Michael Duignan sat down for an in-depth conversation with one of the greatest hurlers of all time in today's Daily Mail. The conversation was transcribed by Phillip Lanigan.
Tommy Walsh was the man for whom the term swashbuckling could have been invented. Aside from Henry Shefflin, was there ever a man more beloved among Kilkenny fans or even among fans of rival counties who admire hurlers pf bite and tenacity?
Back to 2009. It was a great year for Walsh but also a tumultuous one. At the beginning of the season, talk of Walsh's reputation for 'sailing close to the wind' and 'playing on the edge' was at its zenith.
(Brian Cody once cleverly answered the charge of his team's propensity for 'playing on the edge' by saying he hoped they were indeed playing on the edge, because that's where you need to achieve at the elite level, an ingenious response, albeit one which deliberately ignores the fact that 'playing on the edge' was a euphemism to begin with).
This intensified after Barry Kelly's failure to send him off in the first ever Leinster match involving Galway. However, the year was to end in glorious vindication and triumph for Walsh. Kilkenny beat Tipperary in a celebrated All-Ireland final and Walsh was proclaimed hurler of the year. Interestingly, Galvin won the football award. 2009 was a year for the bold boys.
Walsh's humility and droll sense of humour shone out in his post-award interviews. A week later, he demonstrated his quiet generosity and thoughtfulness.
Michael Duignan suffered a personal tragedy seven years ago when his wife Edel died from cancer.
My wife Edel died that September the Sunday after the All-Ireland final. You sent a parcel down to the house with Aidan Fogarty, who used to hurl with Offaly, with jerseys and socks and togs and your red helmet which my son Sean wore for years after. It meant an awful lot.
Walsh was partially inspired to do so by the memory of Bill Hennessy, the Kilkenny and Tullaroan midfielder who won two All-Irelands in a row in 1992 and 1993.
I remember my mother gave him (Hennessy) a programme, I think it was Antrim v Kilkenny in an All-Ireland semi-final. He had the whole Kilkenny team sign it and bring it back to me.
That meant so much to a young lad.
Read more in today's Irish Daily Mail.
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