Kilkenny stalwart Eoin Cody has said it is both a personal and team goal to win an All-Ireland title sooner rather than later.The Cats were the kings of hurling for years but have struggled to replicate their past successes.
Losses to Clare in the 2024 semi-final, along with consecutive defeats in the 2023 and 2022 finals to Limerick, have stung badly for Cody and the team.
While repeated losses can dampen spirits, these setbacks have only strengthened Cody and his teammates. They are now more determined than ever to end their Liam McCarthy drought.
"I suppose you set out to win an All-Ireland at the start of every year, and unfortunately, we haven’t won one in a long time now. It’s my personal goal and the team’s. For me, I’ve never won one, like so many others on the team at this stage, and we all just want to win one so badly,” he said on the GAA website.
“Maybe if we just start focusing on game by game and not on the end goal, things might be different. In Kilkenny, we all want to win one so badly, so maybe that’s the reason we haven’t gotten there. The hunger is definitely there, that’s one thing for sure.
This was absolutely unbelievable by Eoin Cody 😱😱 pic.twitter.com/20LZEWsXCe
— Niall McIntyre (@NiallMcintyre) July 25, 2023
“You grow up watching Kilkenny win All-Ireland after All-Ireland, and it makes you feel like, yeah, when you wear the jersey, that’s what you’re going to do as well. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out that way for us. But look, we’re not far off. A puck of a ball this year, and we could have been in an All-Ireland final."
Kilkenny gave up a six-point lead in the All-Ireland semi-final to eventual winners Clare. Cody scored one of the goals of the campaign. While you might think this would be something he’d revel in, Cody said it was quite the opposite. He believes it was the worst thing he could have done, given the loss that followed. He added that he’d go back in time if he could to change the team's fortunes.
“To be honest, it was the worst thing I ever did because, with the disappointment in the weeks after the game, everyone was coming up saying stuff about the goal. It was the last thing you wanted to hear. I didn’t do too much else in the match. If I could go back in time, I almost wouldn’t have scored it at all,” he added.
Cody was speaking at the Shinty-Hurling International 2024 launch at Croke Park in Dublin this week.
