Brothers in Sport Read Free Page A

me.’
    Pat made an appearance as a substitute in that final in what was his final Championship game for Kilkenny. He played in the pre-Christmas schedule of League games, but over the holiday period decided that it was time to retire from the inter-county scene after a fourteen-year career in which he had adorned the game and won every honour possible. He was making his exit as John was beginning to establish himself as a regular. But their futures would be intertwined once again when Pat became joint trainer of Kilkenny with Eddie Keher for the 1979 Championship.
    The system for appointing managers in Kilkenny was quite different then, with the county champions allowed the right to choose. Shamrocks of Ballyhale had won the Kilkenny title in 1978, and early in 1979 Pat received a call from Kevin Fennelly Senior asking him to take charge of the county team. Pat had been coaching informally with The Fenians, but had not seriously considered becoming involved at county level so fast. ‘It happened very quickly and we had to adapt quickly.’ Success was instant. With John and Ger holding down places in the back line, Kilkenny reached the All-Ireland final and comfortably defeated Galway. It brought the decade to a successful end. Kilkenny had played in seven out of ten finals and won four.
    Ger won his second All Star award at the end of 1979 and also joined Pat on the Texaco Sports Star roll of honour when he was named Hurler of the Year. Just a year later the Henderson brothers experienced the other side of life. In the 1980 Leinster final they faced Offaly. An attendance of less than 10,000 created a ghostly atmosphere in Croke Park. Kilkenny supporters hardly bothered listening to the commentary on radio. It became a titanic struggle. Offaly held on grimly for a historic victory. ‘We were not retained,’ says Pat simply. John also paid a price. He was dropped from the panel for 1981.
    The break was short-lived. At the end of 1981 Pat was again offered the position of Kilkenny trainer, this time on his own. John had enjoyed a good season with The Fenians and was rejoining the Kilkenny squad. Pat decided that with his two brothers in the squad he did not wish to be a selector. That decision was accepted by the County Board. Kilkenny were hurling in Division Two of the National League at the time. The first task was to gain promotion, and that was achieved. At the time the Division Two champions played in the knockout stages of the League proper. Kilkenny went all the way to the final and beat Wexford. It was the start of two years of domination. They won the 1982 All-Ireland, retained the League title in 1983 and secured the ‘double double’ when winning the All-Ireland again in 1983.
    ‘We were very fortunate at that time because a good crop of players had emerged from the very successful under-21 teams of 1974 and 1975,’ Pat reflects. ‘I also had a lot of great leaders on the field. I had played with Noel Skehan for many years and he was a great help to me. Frank Cummins was another who worked very hard for me. And Ger was a leader by that time, a great ally.’
    Brian Cody was the winning captain in 1982. Nickey Brennan, who later became president of the GAA, played alongside Ger and Paddy Prendergast on the half back line. Kieran Brennan, Richie Power, Liam Fennelly and big Christy Heffernan had emerged as big-time players. Christy scored 2–3 of Kilkenny’s 3–18 points in the final against a Cork team that was led by Jimmy Barry-Murphy and contained household names like Martin O’Doherty, Johnny Crowley, Dermot McCurtain, Tom Cashman, Tim Crowley, Tony O’Sullivan, Pat Horgan, Seánie O’Leary, Ray Cummins and Éamon O’Donoghue.
    A year later the personnel had barely changed. Harry Ryan started for Kilkenny. Kevin Hennessy had established himself with Cork. But the margin was much closer. Kilkenny had enjoyed an eleven-point victory in 1982. It was down to just two in 1983.
    ‘I was coaching a team