Keohane always happy to serve Midleton

By Cian O’Connell

Tradition counts down by the banks of the Lee. Four of the five most prolific winners of the Cork SHC will convene at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh for Sunday’s semi-final double header.

Blackrock versus Midleton is followed by the meeting of Sarsfields and St Finbarr’s. The Rockies, Magpies, Sars, and the Barrs. It took everything Midleton had to overcome the 27 times champions Glen Rovers in the quarter-finals.

So, drama is guaranteed. It is precisely where Midleton manager Mícheál Keohane wants to be at this stage of the campaign. “We're delighted to be back there,” Keohane says. “It is the third year in a row for us to be getting into the semi-finals, getting to Páirc Uí Chaoimh, and it is a great chance for the lads to open up a small bit. It is really exciting.”

Overseeing Midleton’s collection of emerging and established players is something Keohane relishes. Friendships have been forged. “We've got guys, who're 15, 16, or 17 years on the panel and team,” Keohane explains.

“Then, we've guys in their first year, their first taste of senior. There is a great mix of fellas, and they really get on well, together. That is the biggest part of it, really.

“Sometimes, it can be hard to blend a mix of ages, but with these fellas you wouldn't know who is what age, because they all hang around together. That is a good way to have it.”

Undoubtedly, senior club management is a demanding task, but there is a sense of satisfaction attached. Keohane embraces the joy in the journey. “It is brilliant, I find if you go into work, and you come out a bit stressed out or the head is scrambled eggs after a while, that you go training, you can come back happy out,” he replies.

“You can then be bouncing out of training in better form. Obviously, then you're getting a kick out of it because it is lovely dealing with good lads.

“The fellas that are around the group, with the seniors and intermediates, working with the teams, they've been top class for the last few years. Between the players and the guys helping out, it is a right good mix of fellas, so it is very enjoyable.”

In 2021 when Midleton last placed the black and white flag on the summit of Cork hurling, Keohane was the goalkeeping coach. It was a valuable experience in so many ways.

Keohane watched Ger Fitzgerald’s passion for Midleton, recently installed Cork boss Ben O’Connor train and inspire a team, while also trying to assist custodian Bríon Saunderson. “It was good, I really enjoyed it,” he reflects.

“Obviously, Ben O'Connor was there, he was absolutely top class, altogether. It was probably Brion Saunderson's first year, it was a real eye opener as to what a human being can do with regards to stopping shots. He is just absolutely built differently that fella, he is incredible.”

There was no great masterplan to become Midelton manager, but in the winter of 2022 plenty changed. “It was actually Pat Walsh, he is with the U16 team, he said to me would I get involved, and two other lads Aywlin Kearney and Paudie Shea,” Keohane recalls.

“Those three lads are brilliant club fellas, were great players in their day, but they're good old craic, and sound men too. I ended up in a situation where I felt like I couldn't say no.”

Keohane is still going strong. “Three years later, I'm still here,” he laughs. “We've a fully different team. Pat's brother, Liam, is involved with us this year, Barry Fitzgerald, who was involved with the intermediates for the last few years, and Frank Flannery is coaching the team. He has been absolutely outstanding, he is a great coach, and a great guy.

“I'd have played hurling with Frank when we were kids in school. It is a fresh group and you've fresh young fellas coming through in the team all of the time.

“We've a couple of fellas back from being abroad which is huge. We've a couple of fellas come back from Australia, England, and we've a fella who transferred over from Clare, he has really fallen into the group too, he is a great lad. It is good.”

Keohane acknowledges the different perspective figures such as O’Connor or Flannery can bring to a set-up. “It is brilliant, when they're coming in, they're judging people completely and utterly at face value,” Keohane responds.

“They come in, they're watching their hurling, and they're judging them by their performances. It is brilliant to see how they view it. Obviously, they've got massive experience. What Ben has done as a player and a coach. Frank played for a long time, but he has coached at every level in every code.

“He has been involved at inter-county senior, he has been an inter-county senior hurling coach, he has been a senior football coach, a senior hurling coach. He has won Leinster titles, a massive depth of experience, and a great guy.

“He sees things and has experience of trying different things out. Some things work and some things don't. That only comes with experience and time.”

A decade and a half ago, Keohane was part of a minor managerial set-up that brought through several hurlers, who continue to serve the Midleton cause at adult level. “I've been involved with minor teams, and was involved with the senior team in 2012,” he says.

“Minor teams from the past, some of those guys from 2009, 2010, and 2011 are still involved. Those lads won a county and got to a final the year before. We're very lucky to have a few decent crops of players. I was involved with a few teams.”

Midleton remains a proud and passionate club. Totemic figures in the Midleton and Cork hurling stories are always ready, willing, and able to assist. “We've incredible fellas,” Keohane says.

“I happen to live next door to a new facility where we've got three grass pitches, one fully sand based, and a full size 4G field. We're lucky to live right next door to it. So, I can see it from the house, and I work from home a bit.

“If you saw the amount of work John Fenton does. He is an incredibly humble man, but he is so hard working. He cuts the grass, he will paint the fences, he will do whatever job needs to be done. That alone shows there is fierce heart in the club. There is savage heart in the club.

The passing of Ger Fitzgerald, from a decorated sporting family, and student Darragh McCarthy in March was painful. “It has probably been a very, very tough year for the club,” Keohane says.

“It is at those times you start to see how much of a family it is. Those guys that have been successful, the vast majority of them, certainly in our club, generally tend to be super, really, really good people.

“They're very good for the community and around the place. You see an awful lot of that come to fruition when there is a bit of tragedy or hardship in the club. They generally are fellas that row in and help out.”

The baton will always be passed on to the next generation. Keohane is happy to connect the past, present, and future of Midleton.