From an early age Fennelly and his six brothers – Michael, Ger, Brendan, Liam, Seán and Dermot – all took a great interest in the game of hurling.
This was later converted into a Leinster club title, however, Ballyhale were narrowly beaten by Blackrock in the All-Ireland final.
Fennelly won a third provincial under-21 title in 1976, however, Kilkenny were defeated by Cork in the subsequent All-Ireland final.
Fennelly subsequently joined the Kilkenny senior hurling panel, however, he found it difficult to find a regular spot on the team.
He finally took over as goalkeeper from Noel Skehan and won back-to-back Leinster titles on the field of play in 1986 and 1987.
[1] Fennelly was appointed manager of the Dublin Senior Hurling team in November 2001 on a three-year agreement.
[2] Following an unsuccessful National League run, Dublin were knocked out of the Leinster Championship by Laois at the quarter-final stage.
[3] In the 2002 Championship, Dublin overcame Meath[4] to qualify for a Leinster semi final match against Wexford.
[5] In a qualifier match against Clare, Dublin were soundly beaten 3-22 to 1-08 to put an end to their Championship season.