Diarmuid O Sullivan
By John Harrington
Diarmuid O’Sullivan always wore his heart on his sleeve as a Cork hurler, and as a team selector now he’s no different.
His pride in the players who pulled off such a terrific win over Tipperary in Sunday’s Munster SHC Quarter-Final was obvious after the final whistle.
This group of Cork hurlers has had their doubters, but O’Sullivan was always convinced they had the quality to produce a performance like yesterday’s.
“I saw hurlers,” said O’Sullivan. “I saw hurlers who can hurl and who have given us everything, everything we have asked and more over the last number of weeks, a team that has been written off and thrown to the side, 7/2 against 1/4.
“These men showed balls, they showed heart and you can’t beat that. We spoke a week and a half ago about where we were and how we were progressing.
“It’s not down to any of us; it’s down to the hunger, the attitude, the work-rate, the camaraderie, but it’s only one victory on the journey we take game by game.
“Today’s a win. We look at it and analyse it and see where we go from here.”
Cork were full value for their win. They played with more intensity than Tipperary, and were half a yard ahead of the men in blue and gold for much of the game.
Conor Lehane
Their use of the ball was also highly impressive. Their finishing made most of the headlines, but the clever and patient passing that created those scoring opportunities was just as impressive.
“When you don’t have the ball you get it back,” said O’Sullivan. “When you have the ball, you give it to the guy in the best position. You do your best with the ball. When we play that game we’ll make mistakes.
“We know that, but you die in the effort of trying. If you make a mistake, so be it. You’ll get the next ball.
“Mistakes don’t matter to us. We want guys to attack every single ball like it’s their last.
“We knew with some guys only coming back from illness and injury we’d only get so long out of them but when they played for that 60, 65 minutes they gave everything.
“Guys who’ve been around this group a long, long time gave everything. I couldn’t be happier for them, I really couldn’t.
“I’ve had success in my time but coming up here with this group, I couldn’t be happier to be a Corkman at this moment in time.”
It was one of those rare days when ever player on the Cork team could reflect on his performance with pride.
But some contributed more to the win than others, and near the top of the queue was centre-forward Conor Lehane who scored 10 points, five of them from play.
For much of his career thus far the 24-year-old has produced brilliance in bright flashes rather than consistently from match to match, but yesterday he stepped forward as a real leader for Cork as he tortured the Tipp defence for the full 70-plus minutes.
“Yeah, he’s been a sleeping giant,” said O’Sullivan. “He’ll give us 20 minutes, he’ll give us 15 minutes, he’ll give us 40 minutes. I don’t think Conor Lehane has ever given Cork a full 70.
“But I’m not surprised. There is no one who has dedicated himself more to this group since we went back training. No one has trained harder, no one has hurled more or practised more than Conor so I’m not surprised.”
Michael Cahalane
That Cork’s decisive goal was scored by substitute Michael Cahalane was in itself a hell of a story.
The 22-year-old was diagnosed with heart condition in 2014 and was told he would never hurl again.
So to fight his way back to the elite level of the game and make such a decisive contribution in a match of this magnitude was a real tale of triumph over adversity.
“There’s a journey,” said O’Sullivan. “The game of hurling is secondary. Let’s be honest, the game of hurling is secondary to what that man and his family went through. And you know what, whatever about Michael I’d love to meet his mother and father right now.
“They must be the two proudest people here. His first chance, his first break of the ball, but Michael Cahalane has been doing that since he was 14 years of age.
“It’s justified. He was unbelievably unlucky not to start. But it’s his mother and father and the justification for the journey that lad and his family have been through. You know what? There’s no better sight.
“There’s no better feeling for that young fella right now.”
Cork hurling has endured a tough couple of years but Sunday’s win could be a real turning point.
As the pitch flooded with Cork hurling supporters afterwards, you real got the sense that the Rebels had set off on a journey that could bring them back to the big-time.
“I don’t think there’s a Corkman who’s not proud,” said O’Sullivan. “There is no one went out there and didn’t give everything they had to the cause, to the shirt, to the group over the last number of months.”
