Shannon a perfect fit for Kelly

SPORTING PASSIONS:IN NEWCASTLE WEST they have many different sporting clubs and I played for them all when I was underage. I had a love for them all really. I try to do as much as I can but I suppose age catches up with you and the body's no longer able to do it.

Growing up I was never the biggest and I never played underage football with Limerick. But I got my chance when I was 18 after playing a senior match with my club. I got good coaching while I was there and was lucky enough that I got a break.

Around that time I was playing junior hurling, soccer and also rugby with my local club. I had a fairly full schedule and some weekends I’d have three games.

Later on I went down to Cork for about two or three months to train with Cork City. It was a very enjoyable experience and I got to train with the likes of Kevin Doyle and Shane Long who were there at the time.

With the rugby, I had just come back from a cruciate knee operation and I wanted to keep my fitness levels up. The opportunity arose for me to train with Shannon and to see if I liked it. I got brilliant coaching from Ian Sherwin and Mick Galwey at the time and all the lads were very welcoming.

I wasn’t exactly a total greenhorn because I had played under-20s All-Ireland and I also played junior rugby with Newcastle. So I had an interest in it and some sort of a background in it but the AIL was a massive step up.

I only played a few games for Shannon two seasons ago but it was a good introduction. Last year was my first full season and it went very well. We won a Munster Senior Cup and we also won the All-Ireland Cup for the first time in the club’s history.

I was getting a bit of slagging over it because they were saying I couldn’t win a Munster with Limerick and then I join Shannon in rugby and I won a Munster senior medal.

The approach in the AIL is very professional. They’re training two or three nights a week, there are video sessions, pool sessions, weight sessions and all your dietary requirements are taken into account. It’s the same in Gaelic football because everyone knows nowadays that the standards are there for intercounty footballers to maintain.

From a playing point of view, with the professional game now the crowds have dwindled in the AIL. That does take away from it a bit in that you might only be playing in front of 200-300 people some weeks, while in Gaelic football in championship times you’re talking thousands.

In terms of intensity though, rugby is up there with Gaelic football. You mightn’t have the same atmosphere but there are no lads holding back – everyone is going full-on and it’s pretty tough.

You definitely do a lot more running in Gaelic football. You’re up and down the pitch, you’re going every angle and you’re given a lot more ball. In rugby you mightn’t see the ball for maybe 20 minutes during a match. There would be times that you’re standing out there on the wing saying “I wonder is the ball ever going to come out”. But when you do get it, it’s pretty intense.

One thing I was given when I joined Shannon was a weights programme. That has helped me mentally in Gaelic because while the physicality is there it’s maybe not to the same extent as in rugby. The intensity in Gaelic football matches is very high and possession is key. So, from that point of view, rugby has definitely helped my Gaelic game.

When you’re enjoying something you keep at it and I’m enjoying my time with Shannon. It’s been a great experience and getting a few tries and a few cup wins last year made it all the better. There’s good craic at training even when it’s in the muck and bad weather. Everyone lifts each other and it’s great to be part of a winning team.

Where Munster are at the moment as Heineken Cup champions and where they’ve come from is phenomenal. There’s a great understanding there between the players and the fans. The players really have respect for the fans and they know that there are times when the fans can lift them.

I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to train a few times with the Munster team and to play with Munster A against Ulster two years ago. It was everything that I expected it would be. There was total professionalism, all the lads were sound and it was just one of those experiences that I’ll take with me to the grave really.