Hurling Hands: Ken Hogan- 'I regretted not using a shorter hurl with Tipp'

A few weeks ago, Ger Cunningham detailed his own gardening misfortune. Ken Hogan is another inter-county keeper to fall victim to a lawnmower injury.

I got the odd nick on the hand from lads coming in to block down a clearance, but you’d soon find out that there were lads who were noted for it — for coming in late across your hands, and i t wasn’t an accident. There was one particular county player who was very sly about it, and I picked up a couple of injuries from him.

Often it was the little finger. It would break that bit easier, and I broke a finger trying to catch the ball — that time they had the fine big rims — but I was more or less unscathed apart from the lawnmower.

In 1990, I moved into my new house and borrowed my brother’s lawnmower to cut the grass. It was the day Ireland played Egypt at the World Cup and I must have gotten bored listening to Eamon Dunphy because I went out to the garden.

My mother wouldn’t be too impressed, God rest her, cutting the grass on the Sabbath, but when I went out the mower cut out I reached in to pull out the tuft of grass and it spun back.

I came back in with two fingers hanging off and my wife rushed me to the hospital in Tullamore. It would have been a disaster if it had been during the inter-county season but we’d been knocked out by Cork.

In goalkeeping, possession is ninetenths of the law and if you were out of action you could lose the jersey very easily.

The injury which stays with me to this day has nothing to do with my hands, it goes back to my very first hurling game. I was 11 but playing U13 and got hit in the teeth, a bad belt, and it took a lot of dental work to get it right.

I have implants now for my front three teeth but when I played in goal for Tipp I’d take out the plate and put it in the bag in the goal — make sure nobody stood on it — before a game.

I became a keeper with Lorrha because—it’s outlawed now—when I got to 15 I was in goal for the U21s. A small rural club, they needed a keeper and at that age I was six feet tall and had presence — and good hands.

I didn’t play under the old rules — getting rushed, knocked into the net — but helmets weren’t compulsory and I didn’t wear them. I got plenty of cuts on the eyebrow and so on.

In 1989, I captained Lorrha to the North senior championship and in the final I got a nick by the eye, but I had a white jersey and I bled all over it. Looked spectacular in the photo of me getting the cup, the kids look at it now and say ‘You’re covered in blood’ but it was a small nick, really. And the cup was the most important thing.

I used a 36, 36 1/2 inch hurley but it was a different situation then. My own young lad Brian (Tipperary keeper) would have nine or ten hurleys and he’d cast aside a couple to his pals if he doesn’t like them.

In my time you’d get a slip from the county secretary, Tommy Barrett, for two hurleys for the year. You’d go to Phil Burke, who was a very good hurley-maker and I’d get those 36 inch hurleys from him.

But when I finished up at inter-county I met Pat McLoughney, who would have been a hero of mine, and he told me he’d changed his hurley, he’d gone down an inch.

I gave that a try and it was a great help to me. I played into my forties—my last game for Lorrha was 2007, winning the county intermediate championship — and I regretted not using a hurley of that length with Tipperary.

Bord Gáis Energy Munster GAA Hurling Under 21 Championship Semi-Final 17/7/2013 Tipperary vs Cork Tipperary's manager Ken Hogan Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/James Crombie

I’d gone for a long, heavy hurley in my innocence, when a lighter hurley might have been more effective in stopping shots. Great hands? Those magicians were everywhere when I played.

Francis Loughnane of Roscrea was a brilliant player when I came on the scene first. I had the misfortune to play against Tony O’Sullivan as an outfield player when he played for the North Mon — I was with Birr— and he was an absolute wizard.

John Fitzgibbon had incredible power off the ground —he got a goal against me in the 1991 Munster final that whizzed past my ear. I never saw the ball, and if it had hit my head it would have killed me.

Pat Fox was unbelievable. He started in front of me, of course, as a corner-back, low to the ground, so brave, but his wrists were unbelievable. I took more belts from Foxy in training than anyone — from the ball, because he blazed every shot, left hand on top, Jimmy Doyle-style. He and Nicky (English) were great stickmen.

Later I came up against DJ (Carey). He took a penalty against me in Thurles that just flew by me. A genius. The modern players — Bubbles (O’Dywer), Jason Forde, TJ Reid, they’re so good. Their hands are as good as anyone’s.