YOU CAN TRACE TJ Reid’s history of All-Ireland finals back 17 seasons.
In 2007, he was an unused sub, a teenager on the panel watching on as Cha Fitzpatrick lofted in a sideline cut, Fast Eddie Brennan collected, rounded Seamus Hickey and stitched the ball into the net after eight minutes.
One minute later, another delivery from Cha found King Henry Shefflin, who held off Stephen Lucey to produce an innovative tapped finish.
Nine minutes gone, Kilkenny 2-2, Limerick 0-0. The tone for how Kilkenny would deal with wide-eyed hopefuls in the All-Ireland finals was laid out for Reid.
Richie Hogan had joined him on the panel, but didn’t gain the same bench privileges in his debut season. A year later he was number 29 on the panel, watching on as Kilkenny mowed Waterford down by 23 points on the big day. TJ, wearing 28, came on for Martin Comerford on 43 minutes and hurled like his life depended on it, hitting 0-4 and piling on the pain.
Wind the tape on another year. TJ comes on as a sub on 49 minutes for Taggy Fogarty, Richie starts and is taken off with 15 minutes to go for Martin Comerford. Tipp are taken care of, but they can feel Tipp breath on their necks.
Onto the 2010 final. Tipp again. TJ was only marginally sure of his starting place, being the team captain. But with Lar Corbett machine-gunning PJ Ryan’s goal, TJ was brought off for Richie on 62 minutes. When Henry Shefflin’s cruciate gamble failed after 12 minutes, it was Michael Rice that Brian Cody turned to.
Same teams, 12 months on. Richie hits a screamer, almost mirroring the hat-trick sealer that Corbett had at the other end of the field the previous year. Eddie Brennan scorches up through the middle, hand-passes to Hogan who kills it with a dull thud of the hurl before blazing to the net at the Hill 16 end.
The game is tight, TJ gets the last ten minutes plus injury time. Not quite tokenism, but he’s no frontrunner all the same.
Now, up to 2012. Galway meet Kilkenny in the Leinster final. TJ is taken off. Once the defeat is digested, video evidence is used to excavate their soul. In an analysis session, TJ is shown the moment where he didn’t chase a Galway player. He skips the meal, goes home to Ballyhale, and tells Henry Shefflin he’s sick of it all and is quitting.
Shefflin persuades him otherwise. It becomes one of the most significant conversations in modern Kilkenny hurling history. He finishes the season as an All-Ireland winner from a starting berth, adding an All-Star for value. Richie starts the final at midfield. It’s the first time they start a final together after sitting through half a dozen of them.
In the replay, Brian Cody sends in a 21-year-old big unit all the way from the Junior club Tullogher–Rosbercon. Walter Walsh hits 1-3 before being replaced by Colin Fennelly on the hour mark. He went for the High-Five as he passed Brian Cody, but was left hanging.
By then the line-up and bench was percolated with new names; Eoin Murphy was a promising young goalkeeper, great back-up for David Herity, and Cillian Buckley started at wing-forward. Conor Fogarty was listed as no. 19.
Part of the training panel, but having only got the chance to ride a bit of pine in the league campaign that year, was Pádraig Walsh.
11 years ago.
Let’s go to this year and in the All-Ireland semi-final against Clare, Eoin Murphy produced the save to end all saves from Peter Duggan, the match-winning play.
Conor Fogarty started in midfield. TJ Reid top-scored with 0-12 from the dead ball. Cillian Buckley provided the fresh legs to take over from Fogarty around the middle.
Walter Walsh came on soon after half time to give Clare a headache. Richie Hogan came on with ten minutes of normal time left and Pádraig Walsh was introduced with five to go, hitting a critical late point.
Much is made of other counties’ ability to extract the maximum from their veterans, but the position Kilkenny are in now is envious. Decorated veterans, laden down with medals and All-Stars, happy to come off or come on, as required.
“It looks like Derek (Lyng) is using his older, more experienced crew for impact at key moments in the game. It’s a reminder to give all you have before the Cavalry come on. It’s the same players coming on and coming off, ironically,” says former Kilkenny player and manager, Nickey Brennan who has been at every game this year in his role with Community Radio, Kilkenny city.
They might even have a bigger role to play this Sunday, given the circumstances with Cillian Buckley celebrating his wedding on Saturday, alongside his best man, Walter Walsh.
David Blanchfield’s injury from late on in the semi-final, picking up a knock and harming a lung, could also open up another slot in the half-back line.
“The older crowd have shown great enthusiasm for it. At various stages, Cillian Buckley got on and hit his goal against Galway. Pádraig got a crucial score against Clare, Walter Walsh has come on and done good things,” adds Brennan.
“In fairness to those guys, they realise where they are at this stage. They will be gung-ho now, realising this is potentially the last time they can win an All-Ireland.”
Of all the veterans, Richie Hogan is the one perhaps most aware that the end is nigh.
Playing a floating role in the middle third for Danesfort last winter, they secured a county intermedaite title. He had a run of games unimpeded by injury that he hadn’t enjoyed in years.
However, back in the county set-up, that didn’t last long. He was meant to play some role in the final round robin game in Leinster against Wexford but had another set-back. Proof however of Lyng’s faith came with his All-Ireland semi-final appearance.
There’s no doubt that Hogan is raging against the memory of his early red card against Tipperary for a collision with Cathal Barrett in 2019.
As for Reid, one example stood out for Brennan against Clare about his selflessness and maturity.
“It’s ridiculous at this stage that someone like TJ Reid was foraging back in the left corner back position before half time against Clare,” he said.
“That rubs off on other players on the team. If a guy in his mid-30s who has achieved everything the game has to offer and he’s still working as hard as ever down in the corner, doing his bit for the team.
“He’s the sort of guy, even though there is a gameplan there with Brian Cody and Derek Lyng, he sort of dictates what he needs to do as well. He drifts around and sees it as it being up to his opponent to pick him up.
“More often than not, he’s getting it right.”
There’s one more thing, too.
Over the winter, there were no retirements from Kilkenny. Brian Cody stepping down with a fuss-free announcement was followed just 12 days later with a similar fuss-free ratification of Lyng as manager.
Experienced players who had togged out alongside Lyng on the pitch, were bound to have been curious to find out what it might be like to play for someone other than Cody, while he also had a six-year stint as senior selector and was familiar with the younger crew through his successful spell as U20 manager.
All of that seemed to feed into a most un-Kilkenny sight after Cillian Buckley’s late goal to beat Galway; a pile-on, with their manager in the middle.
“I know the circumstances were specific, but it showed a fantastic camaraderie and spirit among the team, a closeness that surpassed the Brian Cody time,” states Brennan.
“The players wanted to do it for Derek, the new man coming in and a lot of spotlight and pressure was on him given who he was following, and that’s understandable.
“Winning that trophy, I think they saw that as important for Derek, as much as themselves.”
And still they go, wringing the last drops out of themselves.