He describes it as an "odd year" but at the end of the day, a seventh All Ireland is a pretty sweet result to look back on for Michael Fennelly.
The Kilkenny midfielder, who started both finals against Tipperary, had endured back injuries of a serious nature in the middle of the summer and tonight he told Off The Ball that it had been a tough year.
"I was hoping this year would be a non-injury year after 2013 when I had two bad ankle injuries. I just got a bit of a problem with my lower back. There was aggravation of the facet joints in the verterbrae that wasn't going away. It was frustrating," he admitted, adding that the "ankles don't seem to be holding up too well either".
He also feels that the injuries can also be linked to genetics.
Fennelly also spoke about the impact young players made as they helped the Cats bounce back and reclaim the Liam McCarthy Cup and spoke about the "big smile" plastered across manager Brian Cody's face in the dressing room after delivering a tenth All Ireland.
He also chatted about the squad turning up at Tommy Walsh's house to bring him to the post-All Ireland celebrations, and a tumultuous time off the field involving a change in direction.
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