Ballygarvan hope it’ll be all White on the night

Stephen White always believed this could be Cork’s year, writes Diarmuid O’Flynn

Ballygarvan, a parish just outside Cork city off the Kinsale Road, was the ancestral home of Liam MacCarthy, the London-born Irishman who in the early 1920s donated the iconic All-Ireland SHC trophy to the GAA.

In just over a week’s time, after the All-Ireland final against Clare, Stephen White, a true-born Ballygarvan native and member of the current Cork senior hurling panel, hopes to be in the position to bring Liam back among his own to the local club grounds that have been named in his honour, Páirc Liam Mhic Cárthaigh.

For most observers it’s a highly unlikely final pairing, both Cork and Clare seen at best as possible last-four contenders this year. But for Stephen, he always believed Cork would make it to the final.

“Yeah, I definitely did. I did an interview at the start of the year and said that a Cork team fears no one, and I wasn’t just saying that. I think that held up true all year. We respect every opponent we play but we don’t fear anyone. We’re a Cork team and that’s the way I was brought up and with all the underage success we had.

“I think people forget that we had underage success [Stephen has two Munster minor medals, one Munster U21]. We don’t fear anyone and everyone inside in the panel believed we could get to Croke Park on the second Sunday in September. We have achieved that.”

He had doubts during the year after Clare pipped them in extra-time and condemned them to relegation in the league play-off last April but they didn’t last long.

“We got questioned after the relegation final with Clare but that was nipped in the bud straight away by Jimmy Barry-Murphy in the dressing room. He told us we had a quest to get to the pinnacle, Croke Park in September, and to bounce back. While we left the dressing room disappointed we weren’t downhearted.

“We all knew that we could continue on and drive on for the year. We were back training the week after and we were all systems go from there.”

White is that kind of person though and does not allow negativity into his life, which is why he exudes confidence and a can-do attitude. He made his Cork senior debut as a teenager in 2008 and in all likelihood would now be an established member of the team rather than an impact sub but for a decision he made to spread his wings for a few years.

“I went to America for a few summers and I never held it against any Cork manager that I wasn’t picked. I suppose I was very young coming into the panel with Gerald [McCarthy]. That bit of time away I learned a lot about myself and about the direction I wanted to go in. I would like to think that I benefited from that. I came back into the panel [last year] as a more mature 23-year-old.”

Not that he was surprised to be asked back.

“I don’t want to sound cocky but after the Fitzgibbon Cup final I was happy with my year with CIT, happy with my performances [beaten in the final by UCC after extra-time] and when I got the call from Jimmy, I was delighted. People forget when they talk about Cork’s lack of underage success about the colleges and how UCC and CIT have contributed.

“Some of the most competitive games I have played bar senior with Cork have been with CIT in the Fitzgibbon Cup. I remember we played UCC back in January/December, seeing Seamus Harnedy and saying it’s a great stepping stone on to the Cork panel. Seamus has proved to all the other lads that it’s never too late to break through.”

Which brings us to this Sunday. Whether as a starter or sub, Stephen is primed.

“Jimmy Barry-Murphy is an iconic figure in Cork. He’s a great leader, a great man-manager and you can always go to talk to him about anything. If he asks you do jump, you don’t even ask how high because you’re already in midair. That’s what he brings. All the lads are delighted with him and we’ll do our very best for him. If you’re not in the starting team, no matter how much you want to be in it, you’ll always be there ready. Dave Matthews [trainer] has us always ready if we have to come on as blood sub or whatever at whatever minute. We’re all ready, each one of us, all the time.”