This is a popular argument that claims the main reason Kilkenny keep on returning to All-Ireland hurling finals is because of their continuous conveyor belt of underage talent, many of whom have known little else other than success most of their way up.
In the early Brian Cody era that might have held true, only not necessarily so as Cody prepares for his 17th final against Limerick this Sunday: Kilkenny haven’t won a minor All-Ireland since 2014, and before this year, hadn’t won an under-20 (formerly under-21) since 2008.
Paddy Deegan presents himself as a case in point. At age 26 he now stands established in the heart of the Kilkenny defence, only his underage experience was far from all-glittering. Deegan lost three All-Ireland colleges finals with Kilkenny CBS, and as Kilkenny under-21 captain in 2016, lost a Leinster quarter-final to Westmeath — and the less said about that in the county the better.
His father Eugene Deegan, with some gentle irony, was probably a better Kilkenny minor; even with his club O’Loughlin Gaels Deegan hasn’t had much success to call his own, not with county rivals Ballyhale Shamrocks so dominant of late.
“Obviously it’s great to be winning underage, but you don’t need to be winning everything to produce good hurlers,” he says. “As you can see, the likes of Cian Kenny coming through, Mikey Butler, Hughie [Lawlor] who wouldn’t have been on too many underage teams either, it’s not our requirement for good hurlers.
“My own club, O’Loughlin Gaels I would have grown up on a team that wasn’t that successful, wouldn’t have won a whole lot, and now we are competing at a high standard in Kilkenny hurling.
“It was tough to take, but something you can take a lot of lessons from as well”
“It was tough though [losing to Westmeath in ‘16], and first time I played them since was this year, in the senior. In Mullingar, the same place. It was tough to take, but something you can take a lot of lessons from as well.”
Sharing that defensive role with Butler and Lawlor, also his club-mates, creates an added dynamic and there were plenty of O’Loughlin Gaels role models to learn from in his earlier years.
“Brian Hogan was a massive influence for all of us, probably more so myself and Hughie than Mikey, because we were coming on to the team as Brian was going to retire. Himself and Gorta (Martin Comerford) were huge influences on us when we first came on to the senior. It is after benefiting us to get that chance to play alongside him.
“You also had the likes of Mark Kelly and Mark Bergin on the panel at that stage. They were obviously applying themselves very well coming into training and before matches. It was good to even get a few points off them. They were all involved in underage teams as well, which is great for the younger players in the club.”
Kilkenny getting past a fancied Clare in the semi-final is one thing: they now face a Limerick team going a three-in-a-row for the first time in the county’s history, Deegan and company standing up against the likes of Gearóid Hegarty or Tom Morrissey.
“Any player you come up against is going to pose a different threat, whether it be in the air or if it a small player who is fast, but you are going to have to look at that coming into the game and focus on that, who you might be coming up against.
“There are lots of different aspects. We are going to be coming across a very good team who are very well drilled. We’ll have our own game plan as well and we’ll have a look at what we might have to do. They are obviously going very well this year with probably two very tough games under their belts in the last six weeks.
“He’s a massively driven individual, in all aspects”
“We have all looked back on the finals that we lost over the last number of years. It’s just about taking lessons from them. Not just looking at them and letting them go by you. It’s about taking lessons from them going forward and putting them into practice then.”
Deegan made his senior debut in the league against Waterford in 2017. Sunday’s final will see TR Reid, aged 34, become the oldest Kilkenny player to start a final under Cody. Deegan knows the reasons why.
“Look, he’s a massively driven individual, in all aspects. He has the gym over there across the road, he’s the same with Ballyhale, and the exact same with Kilkenny. You see the skilful side to his game, which is unbelievable, but not a lot of people maybe pick out the points where he works hard, he’d a lot of turnovers the last day and he’s the same with Ballyhale. He doesn’t shirk responsibility in that regard either.”
