Daly says Walsh Park changes dynamic of Munster SHC
Walsh Park will host Waterford's Munster SHC matches this year.
By John Harrington
Anthony Daly says the decision to give Waterford the green light to play their home matches at Walsh Park has “changed the whole dynamic” of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship.
Last year Waterford couldn’t play at Walsh Park because of structural issues with the ground and so played their ‘home’ games against Tipperary in the Gaelic Grounds and against Cork in Semple Stadium, drawing the former and losing the latter.
This year they’ll now have the full benefit of home advantage for their matches against Clare and Limerick which Daly believes can be a major game-changer in what’s bound to be a ferociously fought provincial championship.
“The whole Walsh Park thing has changed the whole dynamic,” said Daly today at the launch of the Renault GAA World Games 2019.
“I would have said that Clare were in a fantastic position with Cusack Park being such a fortress.
“Having Tipp and Cork coming to Ennis, Limerick logistically is lovely and for most of the hurling people it's nearly easier than Ennis even though it's away from home, and then we were thinking we'd have Waterford in Thurles.
“But now we have to go down to Walsh Park the first day and you have Tipp coming to the (Cusack) Park then, so you could be looking like you're out of it.
“It's all about getting off to the start and trying to come out of Walsh Park with something is going to be tough.
“This Walsh Park thing is after putting a real spanner in the works. Padraic (Fanning) will be licking his chops saying, 'Jesus, this is going to be unreal! 11,000 people locked in! Lock the gates, don't let them out!’
“I know it was like that in Ennis last year. The atmosphere! I was on the Sunday Game that night nearly crying that I wasn't in Ennis for the Limerick game.
“Walsh Park will lend to that sort of thing. A walk-up venue in the City as such. In the roof of the city, you could say. It's going to be very interesting.”
Wicklow footballer, Patrick O'Connor, Westmeath footballer, Boidu Sayeh, Dublin footballer Lyndsey Davey and former Clare and Kilmacud Crokes manager, Anthony Daly pictured at the launch of the 2019 Renault GAA World Games in Croke Park today.
Daly wasn’t about to make any hard predictions about who he thinks will come out on top in Munster this year and says every manager would happily settle for the third place finish that would guarantee progress to the All-Ireland series.
“In Munster it could go any way,” he said. “We'll be doing preview nights in the next few weeks and I don't know what way I'll go.
“I'd say all the five managers in Munster are just saying, 'get me into the three, I'll take it, whatever about winning the Munster championship'.”
