Tommy Walsh was small in stature, but by God, he was big in heart.
The Tullaroan man carved out a reputation for himself as one of the most resilient performers in hurling with his bright red helmet and his blazing on-field style to match.
What Walsh didn’t have in size or physicality, he certainly made up for in skill, in heart and in tenacity in his Kilkenny number five jersey.
Walsh was one of those players who his manager, his team-mates and his opponents alike could always rely on to deliver a display of fire and determination. The fire never left that man’s belly.
Walsh was recently speaking to GAA.ie when he described the mental fortitude that shone brightly throughout his career. He revealed the attitude and the mindset required to succeed in the Championship hurling pressure cooker.
It’s fierce, it’s no holes barred and it’s cold blooded. That’s what it takes.
“I’d liken the mindset you need for Championship hurling to sitting down to your dinner having not had a scrap to eat all day. No matter what’s put in front of you, you’ll have it demolished in no time. When it comes to Championship hurling, you better be ready to eat your dinner. And fast,” said the 34-year-old.
This hunger, this borderline starvation is the most important factor a player can bring to a GAA field. It defeats skill, it defeats strength and it defeats speed, just as Tommy Walsh learned when a Carlow hurler thought him a lesson at a Leinster interprovincial training session.
It was a lesson that would stay with him throughout his career.
“Eddie Coady from the Mount Leinster Rangers club in Carlow marked a couple of the Kilkenny lads in training that night in a game of backs and forwards and tore strips off them. He won the ball high, low, in front, behind; it didn’t matter what way it came. (He) Absolutely hurled the ears off them,” recalled Walsh.
“That’s what belief can do for you. It can drive a Carlow hurler to tear into Kilkenny hurlers and come out with the ball time after time. Belief and hunger. There are many ingredients to win a championship hurling match, but they are two of the most vital.”
Hurling is one of the most skilful games on earth, but skill will only get you so far.
The majority of top level players, be it senior inter-county or senior club will have a certain amount of skill. What will separate one player from another is an underlying will, something deep inside them that absolutely craves success.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a 6ft 5 in giant who can lift phenomenal weights in the gym. It doesn’t matter if you’ve the silkiest pair of hands on the team. If you’re not fired up, you’re nothing.
You need to look no further than Walsh’s remarkably successful Kilkenny career to confirms these words. The Tullaroan man won a whopping nine All-Stars, nine All-Ireland medals and one Hurler of the Year accolade along the way with the Cats. It’s a mentality that was shared throughout Brian Cody’s Kilkenny’s players, they simply wouldn’t accept second best.
That’s why Kilkenny are so successful.
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