Sars helping to write new chapter in Rebel history
Such recognition follows on the back of winning three of the last five Cork SHC titles, a far cry from the 51 barren years between 1957 and 2008.
Bertie Óg Murphy, who coached Sars to that famine-ending victory in 2008, feels that a some stellar work at underage level helped to lay the foundations for the current state of affairs.
“To have four players involved for an All-Ireland final is fantastic,” he said. “It’s probably the most Sars have ever had. It’s a real endorsement of the club’s underage structures.
“I suppose the main person who deserves thanks would have to be James Barry, he coordinated the underage system about 10 or 15 years ago and it has just grown from there.
“We won a few Féiles, but even still, the focus was always more on improving skills than winning things. We’d have got senior hurlers involved to help with the underage, passing on their skills and knowledge, it would be a trademark of the club.
“Another huge thing would obviously be the growth in population in the area, Glanmire has really expanded in recent times and that has been a big help as more families have come into the area.”
Being able to call upon greater numbers of players has been a massive boost.
“The club would be premier in most of the underage grades now,” Murphy said, “whereas in my day, that wasn’t always the case at U14 or U16 level.
“Back then, you’d be depending on players one or two years younger but now all the players on a team would be up to the age. As well as that, Nicky Barry, who coached a lot of North Mon Harty Cup teams, got involved too and passed on his expertise. There have been some excellent people involved.”
Though too modest to say so, Murphy definitely comes into that bracket. He can clearly recall his first exposure to the current crop of stars.
“James Barry had Conor, Daniel and Cian at U16, and I gave him a hand to help out on the hurling side. That they came up together has given them huge confidence.
“Conor O’Sullivan’s father Dave was involved for a while too and then Johnny Crowley was in charge when they won the county minor in 2008.”
It was a banner year for the club, as some of the minors were also part of the senior squad which went all the way.
“We were lucky enough to have a great mix with that senior panel,” Murphy said.
“There were older fellas like Pat Ryan and Joe Barry, then guys like Kieran Murphy and Michael Cussen and the younger lads too. They made a huge difference and when you experience success like that, you really get used to winning.
“We could always see they were good hurlers, they have fierce skill. I can remember being very surprised when Conor and Daniel didn’t make the Cork minor team as they always looked like they had huge potential.
“I can recall in 2007 that we played Blackrock and we put Daniel on Wayne Sherlock to try to keep him quiet. He was only 17 but he wasn’t overawed by it at all at all.”
O’Sullivan and Kearney have been two of Cork’s most solid performers during the run to the final, and Murphy is not at all surprised.
“Their experience with UCC, at fresher and Fitzgibbon level, was a massive help too,” he said.
“They have just taken that on to the next level now, and it was very noticeable this year that, when they’d come back to Sars, they always mentioned how much they were enjoying the Cork set-up, even when it might have looked like things weren’t going too well earlier in the year.
“It’s great for them, and the club as a whole, that there is such a good buzz about the place now. Hopefully that will inspire the next generation.”
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