Joey Holden is the most consistent club hurler to ever wear a club jersey in the Kilkenny championship. In terms of how good he is day-in, day-out, eight or nine (out of 10) performances always.

“In terms of Kilkenny club hurling, and even going on to the All-Ireland finals, Joey has been the most consistent person to wear a Ballyhale jersey. Whether it's championship, county finals, All-Ireland finals and league games, Joey always brings that. I suppose he epitomises what it is to wear a Ballyhale jersey.” 

Cody, who himself scored five points in Shamrocks’s opening Leinster game, admitted there was a comedown after the county final where they became the record holders of the senior county championship with last month's win over O'Loughlin Gaels.

“Look, it's been two weeks since we won the county final. First time in two years after it was the low of losing two years in a row. To get back to that high and to go back on top with 21 county titles. It's been the highest of highs so it was hard obviously to bring it back.” 

Cody wasn’t close to the unsavoury scenes at the end of the game but acknowledged things “probably did go a bit out of hand”. He said: “I had no idea what happened. It was a hard-hitting, fair game. I thought there was a lot of lovely hurling. Obviously, Charlie Mitchell put on a display for Kilcormac. Look, [Adam] Screeney does what he does. He's a brilliant hurler as well but I thought Mitchell was outstanding.

“I thought they had some lovely plays, lovely scores. Similar to us, between Adrian [Mullen] there, TJ, Niall Shortall, Paddy Mullen, Liam Barron at the end. There was lovely hurling at the end. That was a game with a lot of hurling. I can't have too much complaints. I suppose at the end, it probably did go a bit out of hand but I couldn't tell you what really happened, to be honest.”