Johnny Pilkington

[jimbob17]

Johnny Pilkington Laochra Gael was a fab show. To see how we competed so regularly at top tier back then is fantastic. Lets hope we see a day like that again. Just one day would do!

As for Johnny, he played himself off as a bit of a rogue back then, but he was a phenomenal hurler. A real greyhound in middle of field. He had it all!

[summerindublin]

ah really enjoyed Johnny P on TG4, Brilliant programme, I always said that Johnny never had a bad game, Jesus the memories came rushing back, i even went looking for my jersey, it was a special Offaly team at the time, how Johnny only won 1 all star is another mystery. Well done to all involved.

[Fairplayalways]

always admired his "engine" and i notice most of the clips had him striking the ball sweetly, something I always had a slight fault to him with, he was always lashing at the ball and contact would often be half hit etc...great programme alright, wouldnt get away with the lifestyle now, many on that Offaly team probably wouldnt its fair to say...the county final Birr hurled with him having he broken finger (I think) was something else..we could do with a few robust lads like him now adays...how the game has changed...

[biffinbanner]

its was a great programme .well balanced between county,club,and family life. i always said he took over joachims job as the "engine" of the team. the other thing that struck me was the amount of ground hurling went on them times. it was great to watch. id share his view on the 95 leinster final.we were disrespected big time coming up to that leinster final and were in fact outsiders. a few of us gladly availed of the 7/4. but for a few late dj goals we actually gave them some whipping that day.wouldnt it be great see a day like that again? i live in hope... lovely to see him giving back to him club too. simply a legend . i wish him and his family a long and happy life.

[biffinbanner]

i forgot to mention babs contribution to the programme .he showed us again what we all know!!

[bracknaghboy]

Ger Canning: What would an All Ireland win mean to Offaly?

Johnny Pilkington: It would mean a hell of a lot of drinking Ger.

Priceless. Honesty, spontaneity and a bit of cheeky humour.
Can you imagine in 2021 if one of the body builders who masquerade as hurlers from Limerick, Waterford, Galway etc. gave an answer like that?
They'd probably be dropped from the panel or at the very least be forced to issue an apology. AA would be onto Joe Duffy about it and every do-gooder in the country would wet themselves.

Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed watching it Thursday night I'd be lying it I didn't admit feeling a bit depressed going to bed when I compare the game from back 25 years ago with the boring, robotic, sanitised and cynical shell of game we have left today.

[Plain of the Herbs]

For me, it wasn't funny then and it wasn't funny now. And I'll leave it at that. To be fair to JP, on Laochra Gael he expressed his regret at that comment, recalling it as 'immature'.

I've never met JP and I've never been in his company. But from speaking in recent days to people who do know him personally, they speak of a gent who is enthusiastic about his hurling. Something that is far form the persona that JP has constructed, or publicly made himself out to be. Which in a way is a pity. But that's his business.

Ger Canning: What would an All Ireland win mean to Offaly?

Johnny Pilkington: It would mean a hell of a lot of drinking Ger.

Priceless. Honesty, spontaneity and a bit of cheeky humour.
Can you imagine in 2021 if one of the body builders who masquerade as hurlers from Limerick, Waterford, Galway etc. gave an answer like that?
They'd probably be dropped from the panel or at the very least be forced to issue an apology. AA would be onto Joe Duffy about it and every do-gooder in the country would wet themselves.

Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed watching it Thursday night I'd be lying it I didn't admit feeling a bit depressed going to bed when I compare the game from back 25 years ago with the boring, robotic, sanitised and cynical shell of game we have left today.

[KeshaWantsTimber]

Ger Canning: What would an All Ireland win mean to Offaly?

Johnny Pilkington: It would mean a hell of a lot of drinking Ger.

Priceless. Honesty, spontaneity and a bit of cheeky humour.
Can you imagine in 2021 if one of the body builders who masquerade as hurlers from Limerick, Waterford, Galway etc. gave an answer like that?
They'd probably be dropped from the panel or at the very least be forced to issue an apology. AA would be onto Joe Duffy about it and every do-gooder in the country would wet themselves.

Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed watching it Thursday night I'd be lying it I didn't admit feeling a bit depressed going to bed when I compare the game from back 25 years ago with the boring, robotic, sanitised and cynical shell of game we have left today.

Theres only been one proper championship played since possibly the greatest ever hurling cship in 2018. Your analysis has some grain of truth but you are overplaying it.

[Bord na Mona man]

The show was excellent for a couple of reasons. Offaly nostalgia obviously, but also the hour long show allowed a bit of exploration of Johnny's character.

He clearly doesn't take himself too seriously, but took his hurling more seriously than the caricature suggests. For example, he wasn't a fan of the guard of honour for Antrim which suggests a competitive edge. While it seemed he was affected by not by lifting Liam in 1995, he has clearly moved on and isn't consumed by any such past events.

As a player, his scoring record was very good. He got a lot of scores from pushing up from midfield to support attacks. In his later career he scored well when switched to wing forward or near the edge of the square.

Interestingly the documentary stuck in a good few of Declan's scores but there was no reference made to him.
Also, seeing him training the camogie group reminds me that it's always nicer to see past players training local underage teams than doing the rounds of adult teams.

[frankthetank]

Ya I found that interesting that he never mentioned his brother considering how much they won on the field together. Maybe one has to read between the lines here.

[Fairplayalways]

a good point ok no mention of Declan, he was a good corner forward too and served Offaly well the years he was there..he is kind of forgotten about when we talk of Offaly hurling over the years...

[Bord na Mona man]

Ya I found that interesting that he never mentioned his brother considering how much they won on the field together. Maybe one has to read between the lines here.

Perhaps the documentary got edited a certain way and certain strands of the story were left out of the final cut.
For example there is account from Johnny of him embracing his father after winning in 1994, but there is no other context to it and it seems very standalone.

[Sur lookit]

Is this up on the player lads or a link to it.

I missed this and would love to see it.

I know myself that he was fierce well regarded as a hurler as well as a bit of a character right around the country.
I think the comment about the drinking if Offaly won the All Ireland is ironic, in the sense that given our slide since 98, there was a serious lack of work going on to build on those great times and if the truth be known we were all guilty of a bit of excess at the time.
Hopefully we can get back to a level of competitiveness that entices more players hurling in the county.

[Anfearban]

Is this up on the player lads or a link to it.

I missed this and would love to see it.

I know myself that he was fierce well regarded as a hurler as well as a bit of a character right around the country.
I think the comment about the drinking if Offaly won the All Ireland is ironic, in the sense that given our slide since 98, there was a serious lack of work going on to build on those great times and if the truth be known we were all guilty of a bit of excess at the time.
Hopefully we can get back to a level of competitiveness that entices more players hurling in the county.

Yeah, its on the TG4 player. Great show. Thanks Johnny.

[Bord na Mona man]

https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories ... ode=078394

Make sure to toggle the subtitles on the bottom right corner of the video, unless you don't need to.