At the full-time whistle Ballyhale were the winners by -15 to 1-11 and Fennelly collected his first All-Ireland club medal along with his six brothers. Another brace of county championship victories followed for Fennelly in 1982 and 1983. Once again this latter victory was later converted into a Leinster club title following a six-point victory over Kinnitty of Offaly. Ballyhale later qualified for the All-Ireland final where Galway champions Gort were the opponents. That game ended in 1-10 apiece draw thanks to a last-minute equalizing point by Dermot Fennelly. The replay took place some time later with Ger Fennelly playing a starring role. His first-half goal was the deciding factor as Ballyhale won the day by 1-10 to 0-7. It was Fennelly's second All-Ireland club medal. The rest of the 1980s saw Fennelly bring his county championship tally up to eight with further wins in 1985, 1988 and 1989. The third of these victories was subsequently converted into fourth Leinster club title following a trouncing of the Cuala club from Dublin. Ballyhale later qualified for the All-Ireland final where Limerick and Munster representatives Ballybrown were the opponents. Ballybrown stormed into a six-point lead during the first-half before Fennelly scored a goal in the twenty-fourth minute. At half-time Ballybrown still led by four points, however, a surge by Ballyhale saw the Kilkenny side claim a 1-16 to 0-16 victory. It was Fennelly's third All-Ireland medal. Fennelly first came to prominence on the inter-county scene in the mid-1970s as a member of the Kilkenny minor hurling team. He was honoured in 1977 in his first full season with the team when he was appointed captain. That year Fennelly captured a Leinster title when Kilkenny recorded a comprehensive 5-10 to 3-6 victory over Wexford. The subsequent All-Ireland championship decider saw Kilkenny take on Cork. An exciting game ensued; however, at full-time both sides couldn't be separated as Kilkenny finished with 4-8 while Cork finished with 3-11. The replay was less exciting, however, Kilkenny eked out a victory by 1-8 to 0-9. Fennelly thus collected an All-Ireland minor medal and had the honour of collecting the cup on behalf of his county.