After a prolonged spell of snow, frost and slush over the past few weeks, Kilkenny’s footballers will hope to begin their 2010 campaign a week later than planned with the visit of Offaly to Freshford on Sunday for their preliminary round clash in the O’Byrne Cup (2pm ).
With sporting fixtures being called off left, right and centre last weekend, the O’Byrne Cup games were no different with a complete fixtures freeze.
Dick Mullins is again at the helm for the Cats, whose 2010 schedule will include tough National Football League clashes against beaten Munster finalists Limerick and newly relegated Longford.
Mullins says that the bad weather hasn’t been the only frustration in trying to get his side together over the past couple of weeks, with the training ban also a huge annoyance.
“It’s a total disaster and what has really destroyed us altogether has been the training ban in November and December,” he told the Kilkenny Advertiser.
Speaking on Tuesday, Mullins outlined his frustrations, “The ban on training meant that we could do nothing. How could you do anything when you weren’t allowed to do it?
“Then when it came to January 1 there was nothing only frost and snow – where do you go?
“We have no team together at the moment and we don’t know what we are even going to do for Sunday if it all goes ahead.”
Every county panel goes through a yearly transition and the Kilkenny Senior footballers are no different.
With the recession continuing to bite, some of the players are unavailable for 2010, having decided to go abroad in search of work.
“There are not going to be any new guys in there so you are basically looking at the same panel as last year with a few deflections.
“A couple of lads have emigrated; four or five lads will be unavailable to us - Peter Dollard, Seamus Brennan, Paul Mullins and Noel Roche.
“Noel hasn’t gone yet, but he will be over the next week or so and he hasn’t come into the panel because of emigration.”
Kilkenny and Offaly haven’t met in the O’Byrne Cup since 2006, a day to forget for the Cats who succumbed to the Faithful County by 0-25 to 0-2.
In the intervening years Kilkenny have had more bad days than good, but there was a slight glimmer of hope with a shock win over London in 2008 in Division 4 of the Allianz National Football League.
However, despite London being reduced to 13 men the roles were reversed in the Tommy Murphy Cup at Freshford later that year and since then Kilkenny football has remained stagnant.
Should the fixture go ahead this Sunday, Offaly will be without their under 21 players or the likes of John Reynolds, Matthew Mitchell or Brian Connor who are committed to their colleges for the pre-season competitions.
However despite a depleted Offaly outfit, it is hard to be optimistic that Kilkenny will begin 2010 on a winning note, given the difficulties they have faced in preparing for this game.
