Doing things the Seán Óg way

THERE’S a right way to do things and a wrong way, and sometimes it seems there’s another way - the Seán Óg way.

It’s the extra-right way, the hyper-correct option, which shouldn’t surprise anybody. After all, a man who trains the morning after handing out a masterclass in an All-Ireland hurling final is clearly capable of anything. So long as it’s done the right way.

We spoke after a Na Piarsaigh training session which illustrated the Seán Óg way. The Cork star arrived late and made it onto the pitch as the rest of the panel finished their warm-up. Ó hAilpín went through his routine, jogging from end line to end line while his club-mates fell in for a mixed match. Fifteen minutes later he was still warming up assiduously, even though his team-mates were pucking around; for a player who’d put down months of disciplined training and ferocious inter-county combat, the temptation to fall in must have been huge, but the warm-up had to be completed, all the way through, before he slipped into the fray. That’s the correct way; the Seán Óg way.

Afterwards he reflected on life with his club. “You only have maybe ten years with Cork, but you start off as a kid with your club, like the small lads running around here, and you finish when you’re older than Christy Connery. This is where I started, and this is where I’ll finish. Winning a county for Na Piarsaigh is a huge thing for me.”

The focus on his club meant other subjects - other distractions - were put to one side. An Australian Rules career? “I haven’t much to say about that at the moment, I’m concentrating on the county final and I’ve enough to be thinking of with that.”

A lanky minor in 1995, Ó hAilpín still anchored the Farranree side’s defence. It was a terrific introduction to senior hurling, but the years since haven’t been as kind. “Looking at the team, myself, Sean Guiheen and Christy Connery are all that’s left from 1995. At that time I thought I’d win more county medals, but nine years down the road this is only the second final I’ve been in. That shows you how hard sport is, and that you can’t depend on the future - you have to concentrate on the present.

“It’s great for the club to get to the county final, you’d have gotten good odds on us at the start of the year. Getting to the final in itself was a great achievement, and anything on top of that is a bonus.”

He’s well aware of the Cloyne threat: “If you look at Cloyne, they’re very strong, you might think they’re a rugby team. Diarmuid (O’Sullivan) is one of the biggest men I’ve ever played with, but when you see him with the other Cloyne lads, they’re so big he doesn’t stand out.

“People are probably surprised we’re in the final, but they’re not as surprised to see Cloyne there. They lost the semi-final last year and they were very close the year before that as well, they’re knocking on the door for a couple of years. They’re a very strong team with great spirit; I’m a good friend of Donal Óg Cusack, and he’s a big part of the team. As the home of Christy Ring there’s a lot of history and tradition attached to Cloyne, and they might regard the town as the home of hurling. We understand the size of the task ahead but if we compete, then we’ve got a chance.”

Warming to the theme, Ó hAilpín considers the appropriate approach for his club: “If we give it 100% we’ll be happy. When I started off with Abie Allen at underage, one of the first things he said to us was that he was looking for 100%, and if we gave that we couldn’t give any more. If we give 100% and we win, fine, but if we give 100% and Cloyne are better then fair play to them, at least we know we gave it everything.”

Passion isn’t enough, however, and Ó hAilpín knows that Na Piarsaigh have specific advantages this season: “From when I started with the seniors the defence was always good, but we might have only had one or two forwards. This year we have three or four who can score, which we didn’t have before, and that’s a bonus. “We have players who can get goals and that’s important, a goal can win a tight game for you, but having said that there’s a good balance in the team overall as well.” One of those potential goalscorers is a lad recently returned from Australia on holidays. There was a time when Seán Óg was the most famous half-Fijian hurler in the country; nowadays he may not even be the most famous in his own house. There’s no sibling rivalry about Setanta, however: “He’s given a great boost to everyone and his presence, even on the line, is a huge advantage to us. I suppose it’s a pity he was injured for the second half of the year in Australia, but when he got back here he got permission to play from his manager, Denis Pagan.

“In fairness to Denis - he said to Setanta that if it was important to him he should do it, but in honesty, the club aren’t that happy with him playing. He’s on their books and was injured for the second half of the year, and they don’t want him going back to them injured again. They think hurling is dangerous, they don’t understand the game.”

Setanta’s appearances haven’t been solely for the box office either. “When we were in trouble against Blackrock in the first half, Setanta came in and had a huge impact on the game. He had a big hand in Christy Connery’s goal. With him in Australia he’s a huge loss to us, there wouldn’t be many people would have his level of skill. He’s a special player.”

The interview begins to break down as others press for the Cork star’s attention. The Na Piarsaigh ladies committee is concerned that Seán Óg hasn’t been fed after training, and some jerseys need to be signed also; lovers of irony should delight in the fact that the jersey Ó hAilpín lives and dies for is black and amber.

“We’re next to Glen Rovers and the Glen have a great tradition,” said Ó hAilpín. “We’re living in their shadow and we’re trying to create our own tradition. I suppose I only have a couple of years left but we’d like to win another couple of counties to create that tradition and credibility for Na Piarsaigh. We want Na Piarsaigh to be taken seriously.”

With that, the likely hurler of the year is offered a hurley to autograph by a clubmate who has several years left with the U-12 team. He and Ó hAilpín have a brief chat before they decide his new jersey would carry the signature better. It’s the correct way.

The Seán Óg way.