Tuesday Blue

Tuesday is Blues Day and it’s a chance to welcome something of a newcomer as this week’s Tuesday Blue. Ken Hennessy has been quietly going about his job as Waterford FC’s new kitman this season and has been a very welcome addition to the club. Now he is also stepping up to work with the Republic of Ireland senior squad too.

It takes a lot to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Michael Walsh in Waterford - the biggest boots to fill - so standards are very high and only the best would be accepted here. With Kevin Burns taking on a new role as Football Operations Executive to help with the day-to-day running of the club overall, as well as his commitment to the Waterford FC women’s team as goalkeeper coach, a replacement was needed and Ken was an obvious choice.

 

 

The Youghal native was a very popular and hugely-respected kitman for Cobh Ramblers for several years while also being involved in off-field organising too. Basically, he was ‘the go-to man’. Ex-Cobh manager Darren Murphy told the Evening Echo once that “every club needs a Ken Hennessy in it” and now we’re lucky enough to have him at the RSC.

I first dealt with Ken before I had ever met him and he went above and beyond to help. When young fan Billy Rockett passed away and we wanted to pay tribute to him at that week’s game in St Colman’s Park, Fran Rockett put me in touch with Ken as the man who would look after us. His eagerness to help the Rockett family was hugely appreciated and he really bent over backwards to make sure everything was done to extend the solidarity of the League of Ireland community on Cobh’s behalf. That made a deep impression and I was delighted to see Ken had come on board with the Blues this season.

But that’s not the half of it! Ken was a League of Ireland assistant referee for many years and was linesman at the FAI Cup final in 2008 when Brian Murphy’s Bohs beat Derry City at the RDS. He even did a Champions League group stage game in Romania between Cluj and Basel.

 

 

His background as an ex-army man explains the dedication and attention to detail which makes him an ideal kitman - putting endless hours into making sure everything is just right for each player. A busy man, Ken is also a publican, running the well-known Hennessy’s Bar on the main street in Youghal, inside which you’ll find framed jerseys from local man Jake O’Brien as well as other football memorabilia.

On the international scene, Ken was kitman in Kazakhstan last month when he was part of Jim Crawford’s backroom team for the Under-21s. That meant that he could keep an eye on our own Tommy Lonergan too. But now, he has the honour of being kitman for Heimir Hallgrímsson’s Irish senior team in the forthcoming international window which is an indication of the esteem in which he is held. Only the best for the Blues!