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Harty eyes 'massive' opportunity for Kerry hurling

Ciaran Johnston of Antrim in action against Colm Harty of Kerry during the 2020 Allianz Hurling League Division 2A Final match between Antrim and Kerry at Bord na Mona O'Connor Park in Tullamore, Offaly. 

Ciaran Johnston of Antrim in action against Colm Harty of Kerry during the 2020 Allianz Hurling League Division 2A Final match between Antrim and Kerry at Bord na Mona O'Connor Park in Tullamore, Offaly. 

By John Harrington

Kerry hurling vice-captain, Colum Harty, is viewing Sunday’s Joe McDonagh Cup Final against Antrim as a glorious opportunity to further the cause of hurling in the Kingdom.

Gaelic Football will always be the number one sport in the county, but the small ball code is growing stronger all the time and a Joe McDonagh Cup title would surely accelerate that progress.

“It would be massive,” says Harty. “It's our first time getting to the Joe McDonagh Final. For kids going to school that are looking at the Kerry hurling team, it will be great for them to see us getting to Croke Park and to win it would be obviously better again in terms of the development of hurling in the county.

“Because it is developing each year. When I started off with Kerry a club like Tralee Parnells weren't in existence at the time. We've a new club since then.

“And clubs down in South Kerry are really coming on in leaps and bounds. Dr. Crokes won the intermediate this year, Kilgarvan are always pushing. It's great to see these clubs coming along because it shows Kerry hurling is developing.

“A win in the Joe McDonagh would be huge for that.

“When you're bumping into people they're saying we're flying the flag at the moment, 'tis great.

“People are saying at least there'll be a Kerry team in Croke Park in December. They might have thought it would be the footballers but it's actually going to be us, which is great.

“Look, hopefully we'll do ourselves justice and get the win.”

Kerry manager Fintan O'Connor during the Allianz Hurling League Division 2A Final match between Antrim and Kerry at Bord na Mona O'Connor Park in Tullamore, Offaly.

Kerry manager Fintan O'Connor during the Allianz Hurling League Division 2A Final match between Antrim and Kerry at Bord na Mona O'Connor Park in Tullamore, Offaly.

Harty is one of the longest serving players on the Kerry hurling panel so is in a good position to judge what sort of strides have been made in the past decade.

“It's progressing every year,” he says. “This is my eleventh year involved and Kerry hurling has progressed an awful lot in that time.

“When I started off we were in Division Three of the National League and we got to the Christy Ring Final. But now we're pushing to get into Division 1 and along the way to getting to the Joe McDonagh Cup Final this year we've beaten two Division 1 teams in Carlow and Westmeath.

“That just shows why our expectations should be fairly high. Our training has evolved every year, especially in terms of nutrition and strength and conditioning. You can definitely see the difference that has made.”

This Kerry team is now a seasoned bunch. It’s Fintan O’Connor’s fourth year in charge and over that time they’ve strengthened the panel and developed a more cerebral style of play in tune with how the game has developed at the highest level.

“I've worked with Fintan for four years and he's been great with us,” says Harty. “He's brought great stability. The development hasn't just been with us as a senior team, but with the U-20s as well.

“He's feeding U-20s into training and at some nights you could have 40 at training. These guys are the future and it's great to see that it's not just us being worked on, the development is filtering down to the U-20s as well and there's a great bunch of players coming through there.

“It takes time to get a style of play and it's something we've worked on a lot. Now when you're on the ball you know what you have to do and you don't have to overthink the situation.

“It has become second-nature, and you know if you stick to the game-plan the boys have drilled into us for the last few years that it will work.”