Walter Walsh says Cork are still the favourites for All-Ireland

Former Kilkenny star Walter Walsh believes that Cork remain the favourites for next year’s All-Ireland SHC title.

The county’s wait for the return of the Liam MacCarthy Cup moved into a 21st year following the 15-point loss to Tipperary in this year’s final, a six-point half-time lead followed by a second-half collapse.

It proved to be Pat Ryan’s last match in charge of the Rebels as he opted to step down from his role as manager but Walsh feels that new boss Ben O’Connor will do a good job with what remains a talented group of players.

“I think Pat Ryan was an unbelievable manager,” Walsh said, “a gentleman.

“I can see how much the players and his coaching staff had such massive respect for him.

“I think a change is good, with how it finished, and I think Ben O’Connor will be excellent. Cork are probably favourites to win the All-Ireland again next year and it is warranted. They have an unbelievable panel of players. I would say competition is unbelievable for places. “Even Barry Walsh who has been called into the panel is an incredible player. I think they have quality and I am not just saying that.

“I think Cork will win All-Irelands in the next couple of years, they will, and it is just a matter of when with the players they have.

“If I was a Cork supporter, I would be very optimistic.”

Walsh was speaking at the announcement that Fulfil as the new sponsors of the All-Ireland U20HC. It’s a grade in which his native Kilkenny will be led by his former team-mate Henry Shefflin for 2026, something he finds exciting.

“I think it’s incredible, really,” he said, “Brian Hogan is also in with Henry and the team that they have is great.

“If I was playing U20 and Henry Shefflin was the manager, I know I would be absolutely over the moon. Just the respect that he gathers, all around the county, and obviously the country as well.

“With Ballyhale, his track record is incredible. He’s just a really successful man, a really driven man.

“I like the he has gone to the U20s and obviously he will be looking down the line to be the next Kilkenny senior manager but that’ll be determined by successful Derek Lyng is over the next couple of years.

“Henry is a hero of mine and I was lucky enough to get to play with him as well. Those U20s will be just in awe of him but he’ll have those lads training hard and working towards winning, because he’s a successful person who obviously wants to win.

“I think it’s a great appointment and Kilkenny people, just from talking to them, are absolutely thrilled that he’s involved.”

Walsh himself is currently undertaking a new venture, too. On a career break from teaching at Good Counsel College in New Ross, he is now involved with a company called Social Ties, which seeks to bring together relevant info on a particular topic in one place. His native county are early adopters.

"It can work for any community," he says.

"If you think about it, most communities or organisations actually produce all their own content on social media, they have websites, they have all this information. Yes, you grow your brand on Instagram and so on, but who makes the money from it? The money goes to Silicon Valley, it goes to Meta. 

"Whereas if you put all your already-created content, your live streams, everything you already produce into one place into Social Ties, you can monetise that with the engagement you already have. It's really exciting and it's so broad. 

"We can go to any community that wants to, I suppose, connect their members and engage them, but also being free for anyone like Kilkenny supporters to download the app for Kilkenny GAA, it's also free for Kilkenny GAA to partner with us as well."