THE BALLYHALE SHAMROCKS team brought a special jersey with them on their way to winning a seventh All-Ireland crown this year.
It carried the signatures of all the players and was placed on the wall of their dressing-room for every meeting, training session and game as a symbolic gesture to one of their team-mates.
Star forward Adrian Mullen remembers Eoin Doyle as someone who brought “craic to every training” and someone he would have been close with.
In April of last year, the 24-year-old sadly passed away following a motorbike accident and his Ballyhale friends ensured his memory would be with them for the remainder of their campaign.
“He’s still part of the team so we don’t want to forget him and we want to bring him throughout the year,” Mullen says when explaining the concept behind the jersey idea.
An emphatic victory over St Thomas in the Croke Park decider was the end-point of Ballyhale’s journey, with Mullen posting five points from play in a fitting tribute to his deceased team-mate.
Everyone on the team was close to Eoin, it was very hard to hear that news,” the 19-year-old continues on the one-year anniversary of Doyle’s passing.
“He was such a big part of the team, you couldn’t meet a nicer lad you know? You could talk away to him, I remember going to a few training sessions with him and just the craic you’d have, it’s just something you’d remember and it was one year [anniversary] there yesterday so you just remember him at the times of the All-Ireland like he was looking down over us.
“I’d say against Castlecomer I got sent off and things weren’t going our way but somehow, Evan Shefflin just came up and got a goal out of nothing and just moments like that you remember him.”
Mullen’s exploits in a Ballyhale Shamrocks jersey resulted in him being named the AIB Club Hurler of the Year at the weekend ahead of Ballygunner’s Pauric Mahony.
He also edged out his club-mate and first cousin Colin Fennelly for the award. Along with his brother Michael, Mullen has drawn inspiration from his relatives from a young age.
The Fennelly roots grow deep in the Ballyhale club. Mullen’s uncle Michael Fennelly was co-manager of the side when they won a fifth All-Ireland in 2010. His sister Monica has four sons on the current senior outfit — Darren, Patrick, Kevin and Adrian Mullen.
Under the management of Henry Shefflin, Adrian realised a lifelong dream of achieving All-Ireland club success on St Patrick’s Day.
“It’s unreal. I’m fair grateful to be with them, and to be managed by Henry. The day before the All-Ireland a few years ago, Mick and Colin used to call into the house.
I used to be looking at them, wondering if I’ll ever make it. Even to win an All-Ireland with the club is unreal, but you do want to go that one step further and become one of them.”
As Mullen’s star continues to rise, he can now look forward to attempting a breakthrough with the Kilkenny seniors.
He received a phone call from manager Brian Cody a few months ago inviting him in to train with the team, and now that the Ballyhale train has come to a stop, he’s free to focus his energies on that.
Dublin await the Cats in the opening round of their Leinster SHC series, and Mullen is eager to give himself the best chance of earning some game time at senior level.
“Brian was very lenient and said to just concentrate on club and we went in [to county] after. It was a good call.
“You’re probably a bit shocked [to get the call], it was a very weird moment. You’re just thinking when you’re a young lad to get in there for a few training sessions, but just to get that call was unreal.”
“I think myself, Darren [Mullen] and Evan Shefflin have been brought in. It’s great being there. We’ve had a few short sessions with them. It’s been good so far.
“Intensity is higher. It’s just a different standard altogether. You just have to adapt to that, use every session to get better.”
The AIB GAA Club Player Awards recognise the top performing players throughout the Club Championships in hurling and football and celebrate their hard work, commitment and individual achievements at a national level.
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Not a great game to watch but a great response after the defeat to Cork.
Kerry haven’t been winning tight games against Tyrone so it’s good to come out the right side of this one.