Anthony Nash’s London journey: 'I owe a lot to the GAA'
Former Cork goalkeeper Anthony Nash pictured coaching UL in 2023. Picture: Matt Browne/Sportsfile
When it comes to hurling, there are few counties in Ireland that place bigger expectations on their players than the Cork faithful do.
Because the pride we have for our county is like no other. Cork’s rich history is laced with legends that have donned the Rebel red, leaving behind legacies that transcend generations.
One of these legacies belongs to Anthony Nash, whose innovative approach to free taking changed the rules of the game.
But now, having transitioned from player to coach – the focus for Nash is on the performances of Mayo and Wicklow, rather than Clare or Limerick. Something that by his own admission was a shock since taking up a coaching role with London.
“I’ve said this openly – would I ever have thought I would be worried about a Mayo, Meath or Wicklow result? But here I am scouring the internet to see how they’re getting on,” Nash begins. “Hopefully now after having four [wins] from four, we’ll at least make the league final.
“One more win might guarantee us the final. We’ve played Mayo and Wicklow who look like the two teams we’re most likely to face.
“People might read this and say, ‘Mayo and Wicklow, what kind of hurling is that?’ but they’re two fantastic teams at our level.
“We beat Wicklow by a point and Mayo by two.”
After some persuasion from manager Neil Rogers – Nash made the decision to join the setup, which he has thoroughly enjoyed over the last few months.
“I have my work colleagues, who I am very lucky to have. But I don’t know that many people here.
“Training, it gives me a sense of home and community. It’s the best decision I’ve made since I came over here.
It's great over here, it’s brought joy and happiness. It is difficult for an Irish guy coming over. From someone who was running from it, I owe a lot to the GAA. I owe a lot to hurling in general.
It’s been eye opening for Nash in many ways. Going from teaching to working as a sports partnership manager with OFX represents a big change, but so too does the difference in setup between the Cork and London intercounty teams.
“We’ve five on the management team, that’s it.
“We have a stats guy that travels over, we have a physio obviously – but apart from that it’s just the five of us.
“We don’t have different kinds of people involved in the background; the big thing as well is the travelling.
“I used to leave work in Mitchelstown, drive up the road 45 minutes and be at training.
“Over here, you’re leaving the office to get on a tube to get on a train to get on a bus to get to training,” he explains. “That’s what I admire about the lads here.
“People might look over and see this wonderful fancy life that London people have, but it’s a huge transition for those lads travelling 20 minutes to their club training, five minutes in some cases – to be potentially travelling over an hour on three different modes of transport to get to training.
“But they turn up and there are no complaints, they drive on.
“It’s very grounding as well – I carry in the water, the sliotars, as well as be one of the coaches we have. But with the players, it’s the effort, the commitment I see.
“Yes, it’s Christy Ring, Division 3 of the league. It’s nothing compared to a Cork, Limerick or Galway.
“I would have put in five or six nights at home because we had the facilities, but we don’t have that here. Lads pay for their own gym membership and then they’re all over London as well.
“The away games have been a massive eye opener for me. The first one to Wicklow, we had to get to Heathrow Airport, fly over, get a bus to the hotel.
“Then when we played Mayo the last day we had to fly into Knock, the organisation in it is massive. You have to make sure the lads’ flights are booked; their hotels are booked.” While the travel involved is one of the challenges London GAA faces, the competition is another.
“The standard of hurling is very high,” he says. “There are a lot of lads from other counties so like Roscommon would have a few lads from Galway, Derry would have a few lads from Antrim playing with them.
“We don’t have that; we just depend on who comes over. We can’t exactly go down the road to pick up a fella from Liverpool to play hurling!” Nash laughs. “I used to get to [Cork] training at 5.45, Hoggy and I would be on the pitch.
“He’d be practicing frees, I’d be practicing puckouts before 7pm training. We had that facility.
The adjustment from playing to coaching is a unique one, and not always a straightforward path – at least for Nash. But one man in particular has always been a huge help to the former Cork ‘keeper.
Current Cork manager Pat Ryan.
“I would have played in college and on Cork with Ray [Ryan]. In 2016, when Pat first got involved in Cork, we built a close relationship,” Nash remarks. “I remember going down the road to UL, the first year I was involved with them and South Liberties coaching.
“I’d ring him very regularly, he always picked up the phone.
“If anything at all in life went wrong or was affecting me, he’d be one of the first guys to text me. He's been very good to me in and out of hurling.
“As soon as he was going for the Cork job, I was singing his praises. [He’s] a great players person and great people person.
“Pat’s a great guy. It’s really sad for him, his family, and the Glanmire community.”
App?
