The only thing that stays the same is change
Pulseless and saurian! Come on, they’re irresistible.
You’d be surprised how often you can crowbar them into ordinary conversation (“How was the apple cake/the drive up to Tipp/your man you interviewed the other evening?” “Ah, the usual. Pulseless and saurian.”) if you’re willing to make the effort, though my wife threatened an embargo on their use over the weekend. Apparently it’s not an appropriate way to describe George Clooney at all.
Still, the terms weren’t really needed last Saturday. Your columnist spent much of the day at a coaching conference run by the Cork County Board, a gathering which crackled with as much energy as a breakfast cereal with three names.
A large attendance and informative speakers were a major help – the likes of Mark McManus gave a well-received talk on physical strength and conditioning for teenage players, for instance – but canny scheduling ensured the conference got off to a bright start.
Extra chairs had to be brought into the large lecture theatre and the aisles were well occupied half-an-hour before the opening speaker began his address. It was Donal Óg Cusack, the Cork goalkeeper.
A polished performer, Cusack’s remarks clearly struck a chord with the audience, from the asides about his club’s recent success in Gaelic football – a development he hoped they’d be able to overcome – to the well-chosen references to Vince Lombardi on the eve of a Superbowl featuring the legendary coach’s Green Bay Packers.
Afterwards this column settled down for a coffee with the goalkeeper – facilitated by Chris of CIT’s catering department, for which much thanks – and given the temper of the times, we asked about one of the less likely coalitions one might expect: Donal Óg Cusack and the Cork County Board, working together.
“Things move on, people move on,” said Cusack. “Nothing stays the same, anywhere. Take a look at what’s happening in Egypt.”
Well, a conversation with the Cork goalkeeper usually takes in a few interesting by-roads. Before we even made it out to the scones in the CIT canteen one of the coaches in attendance had asked for a copy of Cusack’s presentation to the conference, just to keep (he got it). Is public speaking something he enjoys? “Most of those things, the things I get asked to do, I try to do them and to enjoy them. To enjoy the experience,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to the season and all the things that go with that, but you’ve to try to live in the moment, too.
“We’re talking now about games coming up in a couple of weeks, the season and so on, but I’m looking forward to training tonight, that session.
“I try to appreciate the games, the camaraderie, the games when they come . . . . in a strange way I’ve tried to appreciate the stuff that’s not so good either.”
A mention of politics sparked a reference to some recent stories linking Cusack to a run for the Dáil.
“It’s not happening but I’m interested in current affairs. I’m interested in politics.
“I wouldn’t rule it out but only because I don’t rule things out — I’ve learned that it’s stupid to rule things out for the future, so I don’t rule things out.
“But that doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll be doing those things either, if that makes sense.”
The interest in politics is genuine – Cusack draws a shrewd parallel between the Blair-Brown succession in Britain and the Ahern-Cowen dynamic in Ireland, both administrations yielding to coalitions – and as a leading light in the GPA he dealt with senior politicians in various negotiations.
“That just had to be done,” he says, “It was stuff that had to be done. It’s great now to see the support structures in place for players and so on.
“And the GAA needed that, too. As I was saying in the conference earlier, about a team needing some element of conflict within it and needing people to challenge each other, an organisation like the GAA is the same. If you don’t have conflict or challenge in an organisation you’re going nowhere.”
The conversation drifted on: the Six Nations (“I’d love to sit down and watch the games but there’s work and training,”) and social media.
“Twitter, that’s something I’d be very interested in,” says Cusack. “I must look into that.”
Get cracking. Pulseless and saurian he isn’t.
* Contact: michael.moynihan@examiner.ie Twitter: MikeMoynihanEx
