THE proudest man in the county. That is what  Pat Coady, the  former Carlow and St Mullins senior hurler,  says he himself will be,  if his clubman, Marty (Mouse) Kavanagh, breaks the previous scoring  for the Carlow senior hurling team which Coady currently holds.

At the moment Coady is top of the scoring stats with 14 goals-634 points (676 pts) but Kavanagh’s 1-13 over the weekend against Down has brought him to 29-577 (664) leaving only twelve points between the pair.

Coady, who retired from intercounty hurling after the 2008 Christy Ring Cup final,  says he has watched Marty coming to this stage.  The young  man made his senior debut for St Mullins a year after Coady had retired from club hurling.

Pat Coady during this playing days with Carlow
Photo: ©INPHO/Donall Farmer

“I will be proud. Pure pride. I am after seeing him up along. We never hurled together apart from a challenge match. I remember making sure that someone took a picture of us in the dressing room.

“Mouse is a genius. That is the way I would class him. He is a talent of any generation. On television yesterday, they were going on about Clare’s Tony Kelly. We have our own Tony Kelly. He is the same type of hurler. Pure flair. He produces moments in matches,” states Coady and goes on to give an example of what he is talking about from the 2019 Leinster club senior hurling  semi-final .

“If you think about the Rathdowney-Errill match, when Paddy Purcell got their first goal? Within two minutes Marty had the ball in the back of the net at the other end.

“For previous St Mullins teams, that Purcell goal would have been the signal to fold.  Within minutes Mouse had it in the back of the net. Thirty yards. The goalkeeper didn’t even see it. Also, in the same match, he gave the pass for Patrick Boland to get the goal. As well as being a pure genius and the greatest scorer this county has ever seen, he will also be the greatest assistor and creator. He always gives it to the best placed player,” enthused Coady who claims his clubman is possibly a better team man than many top players in All-Ireland winning teams.

“Mentioning Tony Kelly, you wouldn’t see Tony Kelly creating as much. Mouse wants the team to win. The pressure he puts in himself. He knows the weight St Mullins have on him. He knows the weight Carlow have on him. He would be beating himself up if he hasn’t played his part in getting scores or creating scores.”

Marty Kavanagh scored 1-13 for Carlow last Saturday and is closing in on Pat Coady’s scoring record
Photo: michaelorourkephotography.ie

Coady says he and Kavanagh came together with the elder St Mullins man assuming the role of free-taking coach. It soon became apparent to the teacher that his pupil didn’t need any help. Funnily enough, he says Marty would have been overawed to be taking lessons from Coady who was Carlow’s top scorer.

“He would be lifting them.  I would be embarrassed trying to teach him. He would be embarrassed with me. He is so humble. He would be looking at me as I had been a former player who had got scores,” explained Coady.

“I would have done bits and pieces with him over the years. I was an orthodox free taker off my right. Mouse hit them off his left. I remember saying something to him like getting himself square.

“I then realised there was nothing I could do to teach him how to take frees. I suppose it is about trying to teach a fella to play golf. He would have his own swing.”

By Kieran Murphy

Only competitive fixtures – Championship, NHL, Walsh/Kehoe Cup, Centenary Cup, Oireachtas Cup – are included in the figures.

Stats provided by Leo McGough.