Whether or not he will return to the Dublin panel next year is not a decision which Conal Keaney has yet made. Actually, it’s a topic he hasn’t even broached with himself.
The Ballyboden man turns 37 next month. He was again one of the star players for the Dublin hurlers as they progressed beyond the Leinster Championship but fell at the next hurdle to Laois.
Having KO’d Galway in their final game of Leinster, losing out to the Joe McDonagh Cup champions was a major disappointment.
“To be honest, I haven't looked back,” Keaney told Balls at the launch of Dublin Sportsfest 2019.
“We were beaten by Laois and there were a few words said in the dressing room, I can't even remember what they were. It was just, get home, forget about it. I haven't even read a paper. I only just started watching the games again. It was a very difficult defeat.
“You can't argue. Laois were better than us on the day. That's the bottom line, we have to learn from that and move forward.
“At some stage later on in the year, we'll sit down, analyse it and try to learn from it. At the minute, I'm not looking back yet.
“The only thing that I remember is that they were absolutely flying it. They were getting scores from everywhere. They're were burying into tackles and we just weren't for some reason or another.”
Conal Keaney is photographed at the launch of the Dublin City Sportsfest 2019. A week-long celebration of sport & physical activity from 23-29 of September. Everyone is encouraged to participate regardless of age, ability or background. For more information visit www.dublincity.ie/sportsfest. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
There were three weeks between Dublin’s win against Galway and the preliminary quarter-final versus Laois. Players enjoyed the win but were soon back training, preparing to play Eddie Brennan’s side.
We were doing all the analysis work for that, trying to get all the injuries cleared up. There was nothing different that you could put your finger on and say, 'That was why we didn't perform against Laois'.
You have to give Laois a bit of credit. I didn't see the following game against Tipperary but from what I'm hearing, they were very competitive. I think people are misjudging Laois. They're better than people think.
How he dealt with the loss to Laois is similar to how Keaney has treated disappointing results in the past. With experience comes the knowledge that there is little value in steeping himself in the memory.
“What other option is there? Read the papers and see what people are saying about you? That's negative. You know yourself if you don't play well, you know yourself when you do play well. You don't need someone in the paper to tell you that you did or you didn't.
“The most important thing is getting feedback from people around you all the time, whether that is good or bad. That's ultimately what most inter-county players would do. It's not about the perception of other people.”
