Kelly Peter
July 14, 1995
Galway's Peter Kelly
NAME: Peter Kelly
DATE OF BIRTH: 25/2/74
HEIGHT: 5' 6"
WEIGHT: 10st 7lbs
CLUB: Sarsfields
COUNTY: Galway
HONOURS: 5 All-Ireland medals (2 club, 1 Under 21, 1 Under 18, 1 Vocational School); 2 County Senior medals; 2 Connacht medals; 1 Under 16 county medal (captain); 2 Young Hurler of the Year in club 1990 and 1992; 2 All-Ireland Colleges medals (athletics) 1994; Hurler of the Year in 1993 in school; various underage trophies in both hurling and football
INTER COUNTY DEBUT: 1994 All-Ireland Senior Hurling semi final v Offaly
TOUGHEST OPPONENT: Most opponents but Martin Hanamy would have to get the nod after getting Man of the Match in the semi-finalist year off me and an All Star
FAVOURITE GROUNDS: Croke Park; Duggan Park, Ballinasloe
OTHER SPORTING INTERESTS: Gaelic football, soccer, golf
FAVOURITE POSITION: Wing forward
BOYHOOD HEROES: Joe Cooney, Seanie Leary, John Fenton, Michael Conneely
FAVOURITE PLAYERS:v DJ Carey, John O'Connor, Mickey Linden (football)
BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON CAREER: David McGann without doubt in national school and at underage, John Fahey in secondary school. The 3 Mikes (Michael Conneely, Michael Murray, Michael Mulkerrins) over me now at senior and Jimmy Cooney's few wise words before a big game
THE HIGH POINT OF YOUR CAREER TO DATE: Winning 3 All-Ireland medals in Croke Park
OTHER PLAYERS WITH A PROMISING FUTURE: Kevin Broderick, Fergal Healy, Cathal Murray from my own club Liam Madden
WAYS OF IMPROVING THE GAME: Less stoppages, try and let the game flow - advantage rule. For forwards introduce the hand-pass goal. Play all games League and Championship, between March and October. Pay players so that they give more time to practice and improve their skill
DISLIKES ABOUT THE GAA: Too professional of an organisation to be still amateur. Not as much coverage of big games like the soccer cross channel. Not enough training given to referees
HOPES FOR 1995: To win an All-Ireland Senior medal which is every young boys dream above in Croke Park, and anything after that would be a major bonus
HAVE YOU FELT ANY PRESSURE FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF YOUR FAMOUS BROTHER? He is following in my footsteps - only joking. No pressure because time is on my side and it is hard to compare a forward to a defender. He is very skilful and every person is different so I will have to do with my own style of play
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO WIN ALL-IRELANDS WITH YOUR CLUB IN 1993 AND 1994? Beyond my biggest wish or dream but with the hurling season back in full swing, I still cannot at this time believe that the club created history in winning two back to back and that I was very lucky to be on the team
NICE TO PLAY IN THE SAME CLUB FORWARD LINE AS THE GREAT JOE COONEY: He is a pure, gifted, natural hurler and he brings every player into play. His leadership, inspiration and skill are a joy to watch. It's taken a bit for granted until he retires and then we will all be saying that without doubt he was one of the most skilful of players and will be badly missed
Taken from Hogan Stand magazine
14th July 1995
Vol 5 No 28
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