Ó hAilpín a true example of how to win with character

Whenever I think of Seán Óg Ó hAilpín’s many superlative achievements — the journey from Fiji to Cork to the most coveted steps in Croke Park, the All Stars and All-Irelands won and captained, the transformation into corporate gold and cultural icon who transcended the game — it’s his disciplinary record that impresses us as much as anything.

A few years ago when I was asked to speak at a GAA coaching conference in Croke Park on the theme of mental toughness in hurling and football, one of the first slides I showed featured a picture of DJ Carey, Henry Shefflin, Brian Corcoran and Ó hAilpín. That quartet between them has won all but two of the last 14 hurling All-Irelands on offer. They had all won several All-Irelands, All Stars and at one point been Hurler of the Year. The other thing they all shared was that they had never been sent off. In fact, I pointed out, Shefflin was the only one of them who was ever booked in his inter-county career.

At a time when the public perception was that Roy Keane was the personification of mental toughness, that it involved being cold and callous, four of the biggest stars in hurling illustrated that was a myth. As Carey pointed out in the DVD The Passion Plays: Munster hurling 1994-2004, there was no one tougher than Seán Óg Ó hAilpín. Physically, or mentally. He controlled his emotions instead of letting his emotions control him and it was that capacity that allowed him to be both a supreme competitor and sportsman.