Drennan says every team motivated to stop Limerick's drive for five
Maynooth University hurler Billy Drennan poses for a portrait with the Fitzgibbon Cup before the draw for the Electric Ireland GAA Higher Education Championships at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
Rising Kilkenny star, Billy Drennan, says every other team in the Liam MacCarthy Cup is using the prospect of stopping Limerick becoming the first team to win a fifth All-Ireland title in a row as a source of motivation ahead of the 2024 season.
“Ah it is, yeah,” said Drennan yesterday at the draw for the 2023/2023 Higher Education Championships.
“I think every team is looking at it like that. I suppose any time you go out and play Limerick now you're nearly treating it as an All-Ireland Final. Just to try to stop them.
“Every team is getting closer to them and I'd say this year it's going to be an interesting year.
“We don't want them to do the five-in-a-row anyway. We'll be buzzing for it more than ever this year and looking forward to it.”
Drennan made a very positive impression for Kilkenny in his first season, finishing as top scorer in Division 1 of the Allianz Hurling League.
Luck was not on his side though when he then suffered an injury that saw him lost his place in the team for the championship.
“I was playing U-20 against Galway and bruised a bone one the side of my foot and that put me out for the start of the championship and with Kilkenny it's very hard to get yourself back into that team, you want to be constantly going at it,” says Drennan.
“That put me out for a few weeks so it was difficult enough to get back into the team then. But I was happy enough to make the panel in my first year and get to come out and warm up with the boys for an All-Ireland Final, overall it was a great year.”
Drennan was name-checked this week by former Kilkenny star, Richie Hogan, as a player who could have a really big impact for the Cats in 2024.
The Galmoy club-man actually sat beside Hogan in the Kilkenny dressing-room last year and picked up a lot from the 17-season veteran.
“It was brilliant. Whenever I went into training he would always talk to you and greet you like you'd been there years. The same with all the older guys, they welcomed me very well last year and it's the same this year.
“Watching RIchie play, as a forward it was his wrists. I suppose I like to work with my wrists as well. We both play handball so maybe that comes into play with your hand-eye coordination. It helps out a lot on the pitch.”
