Kenny brings benefit of intercounty exposure to the Pearses table

Declan Kenny doesn’t feel bitter about the lack of game time he saw with Roscommon in 2025.

The talented and versatile Pádraig Pearses player was immense for the defending champions last season. But when it came to competitive minutes in a primrose and blue jersey, he only saw the last five minutes of action as Roscommon desperately tried to reel in Cork at Laois Hire O’Moore Park, Portlaoise, last June.

“It was definitely a benefit. It’s an environment you have to be exposed to in order to grow as a footballer,” was his philosophical take on his season with the Rossies.

“Obviously, I didn’t play as much as I would have liked. But it has been a learning curve about resilience and all that comes with that.

“You learn more from not playing. You focus on parts of your game that will benefit me in the long run. If you’re coming in and starting straight away as a 20-year-old, it’s a long career.

“You have to serve your apprenticeship, and gain trust within the team. There are lads there ten or 15 years, you have to build a bit of trust with them,” he felt.

But Kenny does admit that, at the time, he wasn’t there just to warm the substitutes bench.

“At the time, there was probably a lot of frustration. You’re thinking that you’re in good enough shape. But I felt a lull after it. Maybe it was the long season with Pearses (last year). You’ve no real break because you’re straight back into it.

“When lads start playing well, and you’re not playing so well, it’s hard to get into the team. But your form picks up when you get back into the swing of it throughout the year.

“When you’re in there with Roscommon, you’re expecting to play as much as you can. I wasn’t there to make up numbers. But when you’re not playing every week, you still have to try and find a way to improve and get better.

“And that’s what I did. I went off on my own little journey, did a lot of work on my own. At least, by the end of the season, I had played a few minutes against Cork,” he continued.

Not surprisingly, Kenny feels that the gap between intercounty and club football remains huge.

“You have to be fitter and stronger. I still don’t look too big but I’ve definitely strengthened up. You need that athletic strength to take hits from bigger lads. You have to get into the gym and get a lot of work done there,” he summarised.

Like Pearses, it took Kenny some time to get going this summer. But signs have been plentiful these last few games that he’s back to his best ahead of Sunday’s county final against St. Brigid’s.

“We’ve had everything this year. The first day out against St. Faithleach’s was as low as we could have got. When you’re trying to bounce back from the season before, a weak performance like that doesn’t help.

“The (next) game against Clann took on a life of its own, as they tend to do. It’s hard to know how really good you are in those games. I think, in extra time against Oran, we really showed that we can play ball.

“We were very confident going into the Boyle (quarter-final) game. We were happy with our preparations but we ended up leaving ourselves in a seriously bad position. But once we came through that, we had some momentum.

“I think we’re in a good position now. We’ve come through a lot — the Boyle game and extra time against Oran as well. We’re definitely battled-hardened at this stage. We came from seven points down against Boyle. No one expected that.

“Consequently, we flew into the Faithleach’s game. We had a lot to get right after the first day,” he highlighted.

With Brigid’s still smarting after their quarter-final loss last year, Kenny agrees that a second win in succession against their rivals would showcase how far the club, and this team, have travelled in recent years.

“Brigid’s are viewed as the big team in Roscommon, having been in a recent All-Ireland club final. To beat them in a final would be a great thing for us.

“We played them in the group stages the year they got to the All-Ireland final. They gave us a right scutching after we won the Connacht club title. Even at underage level, we’ve played Brigid’s in every final up along. They’ve been the benchmark for us over the last few years.” 

Given that a tranche of experience has departed the team, especially in defence, Kenny admits that he does feel a level of responsibility in terms of leading the team, something he describes as a “privilege”.

“When you’ve been away with the county for so long, you do have to bring something back to the group. Maybe there’s an expectation but you don’t see it like that. It’s a privilege. It’s important not to see it as pressure or a negative thing. You have to embrace it and find the good in it.

“Being with David Murray, Niall Daly, Ronan Daly, travelling with them to (Roscommon) training, you’re going to learn plenty from those lads.

“All these young players like Jack Tumulty and Conor Ryan, there are young lads stepping up in every game. Maybe it would have been left to Niall or Conor Daly in the past to carry the can, but you could name anyone in the starting 15 now who would be capable of producing a Man of the Match display.” 

Experience tells us that Declan Kenny is never too far away from the top of that list.