Hawthorn's success in luring three talented New Zealand athletes to the club coincided with young Irish Hawk Ciaran Kilkenny turning his back on his AFL career to return to Ireland to play Gaelic football.
It followed Richmond international rookie John Heslin, a Gaelic football, soccer and hurling star, who went home last year after only months at the club.
Kennelly knows the distance will always make the transition difficult, but is sure clubs will still look to Ireland for recruits after working closely with 24 talented football hopefuls from Ireland and the United Kingdom.
"I think if we just do it properly [it will be fine]. The welfare issue more than anything else, for all international kids, is tough," Kennelly told AFL.com.au.
"It's just tweaking a few things. I think the difference between the New Zealand kids and the Irish kids is that the Irish kids are ready to play, really. Within a year of doing some technical work on their kicking ability, everything else is really similar."
Noting the continued interest in Ireland, recruiters from five clubs attended the combine at Dublin City University, where the average age of the group was 19.
Kennelly, who starred in the Swans' 2005 flag and has since taken on a development role as the AFL's international talent coordinator, said there were a number of highlights.
Daniel Flynn, an 18-year-old, ran a 2.95-second 20m sprint and excelled in the agility test, while 188cm Paddy Brophy ran a 14.7 beep-test.
In comparison, the best score at last year's NAB AFL Draft Combine was by Tom Clurey, who recorded a 15.1 shuttle run before being drafted to Port Adelaide.
The agility and dexterity of 201cm Padraig Lucey also impressed Kennelly.
"The kids themselves were fantastic. The quality and standard was quite high," Kennelly said.
"We've got the talent down now, it's just a matter of getting the clubs to pick and choose and make decisions."
Two athletes from the talent search will be selected to attend the 2013 NAB AFL Draft Combine in October at Etihad Stadium among other draft hopefuls.
A larger group will also be picked to form part of the European Legion in London next month, when it takes on the AIS-AFL Academy level two squad at Surrey Sportspark.
Follow AFL website reporter Callum Twomey on Twitter at @AFL_CalTwomey.
