TELL YOU ONE thing, the Kilkenny County Board know how to take care of business.
Although the country was aware that they were on the hunt for a new manager, the timeline was kept from public access.
Pat Gilroy was brought in to assist with the appointment. There was an uncharitable view out there that Kilkenny shouldn’t need a Dublin football man to help run their affairs.
Gilroy has experience of taking an established force and making judgments around the cultural shifts necessary. Without Gilroy’s presence, the process could easily have smacked of King Henry’s Coronation.
Some enquiries Noreside reveals there were four candidates in for the gig: Shefflin, Brian Dowling, Tom Mullally and Noel Doherty.
Interviews took place last Friday and Saturday.
Before that, all candidates were handed a list of topics that would form the questions of the interview panel well in advance. They could, of course, add anything else they felt was relevant.
It would seem a remarkably fair way of doing things; allowing candidates to prepare accordingly, without the anxiety of a question landing like a grenade with the pin removed.
On Monday, club delegates were put on notice for a brief online county board meeting. Shefflin was confirmed, the announcement went out.
None of this is sexy, but as far as GAA administration goes, it is gold-standard stuff.
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So, to Henry.
It was inevitable that when he finished playing, he would become Kilkenny manager. The only hitch in this was the most successful hurling manager in history in Brian Cody still in situ, and Shefflin’s own ambition.
Some of that was sated by success in managing his club to back-to-back All-Ireland club titles. He then hopped across the fence to get a feel of what it might be like in a dressing room not full of your neighbours when he managed Thomastown at intermediate level.
Managing Galway wasn’t a big deal. The Handshake made it a big deal. Brian Cody’s refusal to let go of Shefflin’s hand was a very public admonishment. One that Shefflin did not deserve.
It created a sense that the Kilkenny public were at a remove from one of their most admired players.
This kind of scrutiny has not been applied to Eddie Brennan and Brian Dowling. What heat, really, has David Herity taken for his winning contribution to Tipperary in a time of Kilkenny’s greatest All-Ireland drought? Or Michael Fennelly trying to push the Offaly boulder uphill?
But the feeling around Shefflin is not a myth. The appointment will not meet 100% approval in the polling, not only for his trophy-barren time with the Tribesmen.
Taking charge of the county U20s last year drew comparisons ranging from the Return of the Prodigal Son, to a period of decontamination as he rehabilitated himself. Senseless talk.
Their championship campaign was iffy. In the group stages they beat Kildare by nine, drew with Wexford and lost to Galway, enough to get to the quarter-finals.
They beat Offaly and Dublin on the way to another loss in the final to Galway, this time by nine points.
So in terms of what talent is coming through, Shefflin already knows it’s not hectic.
When he clocks in for his first day at the office, there will be no need for name tags or orientation sessions. Instead, he will slide his chair under the desk and put his hand to the in-tray of Kilkenny hurling.
First up, TJ Reid. Naturally, what happens next with the top-scorer of all-time will be a fascination.
He’s not going to make a dick move by ending the career of his fellow Shamrocks Ballyhale clubmate. Talk of him sending out a signal with a big-name sacrifice is not his way.
Shefflin and TJ Reid celebrate a county title with Shamrocks Ballyhale. James Lawlor / INPHO
James Lawlor / INPHO / INPHO
Our guess is he stays on. There’s a fair chance he could be spending his 39th birthday in mid-November pre-season training.
But then, he loves it. Rightly or wrongly, he was still a vital part of the Kilkenny attack last year. His physical conditioning is a sandwich board for his business, and he takes great pride in it.
Eoin Murphy is 36 right now. In an era of great goalkeepers, their longevity is a key asset.
Richie Reid will be 34 next spring, but he once missed three consecutive seasons of championship hurling and the switch to centre-back, like a few before him, was a great rejuvenation.
As well as all that, wouldn’t the names above be interested to see what their oul’ buddy and for some, clubmate Henry might bring to the team? Especially after bringing some of them to another county championship in 2025?
There’s still a strong panel there when you start considering the names of Eoin Cody, Harry Shine, Adrian Mullan, Mossy Keogan, Mikey Butler and Mikey Carey.
But it would be a mistake to say that competition is going to be fierce in the panel.
One of the charges against Derek Lyng was that he didn’t use more of the 2022 All-Ireland winning U20 team. He did. But the return was negligible. If they were good enough, more would be there now.
The first call Shefflin will be making is to Huw Lawlor to see if he wants to add to his three All-Stars, or if the beach life in Australia really is that far ahead of Tramore.
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Huw Lawlor. Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO
Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO
Most teams can patch absences, but the Lawlor-shaped hole at full-back was never adequately mended this year. Add in a return for Billy Ryan, and it starts to take some shape.
All public utterances right now will be of caution, of taking stock and mentions of rebuilding jobs. It’s all intended to temper expectations, but no proper manager ever arrived into a dressing room and opened their mouth about rebuilds. Everything is in the here and now.
Cast your mind back to the first round of the Leinster hurling championship, 2025. At a wintry Nowlan Park on 19 April, Kilkenny blasted Galway away. Only Cathal Mannion’s 0-10, and the introduction of Daithí Burke in the second half avoided a massacre far beyond the 12-point margin.
The post-match discussion centred around the returning Micheál Donoghue and the patient rebuild ahead, now that he was back as Galway manager.
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Shefflin takes seat of power in Kilkenny. So, what next?
TELL YOU ONE thing, the Kilkenny County Board know how to take care of business.
Although the country was aware that they were on the hunt for a new manager, the timeline was kept from public access.
Pat Gilroy was brought in to assist with the appointment. There was an uncharitable view out there that Kilkenny shouldn’t need a Dublin football man to help run their affairs.
Gilroy has experience of taking an established force and making judgments around the cultural shifts necessary. Without Gilroy’s presence, the process could easily have smacked of King Henry’s Coronation.
Some enquiries Noreside reveals there were four candidates in for the gig: Shefflin, Brian Dowling, Tom Mullally and Noel Doherty.
Interviews took place last Friday and Saturday.
Before that, all candidates were handed a list of topics that would form the questions of the interview panel well in advance. They could, of course, add anything else they felt was relevant.
It would seem a remarkably fair way of doing things; allowing candidates to prepare accordingly, without the anxiety of a question landing like a grenade with the pin removed.
On Monday, club delegates were put on notice for a brief online county board meeting. Shefflin was confirmed, the announcement went out.
None of this is sexy, but as far as GAA administration goes, it is gold-standard stuff.
So, to Henry.
It was inevitable that when he finished playing, he would become Kilkenny manager. The only hitch in this was the most successful hurling manager in history in Brian Cody still in situ, and Shefflin’s own ambition.
Some of that was sated by success in managing his club to back-to-back All-Ireland club titles. He then hopped across the fence to get a feel of what it might be like in a dressing room not full of your neighbours when he managed Thomastown at intermediate level.
Managing Galway wasn’t a big deal. The Handshake made it a big deal. Brian Cody’s refusal to let go of Shefflin’s hand was a very public admonishment. One that Shefflin did not deserve.
It created a sense that the Kilkenny public were at a remove from one of their most admired players.
This kind of scrutiny has not been applied to Eddie Brennan and Brian Dowling. What heat, really, has David Herity taken for his winning contribution to Tipperary in a time of Kilkenny’s greatest All-Ireland drought? Or Michael Fennelly trying to push the Offaly boulder uphill?
But the feeling around Shefflin is not a myth. The appointment will not meet 100% approval in the polling, not only for his trophy-barren time with the Tribesmen.
Taking charge of the county U20s last year drew comparisons ranging from the Return of the Prodigal Son, to a period of decontamination as he rehabilitated himself. Senseless talk.
Their championship campaign was iffy. In the group stages they beat Kildare by nine, drew with Wexford and lost to Galway, enough to get to the quarter-finals.
They beat Offaly and Dublin on the way to another loss in the final to Galway, this time by nine points.
When he clocks in for his first day at the office, there will be no need for name tags or orientation sessions. Instead, he will slide his chair under the desk and put his hand to the in-tray of Kilkenny hurling.
First up, TJ Reid. Naturally, what happens next with the top-scorer of all-time will be a fascination.
He’s not going to make a dick move by ending the career of his fellow Shamrocks Ballyhale clubmate. Talk of him sending out a signal with a big-name sacrifice is not his way.
Our guess is he stays on. There’s a fair chance he could be spending his 39th birthday in mid-November pre-season training.
But then, he loves it. Rightly or wrongly, he was still a vital part of the Kilkenny attack last year. His physical conditioning is a sandwich board for his business, and he takes great pride in it.
Eoin Murphy is 36 right now. In an era of great goalkeepers, their longevity is a key asset.
Richie Reid will be 34 next spring, but he once missed three consecutive seasons of championship hurling and the switch to centre-back, like a few before him, was a great rejuvenation.
As well as all that, wouldn’t the names above be interested to see what their oul’ buddy and for some, clubmate Henry might bring to the team? Especially after bringing some of them to another county championship in 2025?
There’s still a strong panel there when you start considering the names of Eoin Cody, Harry Shine, Adrian Mullan, Mossy Keogan, Mikey Butler and Mikey Carey.
But it would be a mistake to say that competition is going to be fierce in the panel.
One of the charges against Derek Lyng was that he didn’t use more of the 2022 All-Ireland winning U20 team. He did. But the return was negligible. If they were good enough, more would be there now.
The first call Shefflin will be making is to Huw Lawlor to see if he wants to add to his three All-Stars, or if the beach life in Australia really is that far ahead of Tramore.
Most teams can patch absences, but the Lawlor-shaped hole at full-back was never adequately mended this year. Add in a return for Billy Ryan, and it starts to take some shape.
All public utterances right now will be of caution, of taking stock and mentions of rebuilding jobs. It’s all intended to temper expectations, but no proper manager ever arrived into a dressing room and opened their mouth about rebuilds. Everything is in the here and now.
Cast your mind back to the first round of the Leinster hurling championship, 2025. At a wintry Nowlan Park on 19 April, Kilkenny blasted Galway away. Only Cathal Mannion’s 0-10, and the introduction of Daithí Burke in the second half avoided a massacre far beyond the 12-point margin.
The post-match discussion centred around the returning Micheál Donoghue and the patient rebuild ahead, now that he was back as Galway manager.
Things change. In hurling they change faster.
Shefflin won’t be clock-watching.
****
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Cats column Hammer time Henry Hurling Kilkenny NO CORONATION Shefflin