Séamus Harnedy on how hurling evolved across his Cork career and what the future holds

Séamus Harnedy’s three All-Star hurling awards were spread out fairly evenly across his Cork career – the St Ita’s man was honoured in 2013, 2018 and 2024.

It speaks to his ability to evolve as the sport did and the 36-year-old appreciates how the inter-county game he is leaving is far removed from the one he came into.

“It's very, very, very different altogether now,” he says.

I suppose, back then, it was very much command your zone, your patch on the field, whereas now it's much more dynamic and movement-based.

“When the ball has, let's say, gone dead, it's so structured from puck-outs and there's more the introduction of kind of set-plays and puck-out tactics and GPSs.

“There's so much to unpack there, the game has just gone so dynamic compared to what it was in 2013.

“If you were wing-forward back then, it was win your 10 or 12 patch and help out one or two of those around you, but now you could find yourself anywhere in the field.

“When the ball is dead, it's gone so, so structured and Limerick are the benchmark for that.

“I've seen over the years how they cut down space on your side of the field and they utilise the ball so well then to open up space on the other side of the field.

“Tactics have definitely evolved hugely since 2013 and sports psychology has gone massive in the game now. That would have been probably only starting out in 2013.

“If you talk about the presence of nutritionists, I suppose they were in place in some counties in 2013 but they're a staple of every inter-company panel now.

“Load-management now is a buzzword that everyone's using and players' calendars are so intense and the schedule is so intense at the moment that GPSs have crept into it – the evolution of S&Cs and people monitoring your strength scores and how much you're covering in a match.

Move with the times

“This has all developed drastically since 2013, but if you're adaptive have an open mindset, they're all things you can jump on board with, though some people have struggled with that over the years, I found.”

He will of course keep playing for Ita’s for as long as he can. Beyond that, might some of his future lie in coaching?

“I'm kind of doing a small bit – I'm going to emphasise the word ‘small’ here! – in Blackwater Community School in Lismore,” he says.

“I'll be perfectly honest, I had never really given it too much thought, kind of my initial reaction was to take a year or two out, just simmer down and make the most of my time for the next 12-24 months.

“But look, I know when I pull away from GAA fully and I'm not playing my club anymore, that I'll find it hard to move away from the game, so yeah, it might be something that I'll jump into, but I probably won't jump into the deep end straightaway.

“It'll probably be kind of relaxed for 12-24 months and maybe reintegrate into it then after that.”