Barry Hennessy: Kilmallock ready for Limerick SHC "standard bearers" Na Piarsaigh

LESS than two weeks after celebrating on the hallowed turf of Croke Park with the Liam MacCarthy Cup in one hand and new daughter Hope in the other hand, Barry Hennessy accepts he does need to “recentre” himself to be ready for the Bon Secours Limerick SHC.

"It’s crazy at the moment," he smiled when recapping the high of wining a third All-Ireland title just weeks after the birth of his daughter. 

"I’m coming off such a high and have to re centre and come back down to get out with the club this week. It is always great to come back to the club and I’m just really looking forward to the weekend. This year and the last couple of years with Covid it has been extremely difficult but in fairness to John (Kiely) he has always been welcoming to lads that haven't been on the starting 15 to go back to their clubs and get game time. It can be hard because training days would clash and last Thursday night was the first time that I was back with Kilmallock this year apart from having a look at a couple of session during the year," outlined the goalkeeper of combing club and county.

"In one way it’s hard to get back into whatever system or style of play that you are playing with your club as opposed to the county but again you are going back to where you started and with all your friends and at this stage we know each other inside out and you would hope that the transition will be seamless."

It’s three All-Ireland SHC titles, three Munster SHC titles and two Allianz Leagues in the green and white of Limerick for the sub-goalkeeper and with in the green and white of Kilmallock’s it’s three Limerick SHC titles.

But the last Daly Cup crown for Kilmallock was 2014 with their last county final appearance in 2017.

"Kilmallock was there before this current crop and will be there after but of course we want to win as much as we can while we are playing. We have been very lucky with the group that we have that we have won two or three county titles but yes we would be trying to develop the next age group coming through and we would have some like Shane O’Brien, who is a year shy but he is training with us and there is Conor Hanley Clarke who was with the Limerick U20s. We have a couple of lads coming through and it’s great to blood them and get them involved and let them see what is involved in club senior hurling because I can remember when I started it was complete different to underage and it is a step up. It is nice that these guys are getting experience. A lot of them are coming from academies and involved in high standards and fit seamlessly in," outlined Hennessy.

Just like last year the championship opens with a Kilmallock v Na Piarsaigh battle this Saturday evening (7.30), in which The Balbec shocked the city side last year before eventually losing to Doon in the county semi final.

"It’s year on year, we seem guaranteed to play each other but it’s great because you are coming up against the standard bearers in Limerick and they are the matches you want to play in - you want to play the best and measure yourself off them," said Hennessy of Na Piarsaigh.

"It’s a great game for us to kick-off the championship because we know we literally have to be at the top of our game or the outcome won’t be what we want. It’s a nice one to get us focused," he said of a Kilmallock team again managed by Tony Considine but now coached by former Galway hurler Rory Gantley.

After this evening, Kilmallock will play Ballybrown before learning if their third game will be a semi final, quarter final or relegation play-off.

"It’s a product of Covid - over the last few years we would have had more games and could have built a bit of momentum but everyone is in the same boat and they have county players trying to fit back into their club. It’s a level playing field and now we are just all trying to get whatever momentum we can from training and challenge games."