Cork GAA: Age should be just a number when choosing managers, players are inspired by smart leaders

IN her excellent book on the Cork ladies’ footballers Relentless, Mary White painted the picture of where the story first began on a miserable February evening in 2004.

After undergoing radium treatment for prostate cancer in Cork University Hospital, Éamonn Ryan pointed his car, a small white 2000 Daihatsu Cuore, north to Liscarroll for his first full training session with the Cork ladies footballers.

Facilities in Liscarroll were modest at the time, with just one floodlight operating in a corner of the field.

Yet Ryan always had an ability to improvise and make the best of any situation, showcasing a resilience that would become the hallmark of one of the greatest GAA teams in history.

Cork were starting from the lowest base imaginable, but their humble origins made that Cork team one of the most unlikely but successful modern sports stories, particularly when they were powered by the beautiful and symbiotic relationship between Ryan and his players.

The late Éamonn Ryan was 74 when he finished with the group in 2015, 58 years older than the youngest member of the squad.

In an era when young players are becoming increasingly disconnected from different generations, Ryan’s unique bond with that group was one of their greatest weapons. One of the key instruments of Ryan’s power was his ability to connect with his players.

Age or generational differences were never a barrier. He was able to offer life lessons through the medium of sport.

Illustrating his story was easy. There was never a blank page.

Ryan had more wisdom and wordliness in his head than most of the coaches he had learned from, but he was still often seen as an anomaly. Judging people’s ability to manage by their age will always gain traction, particularly in a sporting environment constantly craving modernity and new-age practices.

“There shouldn’t be any ageism in an appointment process,” Jason Ryan once recalled.

“It should always be about the best fit for that team. If a manager has good emotional intelligence and empathy with people, it doesn’t matter if you are in your 70s or your 30s.”

Varying degrees of prejudice can exist in that space between being deemed too old or too young to manage at inter-county level.

Ryan was only 31 when he took over Wexford in 2008. He was only fifth choice, which was initially interpreted as a serious lack of ambition from the county board.

Ryan led Wexford to an All-Ireland semi-final in his first season, but his starting point was personally torturous. He was so massively intimidated that he was too afraid to meet all the Wexford players together.

So, he met them all one-to-one. Ryan soon found his groove, but his emergence at the time raised eyebrows because he was so young.

On the other hand, it wasn’t groundbreaking. 

John Maughan was only 28 when he led Clare to a historic Munster title in 1992.

Brendan Hackett was younger again at 26 when he took over the Longford footballers in 1987. A year later, Longford reached the Leinster semi-final while they also made two league quarter-finals during Hackett’s four years in charge.

In 1990, Hackett was still only 31 when he took over Offaly, while he also coached the International Rules team that year.

MIDDLE GROUND

There is never any right age to take over a team, but the correct middle ground still seems somewhere in between.

With 11 All-Irelands and taking Brian Cody’s age from when he won his first All-Ireland in 2000 at 46, the average age of All-Ireland winning managers over the last 22 years is 46.

The youngest was Eamonn Fitzmaurice, who led Kerry to the 2014 All-Ireland at 37. Fitzmaurice though had been a selector under Jack O’Connor for the previous four years.

When O’Connor returned for a third term last year though, he became the oldest manager of the modern era to guide a team to an All-Ireland senior title.

O’Connor was 61 at the time. When he took over Kerry first, O’Connor was 43. There is never a right or a wrong time to manage a county, but O’Connor has seemingly set a trend.

Colm O’Rourke, the new Meath manager, is now 65. Paddy Carr, who was appointed Donegal manager recently, is 64.

Kevin McStay has finally become Mayo manager at 60. Liam Kearns, the new Offaly manager, is around the same age.

Mickey Harte meanwhile, the most successful manager of the modern era after Jim Gavin and O’Connor, is 68.

Age is clearly a factor in many of the recent appointments because it is essentially a full-time job that needs someone with the time to give it. O’Rourke and Carr have decided to retire as school principals while McStay recently stated that he was now in a position in his life to be able to dedicate himself to the Mayo job.

The bottom line though, is that players are inspired by smart leaders, no matter their age.

But a manager is often only as good as the framework constructed around them. And, more importantly, the culture they create.

Éamonn Ryan’s success was incredible, but legacy is always about more than medals. He changed the culture and mindset of Cork ladies football, but Ryan’s greatest achievement is the generations of lives he enriched, developed and inspired.

Forever.