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'Those phones are dangerous things. It was a bit of craic' - TJ Reid on Kilkenny's Twitter celebrations

The Ballyhale sharpshooter talks about Kilkenny’s WhatsApp group that helped bring the squad closer together.

THE KILKENNY HURLERS celebrated their 35th All-Ireland hurling victory in style last month.

A reflection of the social media driven world we live in, the Cats took their celebrations to Twitter and Facebook, whether it was Paul Murphy’s tweet to Joe Brolly, Richie Hogan’s delight in his new follower or the video of the entire squad descending on Tommy Walsh’s house.

“Those phones are dangerous things. It was a bit of craic,” says star forward TJ Reid.

“I suppose when you have a few drinks inside you the craic goes. But it was harmless fun. If we lost we wouldn’t have had that feeling at all.”

“A very enjoyable week, so it was. When that final whistle went in the All-Ireland final, it was an unbelievable feeling. We enjoyed it. Coming home from the CityWest Hotel on the Sunday, it was very enjoyable to see all the supporters out there and all their children.”

“When you have Facebook there and Twitter, if you are a high profile face you will get recognised more so than any Joe Soap. So you do want to be careful with your comments.”

Reid was on top form on Twitter after Kilkenny’s replay win over Galway earlier in the summer, when he complimented US singer Rihanna on her hurling knowledge, but he admits he is still awaiting a response.

“We were on the back of the bus. I think Rihanna tweeted about some World Cup game, she said ‘What a game.’ So myself, Richie Hogan and Richie Power saw it and we said for the craic we’d give her a tweet. No response yet at all.”

Joking aside, Henry Shefflin spoke after the All-Ireland about how the Kilkenny squad used WhatsApp to bring the group closer together and help them integrate the new faces into the squad.

“There was a lot of new guys on the panel and a lot of lads didn’t know him so David Herity got the Whatsapp going. It was a bit of craic and Brian (Cody) always talks about spirit.

“When you have a group just having the craic on WhatsApp it’s a great place to be as well because everyone is enjoying each other’s company and nobody’s saying ‘ah who’s this lad’. It was a way of getting to know each other. But WhatsApp, it’s out there and it is a good way to get to communicate with players as well.”

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