IF YOU FOLLOW Gaelic games, you know about the Fennelly clan. It started with the seven brothers winning three All-Ireland club titles for Ballyhale Shamrocks. Remarkably, the seven of them started two of those finals. In the other, it was six and Dermot was the only sub used.
Four of them started the 1987 All-Ireland final with Kilkenny but the Cats lost. Three of them would achieve ultimate glory with the county. Two of them would be victorious captains. Liam had the honour twice.
Michael’s two lads brought the clan to the forefront in recent years. Michael Jnr and Colin are both former captains, both All-Ireland winners. Michael was hurler of the year in 2011. In total he has six All-Irelands with Kilkenny, two with Ballyhale. He was Cats skipper in 2009, emulating his uncles Liam and Ger.
Colin has two inter-county All-Irelands and one with the club. He captained Kilkenny to League success last year. Michael was man of the match in that game, scoring 2-2. A couple of days later, their sister, Lorna was named Kilkenny Rose.
Such feats of achievement would seem extraordinary in any other family. It’s par for the course with the Fennellys.
The females have contributed to the story on the pitch too. Lorna is a player herself with the Shamrocks and while there were very obvious role models all over the place, the girls had one particular example to follow.
Mary Fennelly was a first cousin of the not-so-secret seven. She won three All-Irelands with Kilkenny and was captain in 1976, when she also happened to be chairperson of the county board. Six years later, she became president of the Camogie Association.
So when the plethora of Fennelly girls emerged – along with first cousin Kellyann Cotterell – it was natural that they would have hurleys thrust into their hands. It was also very likely that they would be good.
The impact was evident last year as Ballyhale – with Michael as selector – won the county intermediate championship, and progressed to the All-Ireland final last March. There were six Fennellys starting and Cotterell was there too. Three more Fennellys were on the panel.
There was one more Fennelly performing on Leinster final day, as Leann completed a provincial double at Nowlan Park when Mullinavat won the senior title.
Now, they have an opportunity to achieve another double, something the lads will never match. Already, Sunday will be pretty special, as first cousins Leann and Mags captain the Kilkenny teams participating in the Liberty Insurance senior and intermediate finals.
Just imagine if they could actually both get to climb the Hogan Stand steps?
“When Ballyhale won the intermediate and we won the senior with Mullinavat, and then myself and Mags were picked as captain, we said it” reveals Leann.
“If we did win it would be… it would be nice to win but it would be an extra bonus if we were both captains of the side. Nice for the women to create a bit of history as well as the men” she laughs.
Mags doesn’t recall being aware of her father and uncles being any big deal when she was growing up and only really took note lately. Leann had more of an idea.
“I would have known a bit but we would never have seen them hurl. When you look at their record… if you saw it happening today, you’d be amazed. We were only babies when they were at it all. To have seven of them playing.
“I have three brothers playing now with Mullinavat and I think that’s pretty good. It must have been unreal for them.”
Leann and her siblings have always played for Mullinavat. Liam moved there many years ago and the parish rule meant the lads had to line out with the local club. So it was natural then for the girls to follow.
There’s a chance that she will be facing her cousins at some stage in domestic action, although they were in different groups this year. They’ll worry about that when it happens.
Leann is the more experienced. The 24-year-old Dublin-based bank worker won six All-Irelands at underage, college and intermediate level in camogie, and also starred as Kilkenny won the All-Ireland junior ladies football championship in 2007… yes, football!
Senior hasn’t been so good to her though. She made her debut in 2009 but with Cotterell and another cousin, Keeva Fennelly involved too, they proved no match for Cork. Last year, they didn’t reach their potential either when losing to Galway.
“If we could perform at our best… That was the disappointing factor. We know we probably didn’t play as well as we could have or should have. Please God we’ll be able to pull a performance out of the bag.
“It was good to win the League – 2008 was the last time we won a national title at senior – but we just went out to win every game. It was nice to get a good run and to keep it going. Hopefully we’ll have another trophy to add to it.”
To be presented with an All-Ireland trophy as winning captain in the Hogan Stand, just as her father had the honour of doing, would be mighty. But primarily, it would mean Kilkenny had won; any personal glory would be a cherry on top.
“It’s a great bunch. I’m lucky to be given the captaincy as it’s a good bunch of players.”
Of course most of the clan was in Croke Park last Sunday to watch the tumultuous hurling final. It’s tough watching family members in a situation like that. Really tough when they’re your brothers, as was the case for Mags with Michael and Colin. (Joey Holden, another cousin, was playing too).
“You’re hoping they’ll have a good game” says the intermediate skipper. “Anytime they get the ball you’re nervous for them but you’d always have confidence in them that they’ll do the business.”
Like Leann, Mags has an All-Ireland final loss to motivate her. She was a senior panellist last year but the Shamrocks losing the club final in a replay really hurt.
“It was really disappointing. We kind of left it behind us in Croke Park but Lismore were the better team in the replay.”
With the week that is in it, Mags had to celebrate her 23rd birthday on Wednesday in very low-key fashion. It will be worth it if they are partying on Sunday night but she knows that last year’s beaten finalists Limerick, with the benefit of a season in Division 1 of the League behind them, will be very hard to beat.
“We’re looking forward to it. Limerick are very strong and physical. They’ve leaders all over the field.
“Hopefully we’ll have the hurling but it’s going to be a very close game I’d say.”