Whitely happy to have hit a rich vein of form with Dublin
Dublin hurler Fergal Whitely. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
By Paul Keane
Fergal Whitely is sitting in the boardroom of Parnell Park, chatting about the Leinster SHC final with his trusty hurl by his side.
It's a 33-inch piece of ash that the Dublin forward bought in Kilkenny five or six years ago, though any running repairs, and there have been plenty, have been carried out closer to home.
"I break it all the time but I'd always refix it," said Whitely, smiling at the suggestion that there's a touch of the 'Trigger's brush' about the old hurl. "We have a great fella in the club, Barry Dunbar, who fixes hurls. Whenever I give it to him, he has it ready the next day. He's unreal."
And so Whitely's hurl has followed him through thick and thin. These last couple of years under Niall Ó Ceallacháin have been particularly positive and it was a good shout by Michael Duignan on RTE TV's commentary for the Dublin versus Kilkenny game last Sunday week when he suggested that the wing-forward is among the game's most underrated players.
Dublin supporters may have disagreed on that one. They always rated the Kilmacud Crokes dynamo.
But there's no debating that he's in the form of his career now, a starter for each of Dublin's last 10 games across the League and Leinster championship. He's scored in seven of those matches, totalling 4-16, and all from play.
The 28-year-old schoolteacher displayed that quality in previous seasons too, but not with this sort of consistency.
He started only four out of 14 Championship games across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, for example, when Micheál Donoghue was in charge.
Fergal Whitely in action against Killian Doyle of Kilkenny in the Leinster SHC. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
"At times, maybe I didn't perform," said Whitely, reflecting on his decade in blue so far. "Then someone else comes in and they do, and they take your spot. I know the nature of it, it's high performance sport.
"The other side of it is that, for me, the last two or three years I've felt this is the strongest Dublin panel I've been involved with.
"You see it in the strength of the Dublin club championship, it's so competitive.
"And you see it too with the few injuries we've had in the last few weeks, which you wouldn't have noticed as much as other years because lads have just come in seamlessly. When you think of all the great teams, and all the really good teams, that's what you need."
Whitely is determined to make the most of his opportunity in a Dublin team smashing through glass ceilings all the time.
In the last 12 months alone, they've beaten Limerick, Galway and Kilkenny in make or break Championship encounters.
As a result, the connection between the players and supporters has been strengthened considerably.
Asked if the packed house at Parnell Park for the win over Kilkenny last Sunday week was a career highlight, Whitely nodded.
"It'd be close to it alright," he said. "It's actually very rare that we get a full house in Parnell Park. I think in 2019, when we beat Galway there, there was a great atmosphere that day too. They're special days when you get that atmosphere. But if we don't back it up with another performance on Saturday, it won't mean as much."
Dublin have already beaten final opponents Galway this season, in Salthill. Their win over Kilkenny came in the tighter confines of Parnell Park.
Dublin hurler Fergal Whitely speaks to media at Parnell Park ahead of the Leinster SHC final. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
It's on to the more spacious Croke Park now, though Dublin are comfortable there too.
"If you look at the players we have around the middle, they're made for Croke Park," said Whitely, eyeing the likes of Brian Hayes, Conor Donohoe, Conor Burke and Darragh Power.
"But I think too, one of the reasons we've gotten positive performances over the last few weeks is that we can do it in different ways.
"We have big lads inside but then we have runners through the middle, and we have shooters too from long range.
"We've found a really good balance of different ways of scoring. And I think that stays the same, whether it's in Parnell Park or Croke Park."
That sort of consistency, collectively, is what Whitely reckons the Dubs have been crying out for.
Last season was a case in point, a shock win over Limerick followed by a seven-goal hammering from Cork.
"For us as a group, we've had some really big performances over the last while," said Whitely, who helped the Dubs clinch promotion to Division 1A in spring.
"But it's really important that we back it up again. That's the challenge for us."
Win or lose on Saturday, Whitely will be returning to Croke Park on Monday, with Scoil San Treasa. The Mount Merrion school are through to a Cumann na mBunscol final.
"I'm one of the coaches, Dara Purcell, who plays with Dublin, is as well," said Whitely. "Dara is a past pupil, he's not a teacher in the school, but he's helping out. We're in the Division 1 final. I've been doing it for five or six years and I really enjoy it. There's a great crop of players in the school."
