When DJ Carey and his golf clubs left Bangkok Airport on Saturday morning, the heat was approaching 35 degrees. Yesterday, on the sort of miserable, dark, grey Monday afternoon in Dublin city that wouldn't find any friends among hurling purists, Carey's mind was sufficiently focused to ponder on the possibility of a revamped structure for the hurling championship.
"It's not all doom and gloom with the present backdoor system . . . the likes of Offaly have used it extremely well for their own benefit," says Carey, who yesterday was accepting another in the seemingly never-ending stream of awards, this time the Guinness/GAA Writers' Player of the Year (hurling) award, before adding: "The more inter-county hurling games that we get the better and if that means changing the present structure I'd be happy.
"Whatever system is in operation, I would say that we (Kilkenny) have a good chance of at least getting two or three matches a year." If any changes to the present backdoor system in hurling were to be brought about, however, Carey insists that it should only be done in a way that wouldn't affect the club structure. "The club is the grassroots of the association and you have got to look at the overall picture in proposing any changes. The clubs are central to that and must remain that way," he says.
Carey, who enjoyed a sunshine break away in Thailand for the past two weeks, is currently reaping the rewards for a fine season for him and his county. On Saturday night, in his absence, he received the Gaelic Players' Association hurler of the year award and yesterday he was presented with the writers' equivalent. No doubt, there'll be more on the way but Carey is sanguine. "Winning All-Ireland medals is what is it all about and everything else is a bonus," he says.
As to the comparatively poor attendance at the GPA's annual general meeting in Killarney on Saturday, Carey - who was himself one of the absentees due to his holiday - said that he couldn't comment for the numbers that were present but that he considered there was "no conflict" between the fledgling body and the GAA. "There's a good rapport . . . although things have gone very quiet on that front (of late), so maybe something is happening."
Carey earned the GAA writers' award by heading a shortlist that also included Offaly's Johnny Dooley and Cork forward Joe Deane. An indication of Kilkenny's influence on the season is that another Kilkenny hurler, 19-year-old full back Noel Hickey, won the Young Player of the Year (hurling) award from a shortlist that included Offaly's Brendan Murphy and Galway's dual player David Tierney.
The poor weather conditions around the country meant that none of the three footballers shortlisted for the Player of the Year were able to make it to Dublin for the presentation. Seamus Moynihan and Mike Frank Russell were thwarted in their efforts when their scheduled flight from Farranfore was cancelled while the other nominee, Padraig Joyce, was also unable to be present.
Moynihan won the award, which was accepted on his behalf by Kerry team-mate Killian Burns.
The Young Player of the Year in football is Galway midfielder Joe Bergin. The other nominated players were Dublin's Collie Moran and Armagh's Stephen McDonnell.
