Kerry’s Tommy Walsh Back in Gold for Sunday?
This summer Tommy Walsh is back to gold again and playing with real purpose. He was a real handful in winning the ball and turning the tide against the Red Hands. The question this weekend is, should he be given a starting Kerry jersey, as the Kingdom bid to stem the blue wave.
His former partner in the Twin Towers Kieran Donaghy is adamant that “he has got to start the final for Kerry. You got to go with your size, with your big guys. He’s an experienced player and a leader in the dressing room.”
Tommy Walsh? He’s 6ft 6in and has created scores and space against Tyrone. The question now in Kerry is what he can do against Dublin. Walsh, Clifford, Stephen O’Brien, Sean O’Shea and Geaney in a forward line. It could get interesting. If he doesn’t start, the danger is that by the time he comes in, the damage could be done. Exhibit A; Andy Moran for Mayo.
From Kingdom Come and Australia Bound
Growing up in the Walsh household and being a son of a legend from the great Kerry team of the 70s and 80s, Tommy Walsh was always going to attract attention when he pulled on the Kerry jersey.
“Another who can call on a rich pedigree to bolster an already evident talent. Walsh, the son of former Kerry midfield and full-back great Sean, was the midfield lynchpin for the county minor team in '06 and quickly graduated to last year's senior panel. He will represent viable options for the All-Ireland champions as a midfielder or even full-forward where he debuted for Munster in the inter-pros last year."
[Ten to Watch in 2008, Irish Independent]
His career path was routed by the underage Kerins O’Rahilly's teams in Tralee. Here his dad (Sean Walsh) and David Moran’s father (Denis ‘Ogie’ Moran) were part of the furniture and Eoin 'Bomber' Liston was a family friend. Through the Kerry senior team, Tommy made it all the way to Australia and back again.
Whilst in Australia, he spent the best of five years playing Aussie Rules Football. This ended when he endured a horrific freak injury, tearing his hamstring away from the bone, a similar injury that ended the career of rugby star Paul O’Connell.
Walsh returned to the county panel in 2015. He returned from Australia at the age of 26 but it just didn’t happen that time under Eamon Fitzmaurice. This season however has proved an Indian summer after some powerful performances for Kerins O’Rahillys in last year’s club scene including 2-2 against Dr Crokes. By 2019, he was back in the picture under Peter Keane.
Interestingly, the men who influenced him, Ogie, his dad, the Bomber, all had seven or more All Ireland medals each. He won’t be overawed at the thought of a medal-laden opposition on Sunday.
The First Coming
Walsh had caught the eye in his own right fairly quickly. He emerged with the county minors in 2005 and was the key man in the Kerry minor team reaching the All-Ireland final in 2006. He made his debut for the Kerry senior team in March 2007, playing in the NFL against Limerick.
He was brought into the panel and made it into the team in the league. It was an invaluable experience. Every night he was marking the likes of Marc Ó Se or Tom O’Sullivan in training and developed the skills which helped him prepare for 2008 when he made it into the team.
He made his championship debut against Clare in the Munster Championship, scoring a point. Walsh stamped his mark on the quarter-final in apocalyptic conditions against Galway with a sensational run and score in the second minute. He scored 1-2 in the semi-final and four points in the final. That day Tyrone managed Tommy and the Star Donaghy well. In ’09 he got his winners medal as a starter.
That was the year he finally gave in to the lure of Aussie Rules, when St. Kilda’s list manager Matthew Drain flew from New York to Dublin in October 2009 to complete the signing.
When Tommy came back in 2014, he returned to a different Gaelic football than the one he had left. But coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. It would be a