Newtown's band of brothers close ranks for final push

THERE are four O'Connor brothers, not two, in the Newtownshandrum squad that faces Portumna in what promises to be a titanic All-Ireland club senior hurling final this Friday.

However, according to Eamonn, youngest of those four, that's the tip of the iceberg. A band of brothers, that's what they are, the whole panel.

"A lot of hard work has gone into this team from U12 up, trying to keep all the players together, keep them involved. We were lucky that no-one had to go away to work, no-one went away travelling, they've stayed together. They know each other well, know each other's play, I suppose you could say we're all like brothers."

That's John O'Connor, next in line to Eamonn, two years his senior.

"That's it, yeah, in fact you spend more time with the rest of the lads than you do with your own brothers, you're training with them all year, playing with them, going out with them at weekends, while the lads are away with Cork, it's like one big family."

"The lads" of course are Ben and Jerry, the twins, All-Stars both, known the length and breadth of the land. At 27, they are the eldest of seven brothers: John is next at 22, Eamonn 20, then come the fledglings, Kevin (15), Dave (14) and youngest of all, the bould Stephen (nearly 11). Though John made the senior panel at 16 (sub-keeper to Paul Morrissey when Newtown won their first senior county title in 2000), times have changed in this north Cork hurling stronghold and now, with a much stronger base, it'll probably be a few years yet before the last three make the seniors.

Even Eamonn, a strapping wing-back, has to wait his turn: "This is my first year with the senior panel, and it's hard to make the breakthrough; players of the calibre of Pat Mulcahy, Phillip Noonan, Alan T (O'Brien) in the half-back line, they're fairly consistent, you won't get too much opportunity to get in there. But it's good to be involved anyway."

They're not exactly chalk and cheese, the two lesser-known O'Connors, and you wouldn't doubt that they're brothers once you've been told, but they're not as alike as their identical elders, so alike even the Lord himself will be confused.

John is ginger, very ginger, Eamonn is taller and darker. One thing they have in common, - in common also with their twin older siblings - is their attitude. This is John on the fact that, despite having played for Cork himself at minor and U21 level, despite the fact that he often hurls as well as, if not better than, one or both of "the lads", he is often overlooked in match reports and ignored in the build-up to big games.

"I'm not bothered, not a bit," and you know he means it; "it doesn't matter who's getting all the attention, as long as we're winning. Someone has to get the ball to Ben, to the forwards, but there's no-one on this team seeking glory for themselves. It doesn't matter who gets the scores, who gets the praise, who gets the cup even, it's just about the team coming out on top at the end of the game, whether it's by a point or by ten points, doesn't matter."

This is Eamonn on the same legendary hard training as everyone else under his father Bernie, despite the fact that he may not see championship action all season. The night this interview took place was filthy, freezing rain driven in almost horizontally across their exposed pitch; why put yourself out in such conditions, when you probably won't be playing?

"They're doing it in every club in the country," reckons Eamonn, "but the difference is we're doing it for an All-Ireland final. There have been worse nights, and I'll bet they're doing it up in Portumna as well. It's just something you have to do, tough alright, but if you want to win you do these things. You just keep your head down, keep going as hard as you can, try and make them (selectors) look at you, give it all in training because that's when you get your chance."

Attitude, you see, bred into Eamonn, into all his siblings, by his parents (never overlook the influence of a good mother either, and they don't come any better than Kathleen O'Mahony), but inherent also. Far from being deterred by major challenge, Eamonn rises to it, fully appreciates that what he has is an opportunity for which most club players would sacrifice several digits.

"I do, it's huge, but you can't get too caught up in it either, let it affect you. It's huge for everyone in the parish, you can see all the buntings, the flags, everyone in the parish seems to be caught up in it. That's all we do here, hurling, so it's nice to be at the top."

Brilliant as they are, there's more to this family than the twins, more to this team than the O'Connors. Brothers in blood, yes, but it's the hurling in the blood that makes these guys what they are, brothers in sport, brothers all. With the same tradition in Portumna, that's what will make Friday special.