Laois v Tipperary - GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 3A
Family Ties: Colin O'Riordan focused on football
By Brian Murphy
Despite being called into the Tipperary senior hurling squad late last summer, Colin O'Riordan's focus will be on football with the Premier County in 2015.
O'Riordan, who plays both codes for the JK Brackens club in Templemore, is one of the most precocious talents to emerge from Tipperary in years, winning an All-Ireland Minor Football title in 2011 aged 15, before being nominated for an All Star last summer following his first campaign with the county's senior football team.
The 19-year-old UCD student is also a gifted hurler and was a member of the Tipperary U21 side that lost the Munster semi-final to Clare last July, lining out at wing-forward, before being invited by Eamon O'Shea to join up with the senior hurling team. He had played one Waterford Crystal Cup game for Tipperary against Kerry at the start of 2014 and clearly made a big impression on the manager.
However, for the coming year at least O'Riordan has committed to playing for Peter Creedon's senior football team, swayed it seems by his family's rich footballing pedigree.
His father is from Fethard in South Tipperary and played football for the county and had a spell with Navan O'Mahony's in Meath when he was stationed in the Royal County as a Garda. He also has two older brothers who have represented Tipperary at underage level, Kevin having won a Munster U21 title with Tipperary in 2010 while Alan was also a member of the All-Ireland winning minor squad in 2011.
"I was in with the hurlers last year for a bit alright. I enjoy hurling too, it's a great sport and when you're from Tipp hurling seems to be number one. My father was a good footballer and he grew up playing football and he comes from South Tipp which is more football," O'Riordan says.
"So I grew up with him telling me football is his game. That probably had a big influence on me too. I love football, it's number one at the moment for me. A good few people would be saying that. 'What are you doing playing football, you have a better chance of winning an All-Ireland hurling?'
"But if you love something you don't just pack it in for something you like instead. Football is a great game for me and I feel myself I'm probably a bit better at football. You have to go with your own opinion on a lot things."
O'Riordan, who will captain Tipperary in next Wednesday's Munster U21 final against Cork , was called into the senior squad last August ahead of the All-Ireland semi-final win over Cork, but admits it was an uncomfortable experience, having played for the footballers all year.
"It was hard to go into a group of lads who are so knitted together already. Lads would be looking at you thinking 'what's going on here, a lad coming in after football as if hurling is only second fiddle to him.'
"Look I enjoyed the chance and Eamonn was very good to me. Everyone there was very good to me. Eamonn asked me in and I was delighted to go in. There wasn't any reluctance at all. I was happy to get the chance."
