You have to hand it to Longford.
Were it not for the Midlanders, Diarmuid Connolly would this Sunday be eyeing up a clean sweep of tournaments entered in 2016.
Were it not for Dublin’s defeat to Denis Connerton’s men in the O’Byrne Cup semi-final at the beginning of the year, the St Vincent’s man would be looking to add a sixth cup to his already groaning trophy cabinet.
As it is he will have to make do with five, IF St Vincent’s do the business against Rhode in the AIB Leinster club football final this Sunday. Thus far this year Connolly has won
- Allianz League (four in a row)
- Leinster SFC (six in a row)
- All-Ireland SFC (two in a row)
- Dublin SFC
People complaining about the inherent shitness of 2016 might want to avoid conversation with the always winning 29-year-old.
SportsJOE GAA Editor Colm Parkinson did have a conversation with the All Star half-forward ahead of Sunday’s provincial decider, which can be heard in full on Wednesday’s ‘GAA Hour’.
The wide-ranging discussion covered his views on the black card, his rivalry with Lee Keegan and his perceived aversion to the media but, in this sneak peek, arguably the most naturally talented footballer of his generation argues that his talent is not, in fact, a product of nature.
He puts it all down to hard work and dedication. Although he does admit to a little luck with injuries also.
“At the moment I wouldn’t single out one thing I am working really hard on,” says Connolly of his training regime. “Trying to relax a little bit more, maybe, stop thinking about fecking Gaelic football.”
This Diarmuid Connolly lad… one to watch https://t.co/mgV6aO42I0
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 27, 2016
Connolly has amassed 30 major titles in his career, which is a credit to his robustness and he suggests avoiding injury has helped him to develop and hone his skills.
“I have been lucky with not getting injured too often. That is a big factor. When you’re playing al the time you are learning all the time. When you are crocked and off your feet for a couple of months things start to get a little bit stale. I have been lucky with the flow I have got and I have been with successful teams,” he said.
When pressed on the parts of his game that come easy to him, Connolly did offer up one area but shot down any suggestions his ability to kick off both feet came easily.
“Tactics wise, that kinda comes easy to me,” he said.
“I always worked really hard on kicking off both feet and my kick passing, score getting and stuff like that. I don’t think it is one thing, it is loads of things.
“No one is naturally two-footed. I just developed that at a younger age and kept it going. I was always able to kick off my left and right.
Probably Tony Diamond was a big fan of two-footed players and he was always drilling that into us. We had successful underage teams at Vincents and he used to call it ‘your good foot and your better foot’, rather than ‘your weak foot and your better foot’.
You can hear the whole interview on Wednesday’s GAA Hour. Subscribe here on iTunes.
