Niall O'Leary enjoying busy schedule

Click here to listen to the interview with Cork's Niall O'Leary.

By Cian O'Connell

Niall O'Leary relishes the busy schedule. The accomplished Cork corner back enjoys when the matches arrive thick and fast.

A fortnight after Sunday's Allianz Hurling League Division 1A Final, the Munster SHC commences. Compelling and crucial games on the agenda.

The Castlelyons clubman doesn't want it any other way. "It's huge, it's great to be playing games the whole time," O'Leary says.

"I know we'll be two weeks out to championship, but to have a game like this two weeks out, it's brilliant. We've in-house games the whole time, but playing a game like this in front of a big crowd is going to be great for championship."

A demanding assignment away to Limerick at TUS Gaelic Grounds beckons, but O'Leary is encouraged about the manner in which emerging Cork players have fared. "It'd be nice to cap of the year in one sense, it's been a great league campaign," he says.

"We've definitely got a lot of game time into a lot of players, too. So, it's a great way of testing out the strength in the panel. It's great to get to a final on top of it.

"It's huge, just to create competition for places is probably the biggest thing with it, to see how fellas are going. It's great, we've a couple of great younger players coming through. It's been very good for us, I think the lads are very happy with it too."

With Ben O'Connor replacing Pat Ryan as manager, 2026 was always going to be slightly different. "It has, there hasn't been a huge amount of changes either," O'Leary says.

"Ben knows that there wasn't anything special that needed to be changed either. He has brought his own ideas which has definitely brought us on an extra step."

What are some of these things O'Connor has focused on? "From his own playing days, the way they played," O'Leary answers.

"He has definitely brought his own ideas that way, and he has brought that bit of a tougher side to our game, maybe, at times, too. That's probably the biggest thing with it, really."

During his career O'Leary acknowledges the connection with Cork supporters. "It's huge, they travel the length and width of the county to support us a lot of the time," he says.

"It's great to have them. There's a huge connection between fans and players, at the moment. It's great to see. They've helped us get over the line in close, tough games in recent years. It's great to have them the whole time."

As a former student and current teacher in St Colman's, Fermoy, O'Leary knows all about the value and importance of sport for teenagers. "I was lucky enough to play big games with the school, I played Harty finals with them," he recalls.

"So, it was great. Then, to go back in their teaching was great, too. There is huge interest in hurling. Going in there, after games, you wouldn't be long being brought back down to earth by the students inside there, at times. It's great."

"I do a lot of coaching inside there, I'm involved with the Harty team, I do enjoy it a lot, trying to bring the next generation, especially lads from my own club that are inside there. It's very enjoyable."