15 All Ireland Hurling finals over Sixteen years and of course the Ten for Hen for King Shefflin!. The Super Almighty Kilkenny Cats extended their lead to what is now an amazing honour for any County to hold 35 Titles and Lolly was there in the heart of the clash of the ash at Croke Park to Witness it all including the after party & amazing Banqueting Meal back at the City West with the Super Heroes who are clearly masterminded by the one and only Manager Brian Cody.
I was honoured to amongst it all and to Witness Ten-ry Shefflin’s 10th All Ireland Final was a very emotional experience for me (I may even had a few tears!) The man is unstoppable, the Team are unbreakable and Cody is well what can I say! He is a pure genius, I even got to steel a wee kiss on the cheek from him. I’m never going to wash my lips again! What a weekend. What a privilege to be in the middle of it and such a nice bunch of lads including the County Board. Complete Irish Kilkenny Gentlemen!
For me the game clearly comes down to this. The best Team won on the day and I personally slam the Begrudgery that the lads get from other Counties whom are clearly bitter at the end of the day.
It is very sad to see for a sport that is so family and community orientated. Isn’t it all suppose to be a craic at the end of the day? When an All Ireland Title is on the line men of huge bravery and commitment pull out all the stops. Kilkenny raised the skill and the intensity of a GAA game to new levels for me. I am even more addicted now than I have been throughout my years when I was only the size of a little shirt button!
I have never seen so many hooks and blocks in a game of hurling in my life. The atmosphere was electric on Hill 16 what an almighty day! For part of the game I couldn’t look. At one stage I had to run down for a Crunchie Bar and a can of coke to bring my sugar levels back up I was in a weakness with getting over the flu but there was no way I was missing that action the weekend!
In fairness to Cody and the lads they work very hard for where they are today. They had a plan for the replay. They knew exactly what they had to do to win. They stuck to it and they Won and candy coat that whatever way you all like!
To all the Begrudging Counties & People Get over it, their hard work and dedication has paid off and you can’t take that away from them. Kilkenny won by 2-17 to 2-14 to Tipp. Not a massive win but it’s the Almighty Super Cats that got it over the line.
Thanks to the two Brothers John and Ritchie Power, who scored the two goals to win us the 35th Title! Of course, we can’t forget to mention the up and coming and truly talented Kilkenny Minor Team whom also won their 21st Title against Limerick with an amazing score of 2-17 to 0-19.
To be honest I am still recovering from the excitement and celebrations of the win and I believe the lads are still at it and rightly so, well deserved with Tommy Walsh kidnapped from his Home yesterday by the whole team and brought off on a bus for a well deserved session in Urlingford!
Kilkenny never seize to amaze me. What we witnessed last Sunday in the second half of the game was sheer skill and master minding from Cody after his chat with the boys in the dressing room at half time. The Team came out fighting in their pursuit of victory! And Victory is what they got
So the questions are pondering away in your heads will Cody Step down after getting the team this far? I asked him this at the Banqueting Meal and he replied “He refuses to lie down, he has more of an ambition now then ever to drive on” and smiled back at me and that’s the fighting spirit why this Team now have 35 Titles! Cody blasted doubters back at the City West “How dare you question our spirit” He said “It was an absolutely brilliant performance from start to finish, our attitude was top class!, again what shone through was our spirit! “That was a super win” he added “It was outstanding because the challenge was top class.
Cody’s exact words were: “The players drove on with sheer determination. They weren’t going to be stopped. They were superb. We have an excellent panel. People make stupid assertions and assumptions about us, about the pace of our back line. Seamus Callanan was clean through in the first half. J.J. Delaney got a hook on him that was magnificent. That was top class defending from an incredible player.
“It just went on and on. Things like that were made happen all over the field” Cody was absolutely thrilled for Henry Shefflin. He went on to say “Henry is an outstanding athelete. What he has done is a terrific achievement, and especially so for a fellow who has had the most serious injury any sports person could have, not just once but a couple of times. “He showed a magnificent attitude to keep going. The fantastic thing is that he won all the medals on the field as well.
Kilkenny didn’t deserve to win on the day in my opinion. They EARNED it! Like they do every other year. They are truly a talented team and I would like to wish them many more of them for the future. I would also like to wish Brian Cody a lot more of them too, what a nice genuine man.
So for now on Kilkenny Hurling over and out from Lolly until next year where I will report on more shenanigans. I have every intention of being that little old granny screaming and shouting in the middle of all my grandchildren on Hill 16 for Kilkenny where they are pretending not to know me with Cmon the Cats written on all over my forehead 😉
Love, Live, Inspire
Lolly xxxxx
