Shane Conway doesn’t hurl for television coverage or recognition.
But someone else might.
In a place like Kerry where the small ball exists only in a small, marginalised little pocket the trouble is getting the word out there.
Old traditions die hard but new ones grow harder and by not showing the cream of the county’s crop on television, how the hell are young Kingdom gasúrí going to be dissuaded from football in the direction of its poorer relation?
“It would help for the promotion of the game. It is a bit of a pity that our games aren’t covered. We’re not too worried about that, but it would be nice if they covered even just a small bit of the games, a few scorers here and there on the Sunday Game..It’s a very competitive championship,” said the Kerryman on Thursday’s GAA Hour Hurling Show.
“The games are all competitive and high scoring, there definitely should be a small bit of time devoted to it. It would promote hurling in the weaker clubs and it might get more kids involved at underage and then those counties could progress in the future…”
Shane Conway is pure class, speed and skill @UCCgaaClub @LixnawGAA @ElectricIreland pic.twitter.com/HlkQZCPoP7
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) February 12, 2019
Because even though the base is small, the grá for hurling in north Kerry is just as strong as it is in north Tipperary. This is where Conway grew up. His dad was a hurler, Paul Galvin may have been an idol and the pride of Finuge, but Conway always preferred life with a stick in hand.
“You start off when you’re four or five in the back-lawn or wherever you do start and then you go to your first training. Hurling is very big in my family, my dad played, my brother played, we all played. The very minute I got into it, I loved it. It was very easy for me practicing because I loved it so much and thanks be to God I’ve had a good enough career so far anyway…”
Winning the Fitzgibbon Cup with UCC this year has been the pinnacle so far.
“It’s exciting playing alongside them lads (Coleman, Fitzgibbon, O’Leary and UCC team)…Last year, the management gave me a boost of confidence by making me captain. I was delighted to be playing with those sort of players…It’s great because you look down beside you and you see what’s down the line with you, you see these top players and you know that you’ve held your own with them…”
Conway more than held his own and while it must be frustrating that his teammates are all heading for days in the summer sun, in Munster and Leinster championships while he plugs away in the Joe McDonagh Cup, Conway has his own targets.
“Sometimes it can be frustrating. It’s frustrating for every player and for every team that isn’t making the top grade at the moment. You want to be getting the chance to play in Croke Park every year. At the moment, we’re focused on getting a few performances down in Kerry and hopefully we can make Croke Park. That would be a big dream for me, to go out and play in the Joe McDonagh final…”
You can listen to the Conway interview, and much more from Thursday’s GAA Hour Hurling Show here.
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