If Kilkenny had done it they'd have said Typical Kilkenny", claims Offaly Star Brian Whelehan At the offset of the 1994 Championship campaign, Brian Whelehan and his Faithful County comrades had one solitary objective - to make amends for the past two years by overcoming Kilkenny in the first round. That achieved and anything else would be a bonus. Well, what a bonus it has turned out to be! A year which began on a promising note with a comprehensive victory over the reigning All-Ireland champions finished on dramatic fashion on All-Ireland final day with the most breathtaking five-minutes scoring spree ever witnessed at Croke Park. By the time the fat lady broke into tune the Offalymen had established themselves as the finest hurling team in the land. Talented young wing back Brian Whelehan was one of their most reliable players throughout campaign and the Birrman must surely be an automatic All-Star. What a year it has been! Understandably, Brian Whelehan is sick to the teeth of suggestion that Offaly's latest All-Ireland triumph was in any way fortuitous, that they somehow sneaked up in the eleventh hour and undeservedly stole the title from gallant Limerick. Offaly are no thieves, they are as honest as the day is long. People seem to have suddenly forgotten that a Championship match is seventy minutes in duration that the team which registers most scores during this time is rightful victor. "I'd argue the point with anybody that, on merit, two best teams in the country contested the All-Ireland final. The team which gets the most scores deserves to win - it's the so-called traditionalists from counties like Cork, Tipperary and Kilkenny who are trying to make little of our win. If Kilkenny had done it they'd have said "typical Kilkenny. Another great win by a truly great team!" They got great credit when they beat us with a late score last year and again when they came back against Wexford in the Leinster final, but when we did it in the All-Ireland final we're branded flukey, which is a load of crap," Whelehan blasts. Brian Whelehan is 100% correct, the critics are mere begrudgers. The class and worth of a team which overcomes Kilkenny, Wexford, Galway and Limerick cannot be doubted Offaly's standing as All-Ireland champions should not be questioned. It's 1994, and they are quite simply the best! Better than all the rest, even! Having lost out to Tipperary, Galway and Waterford respectively in 1989, '91 and '92, All-Ireland U21 finals, this year's glory tasted particularly sweet to Mr Whelehan. It was a long time coming, but well worth the wait! "I usually get very uptight before big games and I was very nervous going out for the All-Ireland final," Brian recalls. "It's the place to be for every county hurler but, because of the desire to win and the fear of losing, I don't think any player can enjoy an All-Ireland final anymore. From the supporters point of view it's great to be there and to be a part of the occasion - but the players don't get to enjoy it - unless afterwards, if you win!" Brian Whelehan played right up through the grades with his local Birr club winning championship medals at all levels and joining the senior ranks as a fifteen year old. A senior county championship was secured in 1991 and Birr went on to be crowned Leinster club champions only to lose to Galway's Kiltormer in the All-Ireland club final by 0-15 to 1-8, with Whelehan lining out in his now familiar right half back berth. After the excitement of winning the All-Ireland on September 4th last, the local club scene in Offaly is just starting to get back to normal with Birr scheduled to meet Lusmagh in the Championship this weekend. A county minor for three years, Brian garnered All-Ireland Minor medals in 1987 and '89. His father Pat Joe trained the '87 team and was a selector with the 1989 side (in '89 he was also trainer of the Senior county team!) Since making his senior county debut in the ill-fated All-Ireland semi final clash with Antrim in 1989, Brian Whelehan has gone on to establish himself as a regular in the Faithful's first team. To go with the Leinster and All-Ireland medals collected this year he had already picked up a few Walsh Cups, a Leinster in '90 and a National League in '91. wing back is the position Brian knows best, but hasn't always been his role in Offaly's great scheme of things. "I used to play centre back for the club at underage level and then played corner back on the '87 minor team, wing back in '88 and centre back in '89. I have more or less played exclusively as a wing back since then," he explains. A substitute on the 1986 All-Ireland Colleges winning Birr Community School U18 side at the tender age of fourteen, Brian Whelehan has simply oozed class since first taking hurl to hand and seems destined to continue doing so for many years to come. The two men credited with playing the biggest roles in shaping his career are Brother Vincent in Birr Presentation School and later on, his father, Pat Joe. Between them, they have built one hell of a hurler! Looking back at the path trodden en route to All-Ireland glory, Brian points out that the first round tie was always going to be Offaly's most difficult. "The Kilkenny game was the big one. We were very keyed up and that was probably our best performance of the year. The first round is just like an All-Ireland final, because Kilkenny were All-Ireland champions going for three in a row it was never going to be easy to beat them. I don't think any of us even dreamt that we'd get to the All-Ireland final. A Leinster title would have been enough for this year - but then we beat Galway - and people said it was a poor Galway team - and we ended up in the final before we knew where we were. Then when we won the final they said we were lucky - it's typical of the media to make excuses once the traditional big name counties are all beaten." For every young lad who starts to hurl, the dream is to win an All-Ireland medal. In most cases this dream is never realised, for a chosen few it is. This time last year, Brian Whelehan would scarcely have believed that he was destined to win a Senior All-Ireland - within the next twelve months. "I didn't think I'd ever win one, especially after losing three U21 finals," Brian admits. "This year it was simply a case of taking each game as it comes. To beat Kilkenny was the big thing - we trained so hard for that one that it stood by us." The most dramatic part of this year's hurling championship was the final five minutes, five minutes which will go down in Offaly folklore, five minutes during which the Faithful County demonstrated the practicality and economy of saving the best win till last. "I quite honestly thought we were gone," Whelehan concedes. "I didn't even see Johnny take the free, I just assumed he'd tip it over the bar. I just heard a roar and saw the green flag go up - and the next thing it was going up again. It all happened in a blur but I can remember all the closing points when everything just seemed to click into place. I suppose Limerick were unfortunate in that they seemed to be in control for most of the game, but we had our good moments too. Limerick were coping well but we took them by surprise and it was too close to the end for them to respond. It was a real purple patch and, from a scoring point of view, the best you could ever wish to see." And the rest, of course, is history. Martin Hanamy lifted the Liam McCarthy Cup and Brian Whelehan was chosen by Ciaran Barr as The Sunday Game Man of the Match - even though he admits himself that he "wasn't over pleased" with his performance. A third All-Ireland title and, maybe more significantly the laying to rest of the Munster hoodoo have given Offaly a tremendous boost, a much need one! "It's been a huge lift for the county. After what happened us in the U21 finals it would have been devastating to lose. I think that what it proves more than anything is that Leinster hurling is currently is the best in the country," Whelehan suggests. So where does this Offaly team go from here? "I hope the hunger for another All-Ireland will be there, but there are no guarantees in this game. The likes of Galway, Tipperary, Cork and Kilkenny will be building teams during the League and will all be threats next year. This team has the potential to win All-Irelands but its all down to hard work. A lot of sacrifice is needed - but it's worth it when you win something." One gets the definite impression that, at the tender age of 23, Brian Whelehan might just be preordained to win a few more All-Ireland medals. Bad news for just about every wing forward or centre in the country! Written by the Hogan Stand Magazine. 30th Sept 1994 Tweet

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