Eight-time All-Ireland winner Richie Power has backed his former teammate Henry Shefflin to manage the Kilkenny hurlers in the future, describing the 10-time All-Ireland winner as a natural fit for the role.
Shefflin, who recently concluded a three-year stint as Galway manager, is returning to his home club Ballyhale Shamrocks for the 2025 season. During his previous tenure with the club, Shefflin led them to back-to-back All-Ireland titles before transitioning to inter-county management.
Speaking about Shefflin’s potential to manage Kilkenny, Power said:
“Oh absolutely, I definitely think we will see it. It could be five years, it could be 10 years down the line, you just don’t know.”
Power believes Shefflin’s experience with Galway, despite not yielding silverware, shouldn’t detract from his credentials.
“Inter-county management was definitely the next step for him. He had done it all at club level, winning a county championship in Kilkenny and then going on to win a club All-Ireland, so he ticked that box,” Power explained.
Reflecting on Shefflin’s tenure with Galway, Power was quick to defend his former teammate, citing the broader challenges faced by the county.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for him in Galway, and people will probably point to it not being a successful period. With the amount of underage success Galway have had, for them not to turn that into senior success, for me it’s a bit of a mystery. But I don’t think that should completely fall back on a manager either,” he said.
Power suggested that the issue lay more with the collective development of players than Shefflin’s management.
“I think it’s a case that some of the players maybe just didn’t train on, and collectively as a group, the players just weren’t good enough.”
Power made his remarks while promoting the Cois Nore Cancer Support Centre and the Carlow/Kilkenny Homecare Team, which recently received €3,500 each from the proceeds of Power: A Family Memoir, a book detailing the hurling exploits of the Power family.
