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Hurling

hurling

Column: Tommy Walsh on hurling

Tommy Walsh

Tommy Walsh

By Tommy Walsh

I was obsessed with hurling as a young lad.

I liked to dream big, and those dreams were played out every day in our garden.

There were five children in the family and no shortage of cousins and neighbours living around.

We all loved nothing more than having a ball thrown in between us so we could play at being our hurling heroes for as long as we were let.

There was one man we roared for more than anyone else - Brian Lohan.

We loved his determination, his rawness, his ability to catch a ball on the ground and drive it back down to the far end of the field.

The crowd adored those big clearances, and so did we.

When we were out playing hurling matches in the garden and one of us got a  belt on the fingers or shins we only had one cure.

We would all start shouting 'Go on Lohan!', just like the Clare crowd, until the injury was cured.

Sometimes dreams do come through, and I was lucky enough to play with the great Brian Lohan on an All Star tour in Singapore in 2006.

Brian Lohan

Brian Lohan

As soon as I was named beside him in the full-back line I knew I had to take this game seriously because I knew he would.

Traditionally the All-Star Tour is all about showcasing the skills of the game for the locals and there's usually more goals than points, but now I wasn't viewing it as just an exhibition match.

I had to want to win every ball because I knew that Lohan wanted to win every ball.

I had to give my opponent hardship because that's what Lohan would be giving to his man.

I had to drive into every ruck because that's what Lohan would do.

I really enjoyed that day. Because Lohan was playing alongside me, and because I had this huge expectation of him, he brought my game to another level even though it was just an exhibition game.

That's what role models do, they lift those around them. They make other players go that extra yard, do that extra bit that's needed.

They raise your expectations of yourself, they replace hope with belief. Instead of trying to improve your weak side they make you improve it.

Tommy Walsh

Tommy Walsh

I've been reminded of the importance of good role-models when I've watched the Cork hurlers this summer.

The efforts of Conor Lehane, Patrick Horgan, and Seamus Harnedy are having a massive effect on the youngsters.

These new guys come into the panel and see what lengths their leaders are going to in order to improve their game and so they follow suit.

One of them hears Horgan is below in the Glen pucking balls over the bar for an hour, so he decides that's what he needs to do.

Another fella hears Lehane is below in Midleton practicing his first touch off the wall for an hour so then he goes doing it.

A third fella hears Harnedy hasn't touched his hurl in three days because he wants to be raring to go in the A v B game in training, so he starts getting his own head right for that final session.

Suddenly more and more lads are working on their game, more and more lads are going that extra mile.

Now you're catching the ball three times instead of once in a game.

Now you're getting in that block instead of nearly getting it in.

Now you're winning a game by a point instead of losing it by a point.

That's what happens when you have role models on your team. That's the domino effect it can have.

Conor Lehane

Conor Lehane

That trio - Horgan, Harnedy, and Lehane - have been central to Cork's fine form in their two Munster Championship wins over Tipperary and Waterford.

Horgan is winning all his duels; Harnedy is stepping up to the plate and showing for every ball; and Lehane is fighting for everything, even through injury.

The rest of the team is following their lead, that's why I feel Cork are a great example of just how much of a ripple effect a few key role-models can have within the group.

It's been said of Cork hurlers that they can spring up overnight like mushrooms, and I do think the county's hurling tradition is why they're always capable of suddenly raising their standards like they have this year.

I went to college in UCC, and one of the main reasons I went down there was for their hurling tradition and because I idolised Christy Ring.

Obviously, I never saw Ring play, but from a young age I read everything and watched all the videos I could about him. Everything he said about the game struck a chord with me.

Being in UCC gave me an insight into not just the passion they have for hurling in Cork, but for sport in general.

As a county they've produced a huge amount of genuine sporting heroes, and that sort of tradition is priceless.

I guarantee you the young lads on this current Cork team grew up idolising the great Cork team of the 2000s - men like Brian Corcoran, Seán Óg Ó h'Ailpín, and Joe Deane - and had a hurley in their hand from a very young age.

Alan Cadogan

Alan Cadogan

That's why the counties with a long tradition of success in hurling or football keep coming every decade with good teams - because kids have a hurley or a ball in their hands from the age of three or four and so by the time they're adults have the skills perfected.

Once you have enough players with enough skill, all you need is the right manager to come along to knit them all together and get the very best out of them.

After Cork's two wins over Tipperary and Waterford the pitch was flooded with children in red jersies trying to get within touching distance of their heroes.

That's tradition being handed down to another generation right in front of your eyes.

I can guarantee you those kids weren't out in their gardens that evening pretending to be Ronaldo or Messi, they were Conor Lehane or Mark Coleman.

And that's why Cork hurlers can always spring up like mushrooms - they've never lacked the sort of heroes you need to inspire you to get to that level yourself.

Clare embedded a tradition of their own in the 1990s when they won won All-Ireland titles in 1995 and 1997.

I'm sure a lot of the players on the current team were inspired to hurl by the county's achievements in what was a great era for hurling.

I'm a proud Leinster man, but as a young lad in the 1990s I loved watching the epic battles in the Munster Hurling Championship.

I especially loved the Limerick team of that era. They had real men like Gary Kirby, Mike Houlihan, Ciaran Carey, Ger Hegarty, and the Nash brothers.

I’d even practice taking frees like Kirby with the left-hand on top, even though that wasn’t the way I held the hurl.

Sean McMahon

Sean McMahon

But when I think of a moment that summed up that era of Munster hurling the one that springs to mind first is the bravery that Seanie McMahon showed in the 1995 Munster Semi-Final against Cork.

He broke his collar-bone but refused to go off because Clare had already used all their subs, so instead he went in corner-forward.

That was impressive enough, but then he made the play that forced the concession of a sideline from Cork that led directly to Clare’s winning goal.

Had he gone off then Clare would never have won that sideline, never scored that goal, and maybe never won an All-Ireland.

It’s just amazing how one man’s will not to let his team-mates down possibly changed the history of a whole county.

That’s the sort of raw courage Clare’s players will need to show against Cork on Sunday, and I expect them to be really fired up for this match.

Most of their players have League and All-Ireland medals, but they need a Munster medal to complete the full set.

They’re going to be ferociously hungry, they’re used to playing on the big day, and they’ve come into this game under the radar. That all spells danger for Cork.

Every man on that field this Sunday will have played many a Munster Final in their back-garden and dreamed of being someone like Brian Lohan, Seanie McMahon, Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, or Joe Deane.

Now they have the chance to go out and be heroes themselves in a Munster Final.

That’s the power of role-models, that’s the power of tradition.


Derek McGrath and Brian Cody pictured following the drawn game at Croke Park last Sunday.

Derek McGrath and Brian Cody pictured following the drawn game at Croke Park last Sunday.

Saturday’s All-Ireland SHC Qualifier is a red-letter day for both these Kilkenny and Waterford teams.

For this young Kilkenny side it’s a chance to make their name, for Waterford it’s the next step they have to take to get to another level.

Whoever wins will be genuine All-Ireland contenders, whoever loses will be faced with a lot of hard questions to answer.

Once again, tradition might have a big part to play in this match.

It’s a very long time since Waterford have beaten Kilkenny in Championship hurling, and that history probably represents a psychological barrier.

But perhaps the power of tradition was more of an asset to Kilkenny last year than it is this year.

I think both teams are under an equal amount of pressure going into this game because their public are asking serious questions of them.

This is a massive game for Waterford manager Derek McGrath who has put his heart and soul into the job since taking charge of the team.

The stories of the efforts he goes to in order to help his players is astonishing. He definitely goes above and beyond what is expected of an inter-county manager in this regard.

For all the criticism he has received in relation to his systems in the last two years he has stuck to his beliefs. He has done what he believes is best for the team.

He has been resilient, brave, has shown all the traits that a leader should have, and is a perfect role model for his young charges.

Will he stick with his systems Saturday night or will he revert to having three guys inside the full forward line?

One thing is for sure, he will do what he believes in. But in a match such as this, I think fortune will favour the brave.

As for Kilkenny, they have entered the beginning of a new era. Most of our starters now don't have bags of league, Leinster or All Ireland medals.

This is a new team and it’s not about winning loads of All-Ireland medals, it's about winning one. That is this year’s one.

And at this moment in time it's not about winning the All Ireland, it's about beating Waterford. That is the only thing that matters right now.

Can they do it? Yes they can.