By Kevin Egan

In his 15 years with the Kildare senior hurlers, Paul Divilly has spent the bulk of his adult intercounty career operating in what can best be described as hurling’s ‘mezzanine level’. Whether in league or championship, there’s always been a gap between the top teams and the level where the Lily Whites tended to operate. This weekend (tomorrow, 4pm) the Lily Whites will play their first ever Joe McDonagh Cup match, taking on a Carlow side that has hurled in Division One of the Allianz League and the Leinster championship very recently.

Coming up behind Divilly however is a new generation of Kildare hurlers, players who have very different expectations based on their impressive achievements at schools and underage level.

“I started in 2006, we got to a Christy Ring semi-final v Antrim. That was as good as where we have been” he told GAA.ie.

“The common complaint you would have got out of me is if we could only get all the lads who were a county standard in with us. This is the first year where we have this”.

It’s been a case of so far, so good for David Herity’s side this year. A good comeback win over Mayo secured promotion from Division 2B, drawing a line under a series of near misses.

“We were very disappointed over the last few years, being in 2B” Paul says.

“I would have done 70 or 80 percent of my hurling against Joe McDonagh teams, your Westmeaths, Carlows, etc. We probably stagnated a couple of years, then there was a  restructuring of the leagues and we got caught in 2B without being relegated.

“Over the last three years we getting pipped at the post, but we took a lot of confidence out of that game against Mayo and showed our worth in the second half.

So does that mean they’re in a position to secure a big win over their southerly neighbours tomorrow?

“We would be very confident that if we played to our ability we will give Carlow a lot to worry about. I don’t think it’s the case we are mighty underdogs. We are not underestimating Carlow or Westmeath in the slightest, but we feel like we should be on par with them especially with the lads playing at the moment.

“Our younger lads have experience playing these teams at a higher level. There is a strong onus on us to settle in Joe McDonagh and none of this bounce back craic. Lots of these guys have got some big results at minor, they were successful in the Tony Forristal, then hurled at U-16 and ran Tipperary to a point.

“The onus is on us to really step up to the mark at senior level to ensure these lads get the chance to go even further”.

In his position as athletic development officer with Kildare GAA, having previously served in a hurling promotion role with his native county, Divilly is confident that when it comes to selling hurling to the up and coming athletes of the county, any historical issues about not being given the same support as the county footballers have been addressed.

“In fairness to the county board and coaching and games staff, the biggest compliment I can give them with regard to the development of hurling is that we have been treated the exact same as the football. We have the same budget, the same access to facilities, the same strength and conditioning support, the same nutritional support and that’s for all development squads, from U-14 straight through to senior.

“Then there’s the coaches coming in. We would have Mark Moloney who would be a recent retired stalwart centre back with Kildare, so he’s in with the minors the last two years. There’s real quality and professionalism to the coaching.

“The U-20’s are going to Waterford, Limerick, Galway for games, showing an ambition at that level to get to the Liam McCarthy standard. Hopefully that pays off in the long term with our senior team. We have to act on it now.

“First off we have to maintain our place in the Joe McDonagh. Who knows in years to come? Our ambition is to play Liam MacCarthy”.

In some similar counties across Leinster, balancing the demands of two sports has been tricky. Divilly has been centrally involved in that aspect of their work, managing the workload on dual players and trying to ensure that if they are playing big ball and small ball with the county, that there’s justification for stretching that player across the sports.

“In the past, I’ve had to put my hurling development cap on. When I’ve worked in different areas I was very much driving the dual player agenda. Then I would put the athletic hat on and think it’s very hard to play both.

“Up to U-20 we strongly endorse dual players. We split the sessions down the middle. Both teams do three sessions a week. They can do two hurling, one football, or two football, one hurling, depending on which team has a game coming up. That’s worked very well.

“We have probably pressured the management to not make a dual player just a squad player. He needs to be there or there abouts. I’d regularly check in to see how they are getting on.

“We keep the players make the decision but we never make them do too much. Sometimes we have to tell lads ye can’t play with three or four teams. It is just a practical management of time.

“You would always be worried about them. You want them to perform and live up to that potential. That’s sport for you”.

It’s been an incredible season so far for Kildare on both fronts, with promotion secured in both the football and hurling league. Chapter three of their 2021 story starts tomorrow at St. Conleth’s Park.