Patience pays off for Cormac O'Brien as he returns for Cork against Tipp

If Cormac O’Brien appears for Cork against Tipperary tomorrow, it will represent a triumph of patience and determination.

A member of the Cork team that won the one-off All-Ireland U17 competition in 2017 – Tommy O’Connell and Brian and Eoin Roche also featured – O’Brien was captain of the Pat Ryan-led team that won the All-Ireland U20 title in 2021. He did come on as a late sub in Ryan's first senior championship match in charge, against Waterford in 2023, but a second appearance has taken time, under-pinned by a good league campaign this year.

Even then, an injury denied him what would have been a first start against Clare last week but he has recovered in time to be named on the bench for Tipp.

Someone not surprised that O’Brien has taken his opportunity is another former Cork half-back, Seán Óg Ó hAilpín.

“I hear about guys who have waited for their chance, they get their chance, but they don't take it,” says Ó hAilpín, who coached O’Brien on the UCC Fitzgibbon Cup team last year.

“Cormac has grabbed it, he's actually relished it. He's not fazed by any of the physical stuff or anything.

He's typical of the production line from Newtown, just deep down inside he's just built out of granite, like the O’Connors, Tim O’Mahony, Pat Mulcahy.

“One of the first pieces of advice I got at inter-county level was from Tony O’Sullivan, he said as a half-back it’s no use hitting 20 balls up the field if your man is getting 1-5.

“Cormac carries out the defensive duties first and foremost but, on top of that, he’s a very slick hurler, very smooth, and under pressure he can still make a play.

“It's different to my day, you just had your opponent tackling you whereas now you’ve two or three jumping on top of you, and there’s only a nanosecond to get things done.”

Ó hAilpín is no stranger to dedication and hard work and so, when he vouches for O’Brien’s attributes in that regard, it carries weight.

“The one thing I learned fairly quickly from Cormac O'Brien is that he takes representation very seriously, which is a great thing,” he says.

“What I mean by that is, last year he was battling to try to make the matchday panel with Cork – he was on the training panel but not a certainty for the 26 – and the college season can be a headache for guys like that but he turned up to everything.

“Even then, some guys can be there but not physically present but he was there in mind, body, and soul.

“He played every single league game for us, which would be unheard of for a county player, and he was a stand-out performer for us.”

CHARACTER

Having work with Cormac O’Brien since he was a teenager in Newtownshandrum, Alan G O’Brien. A selector with the club’s senior team for the past three years, he backs up Ó hAilpín’s views, not least in terms of how he has bided his time before taking his chance.

“He has definitely shown strength of character,” Alan G O’Brien says.

“The competition is fierce – first and foremost, it's hard to get into that 35 or 36 first, then into the 26 and then into the 15, because there are good players and you're up against the best.

“I suppose the big difference compared to when we got involved with the senior team in 2022 is his physical conditioning.

“He's an intelligent lad, an intelligent player, but he's also intelligent off the pitch. He's fairly diligent in the gym and in the pitch, and he's definitely used his time to improve his physical conditioning.”

Right half-back for the All-Ireland U17 win, he was left corner-back for the U20s’ triumph four years later. Alan G O’Brien reckons his namesake is best at 7, but the versatility has stood to him.

“He's very adaptable,” he says, “there's never a fuss with Cormac, he'll always do the job for you.

“Interestingly enough, on our run to the county semi-final in 2022, we actually used Cormac as a centre-forward because we always thought that he was a very good lad to carry the ball.

“He's a good runner off the shoulder, intelligent and a heads-up player. He can see what's happening around the game, and he's good at distributing the ball to players as well.

We've used him midfield and we’ve used him in defence – not too many get the better of him in a man-marking situation because he has really developed his physical strength differently.

“I do think his best position is where he is at the moment with Cork. When he does get the ball out on that wing, the supply to the forwards, you could be guaranteed that nine out of 10 passes from Cormac would be in the correct position for him to be moving on to the ball.

“He's always looking to give the ball to a man in a better position.”