IN A LIFE of GAA boxes, Nickey Brennan has ticked them all.
The Kilkenny man was handed the GAA presidential medal in 2006, and not many knew every facet of the association like he did.
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He walked the walk on the pitch and won five All-Irelands with the Cats as a player alongside the likes of Brian Cody, Eddie Keher, Liam Fenelly and Noel Skehan.
The bench was often where he found himself, but he never complained. When his inter-county hurling door closed in 1985, others opened.
Brennan proved himself as a valuable GAA administrator from club level with his beloved Conahy Shamrocks before serving as county board chairman between 1991 and 1994.
The Leinster council was the obvious next step, before his name went forward to become Uactaráin between 2006 and 2009.
It all went by in a flash, but started with a bang. Brennan was elected at the GAA’s annual congress in 2005, but that vote took second stage.
The debate to scrap rule 42 and open up Croke Park to other sports raged, and split opinion across the country.
The home of Irish rugby and soccer at Lansdowne was closing to build the Aviva Stadium as we know it today, and they needed temporary digs until everything was ready in Dublin 4.
The motion to scrap the rule was passed by a margin of 227 to 97 on a hugely tense night at Croke Park.
Brennan won his vote too, but events of the day meant his presidency would go down in GAA history forever.
His predecessor, Sean Kelly laid the foundation for opening up Croker to soccer and rugby, but Brennan was tasked with rolling out the red carpet.
He told SunSport: “My only connection with Rule 42 per se was that it was actually voted on on the day that I was elected.
“Sean Kelly was the president. but obviously I was very much involved in it and I suppose it’ll always be a memory that the day that was discussed and debated was the same day that I was elected.
“It was an uncomfortable situation in that the debate on Rule 42 was going on and was going on and on, and I was waiting for the presidential vote.
“It was dragging out and dragging out, so it was fairly painful. You’re thinking ‘will this blasted vote ever be held!’ you know?
“That’s one of the bigger memories for me of the day. There was going to be voting to get rid of rule 42, even though there was some strong opposition to it.
“But I always felt the time had arrived for when that was to happen and obviously, I was very much in favour of it.”
Brennan and the scene at Croke Park came into sharp focus when the English rugby team arrived on Jones’ road for the Six Nations in February 2007.
When God Save the Queen was played, the place fell silent with respect. As the song finished, the camera panned to Brennan applauding.
The Irish did their talking on the pitch, and won 43-13 on a day charged with emotion.
Brennan’s tenure as GAA president saw his beloved Cats win three All-Irelands on the bounce.
By the time he handed the medal over to Christy Cooney in 2009, it was back to work in Glanbia before local radio came calling.
He enrolled in a radio production course and his IT background was no harm either.
Now, he is found at matches across the county and beyond as he works on a voluntary basis for Community Radio Kilkenny City.
Brennan never had an issue with answering the burning questions of the day as president, and he can ask them now – and he loves every second of it.
The station has provided coverage of over 140 matches so far in 2024 across all levels and grades, and they are tuning in in their droves.
He finds it hard to let people down, but nobody says ‘no’ to him either.
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He said: “When I finished back in 2009, I mean, it’s a world ago now. I got involved in so many other things, ironically with the GAA.
“Nothing was pre-planned and it was principally around technology, but also around a number of strategic things, be it in Croke Park or be it in clubs or be it in things like that before heading into radio.
“My weakness in life is saying no to people, you know, and that’s my problem, but I’m beginning to get a bit better at it recently.
“We have a group of about maybe 15 to 20 people that get involved in any aspect of the radio station.
“We’re all volunteers, we’re probably mad to be doing it, but we get a serious kick out of it.
“And we’ve also got people who are very clued in and they know what’s happening on the ground.
“We’ve covered over 140 matches, and they would have gone from senior games down to last Saturday, for example, when we carried the under-14A and under-16A county hurling finals live and they go down very well.
“People really love to get hold of the commentary and they love to hear the commentary as well because there could be grandparents living elsewhere who wouldn’t be able to come to the games and things like that.”
Brennan’s opinions on Kilkenny hurling had to fall silent when he was the chief of Croke Park, but he gives them every week now.
Next year will mark a decade since their last All-Ireland, which is deep into famine territory on Noreside.
Brennan will be at Nowlan Park for today’s club SHC quarter-finals when Mullinavat play Erins Own and reigning champions O’Loughlin Gaels face Dicksboro.
Optimism that Liam MacCarthy will come back soon is thin on the ground, but Brennan is never without hope.
He said: “It’s a very fair question. It’s something we’re asking ourselves. TJ Reid (37 next month) has not gotten any younger and signs are he’ll still be part of the panel next year.
“Will he be happy to be an impact man? I don’t know. But the likes of the Eoin Codys and the Adrian Mullens, they have to mature a lot more.
“They’ve played okay but they haven’t been shown the sort of leadership that’s necessary.
“But look, there’s been some very decent fare in the local club championships and some of the big names are playing well.
“But at the same time, in terms of pecking order at the moment, we’re probably closer to the bottom of the top five if you know what I mean.
“But look, there are some decent players coming on and we’re not without hope.”
