The Kennys High kings of Wicklow and Baltinglass football Hugh has to be among the 3 top full backs in the county By Colm Keyes The Wicklow renaissance is slowly but surely gathering momentum. John Kenny has played a significant part in its birth but he hopes that his sons don't endure what he did for the best part of two decades. John was quite a useful midfielder with the Garden County back in the late forties, fifties and early sixties, enjoying an inter county career which spanned from 1947 to 1963. But apart from injuries and old war wounds, the only physical thin he has from those years is an O'Byrne Cup medal. The O'Byrne cup. To many hard pressed counties in Leinster it's like a beacon in a bog. Brilliant, but in a championship context rather useless. John Kenny didn't complain, though. He was quite glad of it. At that time Meath and Dublin were two dominant forces but apart from a sporadic interruption from Loth and then Offaly, they shared Leinster titles in John's time. Father Time has changed virtually nothing. Dublin and Meath are still dominating the eastern province just as John Kenny's three sons from Baltinglass are in their prime. "I hope what happened to me doesn't happen to them," he says. "I went for 16 years without a provincial title and we had more good teams down here in Wicklow. But we never made the breakthrough," he reflects. Now Billy Kenny (28) and his twin brothers Hugh and Paul (22) could face the same experience. But that statement contrasts greatly to the mood and flow of optimism which currently prevails in Wicklow. Victory in the All-Ireland B Championship could be the stepping stone to success and with the Kenny's club Baltinglass one of the foremost, football in the county is in ascendancy. Wicklow will pack a mixed 1992 away and pray that hope springs eternal in 1993. The memory of their savage beating by Kildare in Croke Park still lingers but the B Championship, which launched Clare to greatness in the summer past, gives Niall Rennick and his charges the opportunity for revenge next year. If a transfer market existed in gaelic football, Hugh Kenny would be on the shopping list of the two teams which have kept Wicklow pinned down for the last number of years. Meath and Dublin are struggling to fill the full back position after Mick Lyon's perhaps permanent hibernation and Gerry Hagan's uncertain future. Kenny could provide an answer to both problems. Like Brian Clough's vice like grip on Roy Keane though, Niall Rennick probably wouldn't let him go. The respect between full back and manager is probably mutual. Kenny is high in his praise for the Meath man. "He is definitely the main reason why we can look forward to the future with some degree of confidence," he believes. "He has given us the belief in ourselves which makes us think we can succeed. We no longer feel inferior to some of the more established counties." Kenny shouldn't feel inferior to anybody. His performances for Wicklow since he joined the panel in 1988 (his first game was against Clare in the National Football League) have merited many rave reviews. Last year he represented Leinster and it goes without saying that he is one of the cornerstones of the renaissance. John Kenny's contribution to the present Wicklow set up also manifests itself in the team centre back Billy, a tough, tight marketing defender, six years older than his twin brothers. Paul Kenny has yet to make a serious impact at inter county senior level but he has played his part with Baltinglass as they recorded six Wicklow senior championships on the trot. That's a remarkable achievement by any county standards and one which Wicklow football have obviously reaped the benefits of. In addition to the three Kennys, Sean and Kevin O'Brien, Ray Danne and Tom Donoghue are the other Baltinglass representatives on the Wicklow team. Baltinglass is, of course, a hotbed for football and that's the environment in which the young Kennys were brought up in. Hugh's promise was evident from an early stage. As a strapping 14 year old he took on the best of his age in the Feile na nOg long kick competition in Cavan, as part of the Centenary celebrations and beat them. To this day many observers remark on the distance and strength which Hugh can put into his kicks and which have so often relieved an over worked Wicklow defence. Hugh spent three years as a minor with the county but missed a crucial match with Dublin through a broken leg. It could have been the start of a great rivalry with Vinny Murphy as Murphy lined out at centre forward that day. Success at underage was limited but on another front Kennys, Baltinglass and Wicklow were making headway. Wicklow is renowned for producing some of the best vocational school teams in the country and so it was when Hugh attended the local institution which won a Leinster title. The county were also successful with two provincial titles and Hugh describes those days in the vocational school as valuable to his football career. "Everything was well organised and I think that reflected the attitude in the local club as well. A number of the Baltinglass school team stepped up to play with the senior club team and go on to win that six in a row." The highlight for Kenny and his team mates came on St. Patricks Day in 1990 when they won the All-Ireland club title. "That was the greatest moment in my football career, even surpassing the recent B win. It did so much for the parish and the county. Here we were in the bottom of Wicklow, the nearest we saw of Croke Park was on All-Ireland Final day through the television and suddenly we were in the limelight. It was great," he recalls of an emotional day. Baltinglass also hit the limelight late this year but apparently for all the wrong reasons. A crippling injury to Mullingar Shamrocks and Meath player Bernie Flynn during their Leinster quarter final aroused controversy. Initially people jumped to conclusions and the blame was laid at the door of Baltinglass. Kenny's name in particular cropped up in many conversations. A year and three months earlier Meath were the most talked about team in the country after their marathon encounter with Dublin. In the quarter final replay Flynn fell to the ground and Kenny was sent off as a result. Now people were making up their own minds but nothing could have been further from the truth. Firstly Kenny was well away from the place where Flynn went crashing to his horrific injury and secondly, video evidence underlined the Baltinglass view that it was a complete accident. Kenny feels that the publicity which the incident received in the aftermath affected Baltinglass's bid to emulate 1990. They were subsequently knocked out by Eire Og from Carlow. "Everyone was quick to make a big thing about the injury when it happened, pointing fingers of accusation everywhere but there was very little made about an apology afterwards." Hugh Kenny is the committed type on the football field but he is also one of the most committed men of his age to the GAA. "It's unusual but lovely to see it in a guy like Hugh," says Wicklow Chairman Jimmy Dunne. "All the Kennys including the father are real GAA men and would never let anyone down." Dunne recalls the aftermath of the All-Ireland in 1990 and a county in celebration. "Can you imagine what it was like for the people of Baltinglass? But the think I remember vividly is Paul and Hugh Kenny's attitude to an under 21 match the following day with Wicklow. They were so keen to get out and do well in it even after the highs of an All-Ireland celebration. They took part and enjoyed the celebrations all right, but they were as fresh as a daisy the next day and ready for the challenge. That to me sums them up." Dunne also gives great credit to them, particularly Hugh for the work they put into the coaching of juveniles. "If we had a few more Hugh Kennys around the association would really move into the future," he says. Hugh, a Baltinglass clubman to the bone, coached the Under 14s to a county title this year and also has a strong involvement with the county Under 14s. "Thats unusual for a man of his age," says the Chairman.. "I'm not surprised myself that Hugh didn't receive an All Star nomination this year. Okay, so we went out early in the championship but Hugh is definitely one of the best three full backs in the country. When you look back at his record over the last few years, there's very few full forwards who have got much off him," Jimmy points out. Looking to the future, Wicklow will look to the likes of Kenny to lead them and, in truth, they couldn't look to a more responsible character. Naturally devastated at their defeat against Kildare earlier this year ("they shocked us, we weren't expecting anything like that"), he is determined to set the record straight next year. If they don't, Wicklow football could continue to suffer on and more talent, like that which John Kenny was in his hey day, could go unrecognised. Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 18th December 1992 Tweet

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