The Ballyhale coach is relaxed, but not blasé, as he ponders Sunday’s meeting with Joe Canning and Portumna. Gavin Cummiskey reports.

MAURICE AYLWARD may be guiding Ballyhale Shamrocks towards immortality . . . well, enhancement of the stellar status already attained, this Sunday in Semple Stadium but such was the coach’s relaxed demeanour and willingness to discuss the pressing issues in hurling, he could be heading into any regular season game.

Certainly not facing Portumna in an All-Ireland club semi-final (Not that there is such a thing as “regular season” anymore).

On Sunday, in Thurles, the last two men to collect the Liam MacCarthy chalice, Henry Shefflin and James “Cha” Fitzpatrick, will be on show. TJ Reid could become a familiar name within the national sporting consciousness (providing he isn’t flogged to death) by the years end.

Then, of course, there is Joe Canning. Lumbered with the tag of greatness since clipping over a sideline as a 15-year-old in the All-Ireland minor final replay, to beat Kilkenny, his path is that of a phenomenon beginning to deliver on great promise.

Yet, such is the cluttered GAA calendar, this match comes in mid-February, months after both teams earned their passage to this juncture.

“We are very lucky that Piltown have been very good to us,” said Aylward. “They are catering for a lot of people, Waterford footballers and WIT college, ladies and men, and De La Salle (potential final opposition) have to come out there as well.

“The last fortnight has been okay, we’ve avoided training in halls and we were down on the Thurles pitch last week and we were happy with that.”

Ballyhale gave a decent defence of their crown last season when their injury-ravaged side eventually fell to Birr after reclaiming the county title. This time they have Shefflin and Fitzpatrick back in harness, even if Brendan Costello is ruled out due to another groin operation and Eamonn Fitzpatrick is in Australia.

Cha Fitzpatrick was the most pressing concern after being ill recently, but his 0-5, four from play, for St Pat’s, Mater Dei in the Fitzgibbon Cup on Tuesday has him smiling again.

“I told him to go ahead and play as having had the mumps he missed out on two or three weeks of training and our challenge matches,” says Aylward. “Another match will have done him good so he was very happy last night with himself. As you know yourself he is a man we badly need next Sunday.”

The return of the last two Kilkenny captains makes Ballyhale favourites to eclipse even the remarkable scoring prowess of Canning and the Hayes brothers, Kevin and Damien.

“We have to ask the question: ‘Are we as hungry as we were two years ago?’ Henry and even Cha have plenty of miles on the clock. Cha is a young man, but he has been going hard since 16 years of age. With Kilkenny and the club going so well they are at top class hurling for the last four or five years. Non-stop.

“Take TJ Reid. Between the last Sunday in October and the last Sunday in November, when we played the Leinster final, TJ played in six matches, four with the senior club and two with the club under-21s, and there are a few others like him. That’s what people don’t realise; everything is played off at that time of year.”

A case study of Reid’s hurling activities reveals the ongoing problem within the sport; hurling constantly flogs their youngest and most talented thoroughbreds.

“He’s says it doesn’t, but it has to. From Kilkenny to the under-21s and straight into the Ballyhale Shamrocks and then when his break comes he is in training with WIT for the Fitzgibbon.

“TJ loves hurling and would hurl six nights a week if he had to. If we weren’t going well he would be involved with Kilkenny in the league anyway. There is no rest.”

Aylward is asked for a solution and it turns out such a decision nearly became rule recently.

“There was an awful lot of common sense with doing away with under-21 and lifting minor to under-19. The under-21 was brought in when I was that age. It was brought in to help players between minor and under-21, junior players, to help them make the step, but third level caters for that now.

“Back when I was under-21 there were very few lads going to third level but that has changed in the last 10, 15 years. They train very hard and it puts huge pressure on young players. I can’t for the life of me understand why the GAA can’t use common sense and do something about it.”

This is a February problem soon to be forgotten once a trip to St Patrick’s Day and March hurling is achieved.

“It is not about what you can do. It’s about cutting down on the errors. Not doing anything stupid. The least mistakes will win it. Sure, you will get Joe going out 60 yards for a sideline or Henry hitting a free from 70 yards, but it is the small things that will win this match.”

Last week as the Ballyhale cars were arriving for training at Semple Stadium, the Portumna squad were departing.

“We didn’t meet them at all. They were just pulling away when we were beginning to arrive. There will be no great contact until we start hitting off each other at 2.30 next Sunday. There will be plenty of contact then, I can tell you.”

* The death has occurred of Nell McCarthy former president of the Camogie Association. A native of Carrigtwohill, her uncle, Jimmy Kennedy, captained Cork to the All-Ireland senior hurling title in 1919 and Cork hurler Niall McCarthy is a grand nephew.

Nell played with Dublin club Celtic and managed them to the first All-Ireland championship club title in 1964. She coached Dublin to several All-Ireland titles in the 1950s and ’60s and was chair of Dublin County Board from 1952-1970. She was elected association president in 1971.

MUNSTER (INTERPRO SH v Connacht): Brendan Cummins (Tipperary); Conor O’Brien (Tipperary), Declan Prendergast (Waterford), Eoin Murphy (Waterford); Benny Dunne (Tipperary), Michael Walsh (Waterford), Séamus Hickey (Limerick); Shane McGrath (Tipperary), Donal O’Grady (Limerick); Séamus Prendergast (Waterford), Ken McGrath (Waterford), Tony Griffin (Clare); Andrew O’Shaughnessy (Limerick), Stephen Molumphy (Waterford), Paul Kelly (Tipperary). Subs: Clinton Hennessy (Waterford); Diarmuid Fitzgerald (Tipperary); Shane OSullivan (Waterford); Jonathan Clancy (Clare); Gerry OGrady (Clare); Barry Johnson (Cork); Ray Ryan (Cork); James Woodlock (Tipperary); Gerry Quinn (Clare).

ULSTER (INTERPRO SH v Leinster): Ryan McGarry (Antrim); Ciarán McGourty (Antrim), Neil McGarry (Antrim), Mark Craig (Derry); Ciarán Herron (Antrim) Liam Hinphey (Derry), Johnny Campbell (Antrim); Andy Savage (Down), Brendan Herron (Antrim); Kevin Hinphey (Derry), Brendan McGourty (Down), Paul Braniff (Down); PJ O’Connell (Antrim), Karl Stewart (Antrim), Paul Shields (Antrim). Subs: Graham Clarke (Down); Michael Herron (Antrim); Eddie McCloskey (Antrim); Gabriel Clarke (Down); Ruairí Convery (Derry); Ruairí McGrattan (Down); Neil McAuley (Antrim); Joey Scullion (Antrim); Colm Duffin (Antrim).