Updated 20.10
JACKIE TYRRELL’S HALF-TIME speech was the rallying cry which jolted Kilkenny’s comeback into life.
The Cats trailed by three at the break but dominated Galway in the second half to clinch the 11th All-Ireland hurling title of the Brian Cody era.
There was much speculation about the contents of Cody’s half-time team talk but Colin Fennelly revealed that it was veteran Allstar Tyrrell who really lit the fuse.
“We walked in and our heads were down, we were looking around, we didn’t know what to do,” Fennelly told Newstalk after the 1-22 to 1-18 win.
“Cody just stood up obviously and said, ‘Ye know what the problem is, we’re not working hard enough, ye’re not doing what ye were told to do.’ Then he said he’d give us a few minutes to ourselves.
“He steps out, he always steps out. It could have been an awkward silence or someone could have stepped up and talked. Jackie Tyrrell stood up, a lad that’s plagued with an injury the last couple of weeks.
“I’ve never seen a lad work so hard trying to get back. He was standing there absolutely roaring us on, talking just pure sense, exactly what we needed to hear.
He said that this is not good enough, this is no use, this is not what we’re based on, this is not what we’re born and bred on.
“He said, ‘I’ve watched ye the last few weeks, ye have hit each other harder in training. Get out there and ye’re not going to let them walk up the steps and we have Joey Holden walk up.’”
Tyrrell missed the semi-final win over Waterford with a foot injury but was fit enough to take his place on the bench for the decider.
He didn’t feature on the field but played just a significant a role in Kilkenny’s 36th title.
“He had the hair standing on the back of my spine,” Fennelly said during an interview with RTÉ.
It was unbelievable what he said.
“He spoke, Richie Power spoke and Michael Fennelly spoke. They’re probably the three senior lads on the team and they spoke very well.
Whatever they said to us went through and we went out and did the business in the second half.
Fennelly added: “We came out in the second half and we ran at them and ran at them. We created the frees and the scores.
“TJ Reid was phenomenal on the frees for us. He was phenomenal all year.”
– First published 18.09
