Three Cork hurlers with the most to gain under Ben O'Connor
Waterford’s Jack Prendergast and Diarmuid Healy of Cork during last year's Munster round-robin clash. Picture: ©Inpho/James Crombie
Cork are one game into Ben O’Connor’s reign, two if you want to be generous and include the Canon O’Brien Cup outing against UCC back in December.
There is a long road between now and the beginning of championship, with plenty of games to be played and plenty of things still to be learned. And for Cork supporters, the intrigue is not confined to shape or system alone.
Ben O’Connor’s team selection in the early stages is going to be a huge point of interest.
A fresh start brings opportunity. Every man on the panel will feel it to some degree. But for some, O’Connor’s appointment arrives at precisely the right moment.
Those who flourished under him at U20 level will sense a door open. Others who hovered on the fringes under Pat Ryan – or who briefly had their footing before losing it – will view the coming months with confidence. The league, in that sense, becomes a proving ground.
So who is best placed to benefit?
Cormac O’Brien will back himself to push hard in a half-back line that is probably the most competitive of any line on the Cork team, and that is saying something.
Ciarán Joyce and Robert Downey have been trusted heavily in recent seasons, and, when fit, are difficult to dislodge. But Downey’s injury struggles during last year’s Munster campaign opened a window, and O’Brien smashed that window to pieces.
He was consistent, reliable and noticeably comfortable at the top level. There was no sense of O’Brien merely filling a gap. He looked like a player who had been there for years.
On that evidence alone, O’Brien is the obvious first call should injury strike again. The bigger question is whether he can force his way in when everyone is available.
Mark Coleman’s presence on the other wing complicates matters further. His attacking influence is immense, and removing that from the team is never a simple decision.
His physicality, versatility and intelligence mean O’Connor will have some serious selection headaches, but the league will decide whether his breakthrough last season was a cameo, or the beginning of something else entirely.
There are few forwards in Cork who strike the ball as cleanly, or as naturally, as William Buckley. That has been evident for years, and it was never more so than under O’Connor’s watch at U20.
He showed it in the 2023 All-Ireland final win over Offaly with four points from play, and he proved it again the following year for the Rebels.
Even though they were eliminated in the Munster final, Buckley’s round-robin return read three points against Waterford, eight against Clare (four from play), two against Limerick and three against Tipp.
When the Rebels reached the knockout phase, he scored nine (six from play) against Clare in the semi-final, And three (two from play) versus Tipp in the decider.
He carried that into 2025. Buckley scored 2-47 (0-12 f, 0-1 65) across the Division 1 Hurling League, including eight from play in the Barrs’ opener against Glen Rovers and a further five from play in the next meeting with Charleville.
His latest audition, for UCC against Cork, was another headline-grabbing performance. He scored the winning point and finished with three from play.
Buckley’s reliability from placed balls is already well established, but it is his shooting from play – sharp, decisive, repeatable – that elevates him above the rest. He’s got pace, strength and an eye for space.
It feels less like a question of if, and more a question of when. And with O’Connor in charge for 2026, that time may arrive sooner than expected.
Diarmuid Healy has already done much of the hard work. He debuted last season. He started an All-Ireland final. You could hardly ask for much more.
His progression has been steady rather than spectacular, but that is often the most reliable kind. At U20 level, he always looked like a forward destined to make the jump. When it came, he met it head-on.
What comes next, is the fascinating part.
The Lisgoold man is still some distance from his ceiling, and yet he already looks at home among the elite. Healy is a player who absolutely understands what’s required at inter-county hurling, his movement and decision-making are proof of that.
Cork will lean on him in 2026, of that there is little doubt. How large his influence balloons is the question that remains.
If his trajectory continues, it may not be long before he is spoken of, not as a promising young forward, but as one of Cork’s most dependable attacking options.
The league, as ever, will reveal.
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