Michael Kavanagh (actually) retires

dastardly00

Another Kilkenny hurling legend has decided to call it a day. Mick Kavanagh has retired with a massive haul of medals, including 8 Senior AI medals.
Kavanagh was a top-class, hard working, and reliable corner-back. Also, I think Kavanagh was the only player on the current panel who was there before Brian Cody took over.
Enjoy the retirement Mick!

From KK People:

Another member of the exclusive ‘Kilkenny 8 club’ has called it a day with the announcement that Michael Kavanagh has ended what has been a glittering inter-county hurling career, writes John Knox. The St Lachtain’s (Freshford) defender has enjoyed a fantastic career, during which he won eight senior All-Irelands, 13 Leinster championships and five National Leagues. The announcement comes only weeks after Eddie Brennan, another winner of eight medals, finished up and two months after James ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick announced his retirement.
“There comes a time when you know it is time to go. That time has come for me,” said Kavanagh, who had the honour of winning All-Irelands at county and club level, the latter in 2010 when St Lachtain’s won the intermediate All-Ireland title.
Kavanagh had the distinction of playing at senior level with the county before he featured with the under-21 side. He played for three seasons with the Kilkenny minor team, but failed to land an All-Ireland.
The next jump was on to the senior team. In 1998 he was called into the senior squad by then manager, Kevin Fennelly, and he made his championship debut against Dublin in Parnell Park.
“Not winning a minor All-Ireland was my one regret,” Kavanagh joked. “But really, how could I have regrets? I arrived for a golden era in Kilkenny hurling and I got to play with and against some players who will forever be remembered as giants of the game.”
Kavanagh took time out to consider his future, and he hasn’t rejoined the Kilkenny training since the start of the year.
“It is a big decision, a painful decision, but everyone knows the end of the road has to come some time,” he added. “Kilkenny are in a good place now, and it is time for me to hand over to the next generation. I made the best contribution I could, and I enjoyed every moment of it. The years just flew by.”
Kavanagh was an All-Star on four occasions between 2002 and 2008. He was a product of that great hurling nursery at St Kieran’s college, winning a senior championship in 1996.

Also, I think Noel Hickey and Henry Shefflin are the only old fogeys left on the panel now! :pac:

thewildcat

best of luck mick great medal haul one of the best corner back's to play the game
have a good one.

jimthemental

A great hurler who just seemed to put in more effort every year. Hope he enjoys his new found time off. Thanks for the reasons to celebrate over the years Mick!

lala88

Some record only lost one game in Linester in 14 years of playing!

rebelomar

Great Player...never seemed to be any drama with this guy. Got on with his job and did it to the highest level. A model pro in an amateur game! Best of luck to him..

The_Kew_Tour

lala88 wrote: »

Some record only lost one game in Linester in 14 years of playing!

Says a lot about Leinster hurling.

adrian522

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Says a lot about Leinster hurling.

Personally I'd say it says more about the level Kilkenny have been playing at for the last 15 years but each to their own I guess.

premierstone

adrian522 wrote: »

Personally I'd say it says more about the level Kilkenny have been playing at for the last 15 years but each to their own I guess.

A little from column A and a little from column B I would say, but yes you are right KK did take teh game to a new level and Kavanagh was a big part of that.

adrian522

It just seemed to me that over the years the likes of Wexford and Offaly fared much better against other teams than they did against Kilkenny.

I can remember Wexford running Cork very close in semi finals when Cork were at their best, Wexford also beat Tipperary in 2007, Offaly drew with Galway a couple of years ago and I also remember Waterford struggling with both Offaly and Wexford in Davy's first year in charge so the argument that Kilkenny won all those Leinster titles because their was no opposition doesn't really stand up.

I always loved Kavanagh as a player, there always seemed to be question marks around him from certain supporters but after every big match he always seemed to hold his own and win his own position. Not as flash as some players but as reliable a player as you could wish for. Hope he enjoys his retirement.

premierstone

adrian522 wrote: »

It just seemed to me that over the years the likes of Wexford and Offaly fared much better against other teams than they did against Kilkenny.

I can remember Wexford running Cork very close in semi finals when Cork were at their best, Wexford also beat Tipperary in 2007, Offaly drew with Galway a couple of years ago and I also remember Waterford struggling with both Offaly and Wexford in Davy's first year in charge so the argument that Kilkenny won all those Leinster titles because their was no opposition doesn't really stand up.

It was/is a mentality thing as much as anything when the other counties went out against KK they were beat before the ball was even thrown in, cant speak for the other counties but that defeat to Wexford was a low point in Tipp hurling, no disrespect to Wexford, and was at the height of Bab's breakdown, I remember sitting in the stand that day a couple of rows back from the players and there was Eoin Kelly, Shane McGrath and Brendan Cummins sitting beside each other, cos Babs deemed them not good enough to start

adrian522

premierstone wrote: »

It was/is a mentality thing as much as anything when the other counties went out against KK they were beat before the ball was even thrown in, cant speak for the other counties but that defeat to Wexford was a low point in Tipp hurling, no disrespect to Wexford, and was at the height of Bab's breakdown, I remember sitting in the stand that day a couple of rows back from the players and there was Eoin Kelly, Shane McGrath and Brendan Cummins sitting beside each other, cos Babs deemed them not good enough to start

Yeah, point taken about teams sometimes not showing up against Kilkenny, even Dublin to some extent in this years Leinster final.

Agree, Babs was in full meltdown at that stage ...

adrian522

apparently John Dalton is also retiring/leaving the panel !!!

http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/sport/gaelic-games/talent_drain_continues_as_dalton_opts_out_of_kilkenny_panel_1_3511762

"The talent drain from the Kilkenny senior hurling squad continued today with the news that defender, John Dalton, has opted out of the panel, writes John Knox.

Quoting work commitments, the Carrickshock defender was reported as saying he simply hadn’t the time to commitment himself 100% to training right now. Rather than miss what he regarded as important pre-season preparations, he stood down from Brian Cody’s squad.

The player was unavailable for comment, but the County Board confirmed that the 26-year-old was opting out of the panel, and they wished him well. Dalton was told that if he changed his mind in the not too distant future, the door for a return would be left open.

John Dalton joined the Kilkenny panel in 2006 and won five senior All-Irelands, six Leinster championships and two National Leagues. He also won under-21 and intermediate All-Irelands with the county"

dastardly00

adrian522 wrote: »

apparently John Dalton is also retiring/leaving the panel !!!

http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/sport/gaelic-games/talent_drain_continues_as_dalton_opts_out_of_kilkenny_panel_1_3511762

"The talent drain from the Kilkenny senior hurling squad continued today with the news that defender, John Dalton, has opted out of the panel, writes John Knox.

Quoting work commitments, the Carrickshock defender was reported as saying he simply hadn’t the time to commitment himself 100% to training right now. Rather than miss what he regarded as important pre-season preparations, he stood down from Brian Cody’s squad.

The player was unavailable for comment, but the County Board confirmed that the 26-year-old was opting out of the panel, and they wished him well. Dalton was told that if he changed his mind in the not too distant future, the door for a return would be left open.

John Dalton joined the Kilkenny panel in 2006 and won five senior All-Irelands, six Leinster championships and two National Leagues. He also won under-21 and intermediate All-Irelands with the county"

Holy fcuk! :eek:
Even though he wasn't making the starting 15 during last years championship, it's a big loss for KK. He has a lot of experience but is still relatively young.

adrian522

I think he was kind of cast aside after the league final last year, but it is still a shock and is a loss in my opinion but I feel if the management wanted him to hang around they could have persuaded him to.

randd1

adrian522 wrote: »

I think he was kind of cast aside after the league final last year, but it is still a shock and is a loss in my opinion but I feel if the management wanted him to hang around they could have persuaded him to.

I'm from Carrickshock and the word around here so far is its completely down to work commitments, that he's basically working two jobs between Glanbia and the farm, and there's just not enough time for inter-county hurling. Gutted for the chap, he loved playing for Kilkenny.