After an uninspiring 2001, Dublin's interest in the 2002 championship was ended by Wexford in the Leinster semifinal. Fennelly's men had beaten Westmeath in Mullingar in the previous round, when Conal Keaney scored one of the points of the championship. By the end of the year he was shining for Dublin's under-21 footballers.

The loss of key players to the other code and delays in negotiations finally saw matters come to a head and Fennelly left 'by mutual consent' in late November 2002.

But a lot of the damage had been done four years earlier, not least by Fennelly himself.

In 1998 he brought his Kilkenny side to Parnell Park for a Leinster quarter-final.

Dublin had gained promotion in the league that year and were seen as a coming side in Michael O'Grady's second year at the helm. Kilkenny, meanwhile, were playing poorly.

Parnell Park was thronged for a game that had upset written all over it. But Dublin were hammered, and precious momentum that had been built up was lost and never recovered.

After Fennelly's departure, county chairman John Bailey denied any suggestion of animosity. "There wasn't the total level of support within the county, " said Fennelly, "and without that it was always going to be an uphill struggle." Dublin hurling's still no nearer the summit.