Ciaran Kilkenny skips Dublin team holiday to focus on double life as Sigerson player-manager

If you want something done, ask a busy person.

There is, with little doubt, any busier GAA player in the country right now than Dublin All-Star winner Ciaran Kilkenny. He is not only trying to maintain his fitness for the Dubs over the festive period but looking forward to the 2016 Sigerson cup campaign. The 22-year-old is currently a student at St Pat's teacher training college in Drumcondra and will captain the side in their game against G.M.I.T early next year. However the college has a long standing tradition of the college captain that not only leading out the team, but taking on the managerial reigns for the season. Speaking to reporters last night, the Castleknock man has no issues with his early audition to become a possible successor to Jim Gavin:

"Last year I was over the ladies team and I was helping out the hurlers as well, you get kind of voted in. It’s an eye-opener for me. “You have to get lads on board to help you out. You have to be laying out the cones, you have to manage the team. We have to fund for our own sponsorship and that so it’s a great experience for us. “It’s great for teacher training colleges, it’s a special opportunity for lads then, they can go on and be managers in Cumann na mBunscol, it’s a really great experience going forward."

The role means that Kilkenny missed last week's Dublin team holiday organised for their All-Ireland success to Thailand. The 22-year-old will get away for a break in the coming days, but accepted a voucher for a holiday instead of heading away with his Dublin teammates:

"I still get a voucher so that’s nice but I’m flat out now. I’m in my final year doing history and Irish so I have a lot of assignments now on top of me and trying to train the college team as well, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and obviously other commitments as well.”

Kilkenny has also revealed he will be playing Fitzgibbon Cup with the college in the new year. 2016 will be the first time in many years that St Pat's are competing in the top level of third level football. The Dublin half-forward is happy to make the step up to the managerial bib, but experienced the more earthy side of GAA management when facing W.I.T in a league semi final last month. St Pat's were delayed getting to the fixture due to an issue with their team bus - unable to make it under the various bridges in and around the venue of Monasterevin,

“We arrived there in grand time, quarter to seven, but there were these bridges in Monasterevin and the bus driver wouldn’t go under them. "So we were going every different direction to get around these but just kept coming to different bridges so eventually, at a quarter to eight, we had to walk under the bridge to the ground."

“I had the bag of balls over my shoulder, the bibs, the cones, everything, walking down there in the dark."