Hard work the foundation for Eoin Cody and Kilkenny

Kilkenny will bounce into Croke Park this weekend on the back of winning a fifth Leinster senior title on the trot.

Key forward Eoin Cody was a goalscorer as Kilkenny emphatically got the better of Dublin and the former young hurler of the year is hoping it’s something they can build on.

“When you look back and you reflect on these things, you will understand how great of an achievement it is,” he said. “For all the success Kilkenny has had over the years, it is only the fourth time it has been done, and you are part of it.

“A lot of us, unfortunately, haven’t got success in terms of Liam MacCarthy Cups; obviously that is what Kilkenny judge their history on.

“When we look back on it, we will always have this five in-a-row, and hopefully we can add to it as well.”

The Dublin victory was hallmarked by Kilkenny’s relentless intensity that had their opponents chasing shadows for the majority of the contest.

That type of workrate is something that has defined all the great Kilkenny teams and the 2024 version is no different, even if Cody had to work on it.

“I suppose workrate is probably something that wasn’t my greatest strength, I was probably naturally a hurler before workrate,” admitted the Shamrocks man at the Bord Gáis Energy launch.

“I suppose maybe when I was starting with the seniors, Henry and Tommy Shefflin were our manager and coach. Tommy kind of got on to me about my fitness and working hard at that. It was what I needed to make that step up. I kind of zoned in on it and I got called up by Brian Cody.

“The 2019 All-Ireland semi-final I watched that as a spectator. I wasn’t on the panel. I saw the workrate of the forwards and that really opened my eyes of the level I needed to get to if I wanted to be in there.

“You had to work really hard,” he added. “It is a given that as soon as you put on that Kilkenny jersey that you are going to work yourself as hard as you can for that jersey and your team-mates and everyone involved in the background there.”

Ahead of semi-final weekend, there’s a lot of talk about the strength of the Munster teams with three out of the last four still involved, but Cody feels that Leinster was hugely beneficial to Kilkenny all the same.

“It was great to be have a competitive championship,” he said. “You had to win in the last weekend to get to the Leinster final, and that is the first time since I have been involved that we had to.

“It was great this year that we knew it was a knockout game, and we had no excuses. We went through Leinster undefeated, which we haven’t done while I have been there as well

“Nothing beats winning. You look at that Limerick team, and their winning mentality is unbelievable. Winning is so important in success, it is everything.”

While the 23 year-old has been successful in a provincial sphere, he is still chasing that elusive All-Ireland crown. Come Saturday night he’ll be hoping to be back in another final.

That ambition is not something he’s shying away from either.

“We grew up watching Kilkenny win All-Ireland after All-Ireland. It is something you want to be part of, and it hasn’t happened in nine years.

“I don’t think there is any added pressure. I think it would be nearly a bonus at this stage to win it after waiting such a long time. Especially for so many on the panel it would be their first time.

“It is something that we are aiming for, it would be a special day to win an All-Ireland title.”

Like Clare, Kilkenny are in the same position as they have been for the last two seasons and they’ll be hoping for a similar result come the final whistle but they know full well they’ll have to work for it.

“I don’t know if we are any better or any worse than we were last year but we are always keen on building,” he said. “We can’t really measure if we are any better or any worse, we just have to focus on the game in front of us.

“It’s basically everyone contributing and just about putting our head down in training and, I suppose, individually players pushing ourselves and focusing on the next day. I am delighted with where we are,” he finished.