Dan emerging from shadows

Daniel Kearney owes much to Jimmy Barry-Murphy. At 5’9 and of slight build, Kearney certainly does not fit the stereotypical mould of an inter-county player.

Overlooked by Denis Walsh in 2011, Kearney was struggling to establish himself in the Cork bull pen a year on from departing the U21 ranks. In the winter of Barry-Murphy’s return to the bainisteoir’s bib, the call came through.

The Cork manager wasn’t interested in a game-plan which prioritised strength over skill, physique over flair.

“He went against the grain with his thinking when selecting me because at the time a lot of players were big and physical and everybody was saying that was the type of player you needed in midfield. Jimmy had his own ideas and thankfully, I fitted into them,” reflects the 24-year old.

“I suppose the club run put me in contention for the call. We were lucky enough to get to a lot of semi-finals and finals with Sars so that all gives you exposure to high-pressure games. Thankfully, Jimmy saw enough in them to think I would be a good inter-county hurler.

“I owe him because I don’t think too many managers would have had faith in me. I suppose I hadn’t really been given the opportunity to show off my skills.

“I was young and I was still improving. I’m delighted Jimmy took a chance on me and that builds your confidence. I learned through a couple of games what you need to do. It was all a learning experience.

“Prior to selection you’re never really thinking of anything outside of your club performances. You’re just focusing on what’s in front of you. You’ve got to take the opportunities when you get the chance.”

And grab the opportunity he did.

Kearney featured in all but one of Cork’s five championship games in the summer of 2012, earning his first start in the quarter-final victory over Waterford. The following season he made the number nine shirt his own, and this Sunday faces into a third consecutive All-Ireland semi-final, acknowledging the seismic shift in expectation by comparison with the Galway fixture two years ago.

“For me personally, it’s different. You’re coming in and nobody knows about you, you haven’t been there before. There is that bit less pressure. There’s nothing really expected with a team that hasn’t done anything. And that lack of pressure gives you a bit of openness to play with total freedom.

“Now, when you’re coming in with a bit of expectation, that’s when you can really judge a team. We definitely would have felt we had a good year last year without winning anything. We’re still young and on any given day we’d be confident we could beat any team. Last year gave us a lot of confidence”

The Tipp-Cork rivalry of old doesn’t register with the PWC accountant, recalling, instead, two recent meetings with the Premier County that continue to linger.

“We played them in the Munster U21 semi-final down in the Páirc in 2010. We were up three points in extra-time and they got a goal and went onto win the All-Ireland. We definitely let that one slip. It was a big disappointment.

“They had that ability to close out games and maybe some of our players just hadn’t learned that yet. We didn’t have that winning instinct to kill off games – that’s only developed over the last two years I’d say.”

Fast-forward then to this spring’s league quarter-final encounter.

“We went down 10, 11 points and a lot of people thought it was curtains. If it was another team it could have been 20 or 30. We showed good character there.

“They certainly have momentum coming into this game like we did last year when we came through the quarters. In fairness to Tipperary, when they’re on, they’re on — they have some of the best hurlers in Ireland and they throw around the ball very well. If you’re not marking right they can punish you and we’re very aware of that.”