Galway hurler, and eir ambassador, Conor Whelan pictured at the launch of the eir GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship in Croke Park Stadium ahead of the 2024 season kick off. Bringing the ‘eir for all’ commitment to life, eir announced an exclusive opportunity for its subscribers to sign-up for the GAAGO Season Pass at a reduced rate of €59, representing a saving of over 25%. This will provide exclusive access to livestream 38 All-Ireland Hurling and Football Championship matches between now and the end of the season. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
By John Harrington
There’s no mistaking Conor Whelan on a hurling pitch.
The left hand on top of a natural citóg, the hunched running style, the slightly looping but very effective striking action, the in-your-face bouldness, the clinical finishing.
He’s always been something a little bit unique ever since he first burst on to the scene as an 18-year-old in in 2015 and scored 1-2 from play on his championship debut against Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final.
Also testament to a beyond his years maturity was his display in the subsequent All-Ireland Final against Kilkenny when he was one of Galway’s best players on the day, scoring two points from play.
Since that debut season Whelan has been of the most dangerous inside forwards in the country.
So much so, that when Richie Hogan was asked on his retirement who was the best opposition player he came up against during the course of his career, he opted for the Kinvara man.
“I would say that Conor Whelan is the most underrated player that I know of,” said Hogan.
“Every single defender in the country hates marking him. He wins his own ball, he doesn't look as stylish as other players, fine, but he does so much damage scoring-wise. He rarely misses. Goals, points, decision-making, I think he's absolutely one of the best players of the last 10/15 years. But, for some reason, not as high-profile.
“He's a player that caused incredible damage to us for five or six or seven years and to other teams as well when he's sometimes nearly operating on his own. So he's one definitely that doesn't get the credit he deserves.”
Corner-backs will tell you that they enjoy nothing more than grinding down a corner-forward physically. Harrying them, hassling them, biting at their heels and breathing down their neck.
It must really feel like the tables have been turned so when they mark Conor Whelan and have to endure him doing the exact same to them.
When you watch Whelan play he seems to enjoy that physical battle with a defender rather than endure it like most forwards do.
“Yeah, I think you have to be able to mix it,” says Whelan. “It’s something that my father would always have been strong on, being able to adapt your game.
“Not necessarily the dark arts but being able to look after yourself out there is very important too. Yeah, it’s every man for himself. Johnny Glynn was always minding me when I started out.
“He was almost like my older brother backing me up. That’s definitely part of it and that’s definitely a challenge. Some days, you might end up taking it too far and crossing a line and I suppose I learned that lesson a few weeks ago. That’s just part and parcel of it, really.”
David Blanchfield of Kilkenny is tackled by Conor Whelan of Galway during the 2023 Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Final match between Kilkenny and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Backing himself has always come naturally to Whelan. Most 18-year-olds would find it very daunting to join an inter-county hurling panel stacked with household names, but from his very first Galway senior training session in 2015 Whelan was determined to show he belonged.
“The very first day training with Galway was Colm Callanan picked me up at the house and we counted through the Galway forwards at the time and there was about eight or nine,” recalls Whelan.
“There was Niall Burke, Joe Canning, Conor Cooney, Cyril Donnellan, Cathal Mannion, Jason Flynn, Joe Cooney, Johnny Glynn. So it didn't look like there was much space for me.
“I suppose at the time it's daunting but when you're a young lad like that you kind of back yourself. If I look back on it I think I just had to back myself and I suppose I didn't have much to lose.
“I think I believed in my ability a lot and I suppose I wanted it then and I expected to play. That's something I tell young lads coming through, don't come in and just be happy to be there.
“You want to play because that's what we all want to do. I suppose I just wanted to play and I had good support from home and I was very fortunate really.”
Conor Whelan of Galway in action against Dónal Burke of Dublin during the 2024 Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group B match between Galway v Dublin at Pearse Stadium in Galway. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
When Whelan gets the ball in his hand his instinct is to try to immediately make something happen.
He doesn't run laterally or look to pop a pass off quickly, he runs hard in the direction of the opposition goal and, if he creates even half a yard of space for himself within 50 yards of the goal, chances are he’ll shoot.
His attitude is that you don’t get too many opportunities to score in a match so you should make and take as many as you possibly can.
“Our focus inside is to any chance we get try to take it,” he says.
“You’re always operating off seven or eight balls is the average for an inside forward so there’s no point in complaining about it. You just have to adapt.
“You mightn’t see a ball again for a while. There’s no point complaining about the type of ball you get. Once you get the ball you just have to do something with it. That’s just the way it is.
Whelan isn’t the type to get too far ahead of himself but you can sense he feels like Galway are capable of doing something big this year.
The return of warriors like David Burke and Johnny Glynn, the influence of Eamon O’Shea in the backroom team, and the growing maturity of the younger guard in the panel are all positives in his eyes.
Is there a chance that all the jigsaw pieces might be now in place for Galway to really catch fire in Henry Shefflin’s third year in charge of the team?
“I've been fortunate enough to be around for a while and you never really know until you go out and play,” says Whelan.
“You can feel like the group is in a good place and I feel like it is. We've blooded a good few players and we have a strong, cohesive group.
“I think there's something there for the fans to really get behind and look forward to.”