Success further afield underlines strength of coaching talent in Cork hurling

Earlier this week, we looked at the likelihood of an outsider being appointed as Cork senior hurling manager. Spoiler alert: there is almost no likelihood and that was confirmed by county chairperson Pat Horgan when he spoke to The Echo.

Cork, like Tipperary and Kilkenny in hurling or Kerry in football, will always believe that there are enough natives to provide options to fill any vacancies that may arise at inter-county level.

Such a stance will always leave the alternative in the, ‘What if?’ ether and it’s human nature to consider the grass next door to be greener – it’s always easier to suggest that the hypothetical option would be better than the actual one that we have witnessed.

However, there is another element in the Venn diagram – the Cork men who have gone elsewhere to cut their coaching teeth and done well, but are still not subsumed into the system. 

This phenomenon goes against what we might term ‘normal’ behaviour, in a way – we’re all familiar with hearing of the local man who went off to Dublin or even England or wherever and made his fortune, allowing him to come home with an enlarged reputation.

Consider this: in 2024, the teams that won the Fitzgibbon Cup and the Dr Harty Cup were from Limerick and Tipperary respectively but were coached by Corkmen.

Jamie Wall led Mary Immaculate College to the Fitzgibbon title for the second time, having also been successful in 2017 – the previous year, he was a selector under Eamonn Cregan as they won the competition for the first time. There was also a final appearance in 2019, losing to a talented UCC side.

Such success with a college side over a lengthy period of time is a strong endorsement of a coach’s credentials, because they are dealing with a constantly rotating cast – the 2024 Mary I side was completely different from the 2017 one. In addition, Wall has given service to Kilmallock in Limerick and is currently involved with St Mary’s of Clonmel while he also managed his home club, Kilbrittain.

IDEAL

Aged only 33, he would appear to be an ideal candidate for the much-vaunted 'pathway' – but there is something of a cruel irony in that he was the last person off the Rebel Óg conveyor belt before the bridge to the minor and U20 grades was properly established.

Wall had taken the U16s in 2019 and would have been ideally placed to carry on that work with those players at minor levels but, for whatever reason, such a move was not made.

Cork’s loss was others’ gain - and studies in Dublin in recent times have precluded involvement - but it would be a shame if he were not brought back into the fold at some stage.

Around the time that Mary I were winning the Fitz, St Joseph’s CBS of Nenagh were on their way to a maiden Harty title. While they were led on the field by the phenom that is Darragh McCarthy, off-field guidance came from Mallow native Donach O’Donnell.

It was not the first time he had enjoyed success with the school, having been coach when they lost the Harty final but won the All-Ireland in 2012. Following that, he was Limerick’s coach when they won the Munster title in 2013 and worked with various mid-west clubs, including a stint with Clare’s O’Callaghan’s Mills, but his is not a name that pops up when Cork vacancies arise.

There are others, of course – Ger Cunningham and Denis Walsh both won the Waterford SHC with Ballygunner while Kieran ‘Fraggie’ Murphy had a well-regarded spell with Abbeyside. Having been involved with Abbeyside’s neighbours Dungarvan, Eoin Cadogan is currently coaching Tipperary’s Cashel King Cormacs.

Those spreading their wings to gain further expertise should be applauded – and be part of the conversation when roles need to be filled back home.