Kilkenny delighted to welcome Connolly back into Dublin fold

Our digital recording devices are lined up in front of him and straightaway Ciarán Kilkenny is all chat. Why wouldn’t he be?

He's still coming down off a special weekend. He drove up to Royal Portrush on Sunday morning, along with Dublin team-mate Dean Rock, to watch Shane Lowry up close and personal as he completed the first six holes on his way to the 148th British Open.

“Incredible, unbelievable,” says Kilkenny.

“I’m a massive sports fan, so I’d always wanted to tick that off the bucket list, go see a Major. One thing I thought was brilliant was for the first couple of holes he looked really strong, was just smiling and laughing and looked like he had a really good relationship with his caddy, Bo. I suppose that kind of released the tension a little bit.”

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And does he play much golf?

"I'm trying! It's good to just get out and hit a few balls every now and again, clear the head. Con O'Callaghan hits a ball like Brooks Koepka now, he has a good, powerful drive, he can hit the ball 300-plus now, he's probably the best out of all the lads."

Before that, driving his sister Aoife up to her wedding at The Millhouse Manor in Slane, on Saturday morning, getting to meet all the now extended Kilkenny family.

“She’s my oldest sibling, so to see her getting married, how happy she was, was pretty special,” says Kilkenny, sitting further back in his seat.

Only when it comes to what happened in between, Kilkenny is suddenly less chatty. Beating Roscommon in Croke Park on Saturday evening, Dublin a full 2-10 clear on 39 minutes, has already guaranteed their place in an All-Ireland semi-final, now only two stops short of a record fifth successive title.

Kilkenny is certainly not going there yet, not with Tyrone still to play in Omagh next Sunday, even if that will only determine the semi-final pairings. That’s par for the course on Dublin football chat.

“I suppose it’s another game, and you can’t really look past it,” he says, leaning forward in his seat, gently putting his hand over his mouth, keeping it golf-like chat.

“In any sport, like whether it’s golf or anything, it’s always about the next ball or the next hole, so that’s the next game that’s in front of you. You can’t afford to think about what’s past that, you just think about what’s right in front of you and in sport if you’re thinking about something that’s after that, you’re going to fall over yourself.

Serious contest

“So your focus is on Tyrone and they’re performing really, really well. They’ve had a really good league campaign, incredible manager, incredible team, so you just have to really focus in on that game. It’s going to be a serious contest. We have to prepare our best for that one, it’s the next one that’s in front of us.”

Speaking in Croke Park as an ambassador for Sure, the statistics partner of the GAA, most of Kilkenny’s figures speak for themselves; five championship games this summer, scoring 1-9, with a 77 per cent shot efficiency, 95 per cent pass completion; 41 championship games since 2012 (missing 2014 with a cruciate injury), scoring 4-79, the five-time All-Ireland winner only 26 earlier this month

Soon, the answers dry up, some questions diverted to his manager, Jim Gavin. The return of Diarmuid Connolly, on the morning after Dublin beat Cork in their opening game of the Super 8s, does allow him provide some insight, although whether Connolly may actually feature or not, we'd have to "ask Jim that one".

Did Connolly’s return surprise him in any way?

“We were just so focused on the games we were playing, and I suppose that was probably a discussion that was going on with the management. Diarmuid just came back in like any other lad that has been performing well with the club, and has been playing with us for the last couple of weeks.

“So great to have him back in, a great lad, a great leader for the group. Unbelievable talent as well. He’s got ridiculous talent. I remember one time a couple of years ago we were walking off the field from training and the ball was on the 13-metre line, on the sideline, and off the deck, off his weak foot, he just slapped it over the bar. He’s just a phenomenal talent.

“So yeah, a really special talent, like a lot of the other guys that are out there at the moment from all the other counties.”

Players come and go anyway, he says, Kilkenny reminding us of his brief excursion to try out Australian Rules, back in 2012.

"Every own person has their own journey. Paul Mannion went off to China, Jack McCaffrey went off, I went off for a year. I suppose that's the great thing that Jim has, and the group has, lads go off, they can make decisions, and I suppose the good thing is that Jim has an open door policy. If lads are performing really well with their clubs, they're welcome to come back into the group.

“Diarmuid is playing really well with the club and the lads are just buzzing to have him back in the group. Not only is he a serious talent but he’s a serious leader within the group and has been for the last 10 years. So it’s great to have him back.”

And that’s where the chat ends up, Kilkenny not dropping a single shot. Why would he?