Ace Kerry hurler Shane Conway believes that the county should be aiming for a return to the Munster Championship in the coming years.
Kerry last competed in Munster in 2004, when they suffered a 4-19 to 1-7 defeat to Cork, and they dropped into the newly-created Christy Ring Cup the following year.
After winning that competition for the second time in 2015, they played in the Leinster qualifier group in the following two years before that concept was effectively replaced by the Joe McDonagh Cup from 2018 onwards.
Kerry reached the McDonagh Cup final last year only to lose to Antrim, who will play in this year’s Leinster Championship as a result.
Strangely, Kerry would have joined Leinster had they been victorious, despite being a Munster county and Conway reckons they should be eyeing a return to their own province ideally.
“Over the next five to 10 years I would think that we should definitely be trying it or at least try Leinster or something like that because it gets you exposed to what’s the next level,” the Lixnaw man told Radio Kerry’s Terrace Talk.
“So if it’s possible in the next couple of years that we end up going to Division One as well, it’d be a massive help because you get the League to try out things and see how far off the pace (you are).
“Look at Laois, it took them maybe two years to adapt and find out that this is the way that we have to play against the better teams and if we can do that, if we can go to Division One in the League, I think that after maybe two years, if you can hold your own up there, even only lost by five to six points that it would definitely be worth a crack, just to feel what it would be like to enter a Munster Championship.
“If it was at home to someone like Clare or Waterford or whoever, that it would bring a huge crowd to Tralee and that we’d get young kids interested in hurling and see that you can have a big day down in Tralee as well for hurling.”
Critical to the long-term development of Kerry hurling is the emergence of clubs beyond the game’s traditional heartland in the north of the county and Conway has been encouraged by developments in that regard of late.
“Dr Crokes put in to join the senior competition in the hurling this year and they’re coming up now playing senior championship and it’s a big step and it’s a step you want them to be taking as well.
“It’s great that they can progress and get numbers and bodies, especially in the heart of a football area, that they can progress like that.
“Even this year, we’ve a number of Kenmare and Parnells (players) in on the panel that are great footballers as well and they’re giving their time to hurling.
“They’re excited and we’ll see where this group will go. It’s great that clubs like that, Crokes, are coming up senior and if we could get another few clubs to come up as well it would be great and would only strengthen the Kerry hurling set up.”
