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Kerry player Desmond praises influence of new chairperson Walsh

 THE positive influence of former GAA presidential candidate Sean Walsh as Kerry ladies coun...



Kerry player Desmond praises i...
Football

Kerry player Desmond praises influence of new chairperson Walsh

 THE positive influence of former GAA presidential candidate Sean Walsh as Kerry ladies county board chairperson is already being felt.

A former Kerry County Board and Munster Council chairman, Walsh was elected to the top job in Kerry ladies football in May after a turbulent few months for the county.

The senior side was relegated from Division 1 of the Lidl Ladies NFL, docked points for fielding an unregistered player, senior manager Graham Shine stepped down in April, while there was also a saga surrounding the minor management.

Walsh’s appointment has led to calm after the storm, and his impact is already being felt, explains Kerry defender Aislinn Desmond.

‘We are based at the Kerry Centre of Excellence in Currans since the new management came in and Sean Walsh has a lot to do with that as well, he has brought a real sense of professionalism since he was appointed,’ Desmond says.

‘Sean has the right contacts in the right places, he knows how to get things done. He was one of the best chairmen of the men’s county board and we are very fortunate that we have him involved with us now.

‘He has met us as a team, anything we want he’ll get, he’s been very supportive.’

Having a training base at the Kerry Centre of Excellence is a welcome development.

‘Since we’re in Currans we are getting a lot better facilities. We are getting food after training now, these are basic things I know but it’s not until now that we are getting them. It’s very positive at the moment,’ Desmond explains.

Eddie Sheehy’s appointment as manager has also steadied the ship and after a convincing 2-16 to 1-6 semi-final win against Waterford, reigning champions Kerry now face Cork in the TG4 Munster final this afternoon (SAT), at CIT in Cork (2.0).

‘The league was a tough blow and getting relegated was very disappointing,’ Desmond says.

‘We have to put that behind us now and focus on the championship because we want to retain our Munster title, be involved in the latter stages of the All-Ireland series and hopefully be involved in an All-Ireland final.

‘The new management has brought a fresh ethos around the place, we got new players into the panel too and we have a lot of players who are looking to impress.’

At last, Desmond can see light at the end of the tunnel, and victory over Cork would help the Kingdom build more momentum ahead of the new group-stage structure in the TG4 All-Ireland ladies’ senior football championship.

‘It’s important for us to retain the title and after a poor league campaign we want to win every game from here to the end of the season,’ Desmond says.

‘‘There’s also the new round-robin structure in the All-Ireland series, four groups of three teams with the top two going forward to All-Ireland quarter-finals, so a team that goes in as a provincial champion can’t be drawn against another provincial champion in the same group so winning Munster helps that way too.’

Standing in Kerry’s way on Saturday are Cork, two teams that have faced each other more than most in recent seasons.

While the Rebelettes have dominated at All-Ireland level, honours have been pretty even in the Munster series. Kerry’s Munster title win last season was their third in five years, showing Cork haven’t had it all their own way closer to home.

‘We always seem to put it up to them in Munster and they seem to find another gear in the All-Ireland series,’ Desmond says.

‘We are focussing on ourselves, on our game-plan and retaining the Munster title.’

Desmond doesn’t buy into the theory either that Cork are a team on the wane, given their last silverware was the 2017 Division 1 title.

‘They have lost a lot of experienced players but at the same time they still have a core group of experienced players that have been there the whole time,’ the Kerry star says.

‘It’s hard when any team loses some of its more experienced players but there’s no way anyone would ever underestimate a Cork team when you look at who they still have and what th

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