County final day is just something that brightens life for everyone involved

On a big day for Cork GAA sports writer, Michael Moynihan, speaks to one man who will be at the centre of today's action and who recognises better than most what the today means to everyone involved. Words that will resonate with everyone who has had the pleasure of enjoying 'county final' day.

Blackrock were in the closing stages of the 1999 county final, subs massing on the sideline, the referee looking at his watch, but centre-back Wayne Sherlock - like thousands before and after - was miles away. Or years, to be precise.

“When you’re in that position different things come into your mind.

"I remember thinking of the coaches we had at underage level, Jim Hennebry and Pat Roche, who took us from U13 to minor. When we were U13s I can remember them saying to us, ‘the reason you play with Blackrock is to win a senior county’.

"That came back to me on the field, particularly near the final whistle. I met Jim again recently, and he reminded me of it.”

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A big day for Cork GAA - marking the official opening of Pairc Ui Chaoimh - begins today at 1pm with the Cork SFC replay and continues at 4pm with the hurling final.

Super Sunday, County Senior Football & Hurling Championships Finals and Official opening of Pairc Ui Chaoimh pic.twitter.com/VYwOcY4yLO

— Cork GAA (@OfficialCorkGAA) October 22, 2017

For all the news and previews before the big games check out our dedicated GAA section.

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After a dazzling intercounty career Sherlock is back as a Blackrock selector. He has plenty of experience to share with his charges.

Take his first county final:

“It was 1998, against Imokilly. It was a bit of a disaster because it was called off - we were ready for it, the Canon (O’Brien) had us right on track, and we pulled up Sunday morning at the club, ready to go - and it was called off.

“It really, really deflated us, so that experience wasn’t great. The fact we didn’t win the game when it was played didn’t help either. It was horrendous the same day, the weather and conditions. I was 20, but the day went by in a bit of a blur, really. I was playing centre-back, the final score was 1-10 to 1-5. Mark Landers was playing for Imokilly, he was very good for them but they had an excellent team.”

The difference between big intercounty games and club finals was marked, he says. “As a player, I’d always have been pretty good at blocking things out in the run-up to big games, but one thing I noticed about the county finals, in particular, was the amount of good wishes you’d get from people.

You’d be in a shop or a supermarket, and people would be saying ‘good luck next Sunday’ - and not just people you wouldn’t know to talk to, but people that you knew well weren’t even from Blackrock. Even when you’re trying to block it out, it still sinks in.

This is a big, big deal. There are definitely things that happen in the run-in to the game that bring it home to you, it’s a big occasion.”

Despite having experience of Munster and All-Ireland finals, Sherlock says a big day with the club can present its own challenges.

“I was captain for two counties that we won, and walking behind the band . . . it’s a time you’ve got to keep your emotions in check because it’s a big day for you, but it’s a big day for your family, out to cousins and uncles and aunts you mightn’t see too often.

“It’s a big deal for them, too, and I’d notice family members would contact you ahead of the game to wish you all the best.”

At the other end of the game, when you know you’re going to get your hands on the cup . ..

“In 1999 we beat UCC well (the final score was 3-17 to 0-8), so you knew you were going to win with time running out. It’s funny because at the start of the year everyone on the team - in every club - will say the aim is to win a county title, but here you are now. “It’s going to happen. It’s going to happen to you, and it’s great.”

Sherlock points out that the county title energises a club - it certainly did so for Blackrock in ’99.

“The boost that gave the club was huge. Take the people who were elderly, who’d been around for all the success the club had enjoyed throughout the seventies and then didn’t see it for a long time. You could see the emotion, what it meant to them. As the years go on you might begin to think ‘will we ever see it again’.

“Everyone goes through tough times at various points in their life, but a county final win is something that brightens things up for people. And that bit of success drives everything on for another few years.

"It shows the younger lads what they can do, and it inspires the younger generation to copy them then in turn.”