Seán Óg: I had to pinch myself when picked

Seán Óg Ó hAilpín admits he had to pinch himself after he was selected to start last Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final against Waterford.

The 35-year-old honestly felt he was never going to start another game for Cork with Jimmy-Barry Murphy banking primarily on youth. However, in Thurles he made his first championship start in almost two years after being dropped from the panel last season and overlooked for a first team spot in Cork’s three previous games this summer.

“Ideally, it would have been great to have kind of started previous ones but it’s the system that Cork have been going with this year,” he said.

“They are going for youth and I am all for that and you just have to go along with it. So I was kind of more than surprised to get the call during the week to be honest. When the team was named and I heard myself half-back I had to pinch myself because I didn’t think I was going to get in.”

The Na Piarsaigh man capped a solid display with a point in the closing stages but he played down the score.

“I am training eight months and if I didn’t put the ball over the bar from 45 yards I should be shot. I don’t think that was the reason we won, but we got a few more scores after that.”

Ó hAilpín has warned his younger team-mates to now grab the opportunity of reaching an All-Ireland semi-final on Sunday week. Getting to this stage was their minimum goal at the start of the year and now he wants them to go at least one better.

“To get to the semi-final any year, especially from the foundation we were starting off on, is good going.

“But as I was trying to explain to the younger brigade, opportunities don’t present themselves too often and when they do you’ve got to take them.

“We can’t look in the crystal ball and say what’s going to happen in 2013 or 2014. So, seeing that the opportunity is there they might as well go for it.”

Cork-Galway games have tended to be high-scoring affairs and Ó hAilpín is wary of Anthony Cunningham’s side.

“I know what’s ahead, there’s more fear involved, but with the young fellas hopefully they will go out and express themselves.

“Croke Park is a different arena to out there. Even though Thurles is regarded as a big pitch, but there’s huge expansion in Croke Park and Galway will be looking at the same thing as well.

“Their demolition of Kilkenny was frightening, and if they repeat that I don’t think any team would beat them.”