Christy O'Connor on hurling: Ben O'Connor could put faith in young guns like 1999

In Ben O’Connor’s first year as an inter-county senior hurler in 1999, he was one of six debutants for Cork’s opening championship match against Waterford.

It was an extremely brave move by Jimmy Barry-Murphy that worked as Cork went on to win the All-Ireland, but it was also a pattern that emerged throughout Barry-Murphy’s managerial career.

He had never been afraid to trust young players. In 1996, when Limerick annihilated Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Barry-Murphy’s first championship match in charge, Joe Deane and Seán Óg Ó hAilpín made their debuts as teenagers, having been minors the previous year.

As the game changed and it became more difficult for players that young to make the step up into senior, especially during Barry-Murphy’s second managerial term between 2012-'15, he still continued to invest huge faith in new, young and inexperienced talent. The team which reached the 2013 All-Ireland final had six players who made their first championship start that year.

YOUTHFUL POTENTIAL

Cork could very easily have won that All-Ireland. O’Connor had only retired the previous year but he would have seen first-hand, especially under Barry-Murphy’s first term, Cork’s potential to come with a young team and win an All-Ireland.

The major difference between now and back then though, is that Cork have an established team that has contested three of the last five All-Ireland finals.

Cork didn’t have that experience or worldliness prior to the 1999 and 2013 seasons. On the other hand, Barry-Murphy had been building towards something more concrete in the lead-up to both of those years; in 1998, Cork won the league and beat Limerick in the championship, which was their first win of any real significance since the 1992 Munster final; Cork reached the All-Ireland semi-final in 2012.

The influx of new players in 1999 pushed Cork over the line, while a similar ploy almost got the job done for Cork in 2013.

O’Connor may feel that the same approach might be what Cork need in 2026. The S&C base required now just to survive at inter-county level has made it harder than ever for young players to arrive into the team in bulk. Yet Tipperary showed in 2025 that there is still a place for new and young players if they are mentally and physically ready for that step up.

At the outset of 2025, Liam Cahill added 16 new players to the squad. 

Four players made their championship debuts in Tipp’s opening championship match against Limerick in April, two of whom – Darragh McCarthy and Sam O’Farrell – were still under 20.

McCarthy went on to win Young Hurler-of-the-Year, while Robert Doyle was shortlisted for that award and won an All-Star. Andrew Ormond, who didn’t feature in that opening game against Limerick and who only made his first full championship debut against Clare in May, also won an All-Star.

Cahill and Tipp reaped the benefits of showing faith in new players. The counter-argument is that Cahill had no choice after Tipp’s disastrous 2024 campaign, the last game of which was an annihilation from Cork.

Despite getting hammered by Tipp in their last game in 2025, Cork are still coming from a totally different place now than Tipp were last year.

DEVASTATING

Cork won league and Munster titles and played some devastating hurling throughout the 2025 season. The framework is there but Cork still need to find new players. And discovering those with the ideal amalgam of talent and required edge to thrive at the top level will be O’Connor and his management’s biggest challenge now.

Cork have had a training panel of 48 since O’Connor first assembled his initial squad and the auditioning process will begin now in the upcoming Munster league, which begins today.

Players will get opportunities at different stages of this competition but which new players to the squad may put their hand up? 

Hugh O’Connor, Barry Walsh and William Buckley will be close to the top of that queue. Jack Leahy would have been too only for picking up an injury.

It will still be a big ask for any of those players to be ready come championship so O’Connor and his management’s primary focus for the coming months will be on players who have been part of the panel in recent seasons. Can some of that crew become more established figures on the starting 15 in 2026?

From the squad of 26 named for the All-Ireland final last July, Cormac O’Brien, Tommy O’Connell, Brian Roche and Brion Saunderson will fit into that category but every player will – and should – see opportunity with a new manager.

KEY

Micheál Mullins, O’Connor’s Cork U20 captain in 2023, will look to push himself up that grid. 

So will Ben Cunningham and Darragh O’Sullivan, another two key players during O’Connor’s time as U20 manager. Pádraig Power will be a huge plus too when he returns from injury.

Cork have loads of talent but O’Connor will be looking for players with the kind of physical and psychological edge that can win Cork an All-Ireland, guys who can also give more of a balance to compliment the talent at O’Connor’s disposal.

The Cork management can select any type of team they want. The luxury they have is that there is every type of player in the county because of the vast talent pool. 

The challenge is getting that mix and balance right.

When Cork look at Tipperary winning an All-Ireland in 2025, they believe that they have more talent in their squad. They possibly do but Tipp proved in 2025 that it’s not about necessarily having the best players. 

It’s about having the best blend of talent, character and mental and physical fortitude required to get the job done.