McIntyre wields the axe on familiar heads
Following the recent appointment of John McIntyre as Galway hurling manager, Galway hurling board chairman Miko Ryan reserved a lot of praise for the players for not getting involved in the process of choosing the right man for the job. One player, in particular, he singled out for a pat on the back was 2008 Young Hurler of the Year Joe Canning, who stated that there was no point in anyone getting involved in the election of a manager, as this year’s panel had no guarantee of being next year’s panel. Miko Ryan’s comments no doubt were alluding to the problems that are currently marring the Cork hurling scene, and he was no doubt keen to emphasise that there isn’t the same level of animosity among the Tribesmen.
As it turns out, Canning was spot on when he said this year’s panel mightn’t be around next year, as John McIntyre’s provisional squad highlights. While the likes of David Collins, David Forde, Keril Wade and Iarlath Tannian miss out with injury, and are due to feature in the foreseeable future, there are six of this year’s panel who find themselves left out in the cold. They are, in no particular order: Kevin Hayes, Tony Og Regan, Conor Dervan, Aonghus Callanan, Eugene Cloonan and Alan Kerins.
Dervan and Callanan have featured sporadically over the past couple of years (Dervan was a first-half substitute against Cork this year), while Kevin Hayes started that match, and was a sub against the same opposition in the 2005 All-Ireland Final. The other three omissions, however, are probably more notable.
Tony Og Regan was a regular starter under Conor Hayes, lining out at full-back in their failed bid at All-Ireland glory in 2005. Ger Loughnane didn’t have quite the same faith in him, though he did operate on the edge of the square throughout the league this year, before losing his place for the Championship.
Cloonan, who has suffered with a succession of back injuries in the past, has been on and off the Galway panel for the last few seasons, but with Joe Canning now there as principal free-taker and score-getter he is clearly deemed surplus to requirements.
Then we come to Kerins, who at 31 may have played his final game in a Galway jersey. He made his debut back in 1997, scoring 3-2 on his Championship debut in the Connacht final against Roscommon. He would be a regular fixture in the side for the next decade, featuring on the sides that lost the 2001 and 2005 All-Irelands, to Tipperary and Cork respectively.
When interviewed by ‘Hogan Stand’ magazine back in September 1999, Kerins was asked to give suitable answers to the following two queries-
1. Dislikes About the GAA. 2. How Would You Like To Be Remembered.
He replied by saying:
1. Championship structure and non payment of players.
2. As part of a great All-Ireland winning team
As regards his first answer, he only had one season to enjoy the rewards of the much-talked about player grants, while he has now lost his place on the Galway panel just as they were finally going to compete in the Leinster Championship.
He also never got the chance to be part of a great All-Ireland winning hurling team for Galway, though he was a late substitute for the footballers during their last All-Ireland success in 2001. He also has an All-Ireland club football medal with Salthill/Knocknacarra from 2006, though he also missed out on the same honour in hurling following Clarinbidge’s defeat by Birr in 2003.
McIntyre has stated that Kerins, Cloonan and Regan will be given every chance to force their way back into the fold (Regan is only 25 after all), but should they not return, they can look back at some memorable performances with the Tribesmen down through the years.
Cloonan’s scoring exploits have been well documented, having finished in 2001 as top overall Championship scorer with 5-25, winning an All-Star award in the process. He also had much success with his club Athenry, winning 3 All-Ireland club medals.
Regan showed a lot of promise during his debut season in 2003, where operated at both full-back and centre-back at different periods, and he also did an excellent marking job on Henry Shefflin during the 2005 All-Ireland semi-final, the last game the Cats lost in the Championship.
Kerins, whose brother Mark has been included in the Provisional Squad, produced a number of outstanding performances for Galway, with three in particular standing out. Two of them came against Kilkenny, the first taking place in 2000 when got five points from play off the more than capable Philly Larkin. Then, just last year, he came face-to-face with 2003’s Hurler Of The Year J.J. Delaney and registered four points from play, which no doubt played a part in the Fenian clubman losing out on an All-Star.
The third performance of his which really sticks out came on the biggest day of all. Going into the 2005 All-Ireland final, John Gardiner was being tipped for the coveted Hurler Of The Year award, having dug his side out of a major whole in the semi-final against Clare. While he still had a very good game for the Rebels that day, he also found himself up against a very much in-form Kerins, who notched three points from play for himself, as the other Galway forwards struggled to get going, with the possible exception of Ger Farragher. In the end, Sean Og O’ hAilpin, who played against Kerins in the 1994 All-Ireland Minor Final, had to be moved onto him, which was a compliment in itself.
Unfortunately, all this in the past and John McIntyre has to move forward for the benefit of Galway hurling. His omission may seem a bit harsh as he did have a good year in 2007, and he did go into the Cork game this year suffering from concussion, but he isn’t quite the player he once was, which is understandable given his advancing years.
McIntyre will probably want to build a young team, with a few older heads thrown in for good measure. Kerins’ best position was always as a wing-forward, and perhaps McIntyre feels that fresher legs are needed in this position. Kerins has also been kept busy off the pitch over the last few years with his ‘Alan Kerins Africa Project’ proving to be a big success. This may have made it that bit harder to put in the same commitment as previous years.
It is also quite possible that John McIntyre is trying to show that he isn’t going to display favouritism (McIntyre managed Kerins with Clarinbridge), and that you will have to earn a place in the final panel like everyone else.
Apart from the ones left out, the squad is also notable for a few returning faces, and some new additions. David Tierney, who was dropped from the panel last year, has returned with a point to prove, while Niall Hayes will want to show that he can bring his club form onto the inter-county set-up.
Damien McClearn is also an interesting inclusion having been touted as a possible solution to the full-back problem by a number of people. He had previously been asked to come in following his performances for Loughrea in 2006/2007 but he declined at the time. He is there now though and will have every chance to show what he can do.
Others like Eoin Forde, Ciaran O’Donovan, Kevin Huban and Joe Gantley will also be eager to impress and will get the chance to do so sooner rather than later with the Walsh Cup just around the corner.
The Galway manager’s job is a massive challenge for the Tipperary native, but one that he is fully aware of, and he has already began his plans for next year with the announcement of this provisional panel, and will look to hit the ground running when the New Year comes.