Ciarán Joyce: The unbreakable mentality that took Cork's centre back right to the top

CIARÁN Joyce has quickly established himself as one of Cork’s most important players, and it’s no surprise when you look at his record underage.

The centre-back has taken to his Cork senior hurling role with ease, so much so that by the end of his first championship season, he had already established himself as the starting centre-back, at just 20 years of age.

Centre-back is a role that only certain players can succeed in, but for Joycey, it’s a position he’s excelled in long before his Cork senior debut two seasons ago, as highlighted by Mike Falahee, one of Ciarán Joyce’s former coaches during his days playing underage with Kiltha Óg.

“He was one of these players coming through the club that everyone knew about from 11 on,” Falahee begins. “He was obviously the standout player on his age. It was kind of challenging as a coach actually, when you're starting off with the first year being U14 because there was very little you could coach him really about the skills of the game.

He had everything, he could catch the ball, his control was excellent, his striking of the ball was excellent.

“His defensive skills, hooking and blocking, you didn't have to tweak much with Ciarán, because he was just there naturally.

“He worked at it as well with the other coaches, and his dad had coached the team for a couple of years before that,” Mike explains. “But the big thing I remember was his temperament and attitude.

“His attitude was amazing, not just in games, but his attitude in training. He'd be driving guys on at 14 which is unusual really, because that doesn't happen until you become a bit older. But his temperament then in games, I think that was the biggest thing that stood out for me.

COMPOSURE

“Obviously in underage and Cork, fellas knew about him. They tried to upset him and throw him off. It just didn't bother him at all, he didn't even react it.” 

Coaching Joyce from U14 to U16, Falahee no doubt got the best of this side to Ciarán. When games at that age are so often decided by the performances of the stars in the team, Ciarán would have regularly been pushed to his limit.

And yet, his maturity and composure far exceeded his peers – one of the many reasons why he has become the hurler he is today.

“We won our first or second Premier 2 U14 county after beating Killeagh in the final. He was very good that day, but a game that really stands out was an U15 league game that we lost. It was a league game against Midleton up in Dungourney.

“We lost by a couple of points, and Midleton were better. But Ciarán, the guys marking him could have been sent off twice for the yellow cards that they weren’t getting,” Mike says. “They were really, really hammering him, and he just kept going and I remember comparing it to like having a fly annoying you.

“All these guys, good hurlers, annoying him – and he would just ignore them.

“I remember thinking, ‘this kid, it's like he doesn't even notice them. He has something other guys don’t have. He has the temperament to make it.’ I know it sounds daft, an inconsequential league game in Dungourney in April, but he had something.

It translates now. When he’s going out, marking someone from Limerick or Tipp, he’s not fazed by that, he never has been.

“It's this real quiet confidence he has in his own ability,” Mike explains. “He doesn't get fazed by stuff, and if it’s an All-Ireland quarter-final or a league game for Castlemartyr, he just goes out and does his thing.

“It’s the sign of a great player, he just doesn’t do nerve. He’s got composure and self-assurance.” 

Joycey’s exceptional performances with Kiltha earned him various places in Cork development squads and of course many ventures into secondary school teams with Midleton CBS.

The latter saw Ciarán coached by Iain Cooney at various stages during his time at the school.

“When he came in in first year, he loved it. You could tell he loved it,” Iain begins. “There was never an excuse around training, he’d play through injuries. He was in Cork development squads all the way up, and I remember he just loved playing for the school.

“In first year we played him in midfield. He was well able to hurl obviously and he always had a good hand, so when we got to the Dean Ryan Cup, we played him in the forwards.

“We got to the Dean Ryan final against Thurles, and we lost. We threw it away really, we were seven points up and the ball hit the post and landed in the box, and they scored a goal.

“We were hanging on, and then the ball dropped in the box and they got another goal, and then got a point from about 80 yards out and there was a bit of hurt after that. Ciarán was a tireless worker, he just did his job brilliantly.” 

It was a crushing blow for Midleton and Joyce, but one that the centre-back would go on to bounce back from in the pinnacle of Munster schools hurling – the Dr Harty Cup.