Kingston: ‘Amazing’ playing sod at Páirc Uí Chaoimh

Cork senior hurling manager Kieran Kingston has described the new Páirc Uí Chaoimh playing surface as “amazing”.

“We’ve been looking at it for the last couple of weeks,” said Kingston. “As Ger Cunningham said, ‘if you can’t hurl there you can’t hurl’.

“The last time I was involved as manager we didn’t play here, with the renovations, so it’s important for us to be ready for it to utilise it, but the pitch looks amazing.

“We’ve trained on it but we haven’t played a match there yet.”

Kingston and selector Ger Cunningham both pointed to the youth in the Cork ranks as a plus: “In 2016, 2017 and 2018 Cork played in four underage finals and were competitive in getting there. The panel we’re looking at has 21 college students, which brings its own challenges: there are league games and six Fitzgibbon games in January, for instance.

“That’s positive for the future, having that number of younger players but the weight of being from Cork shouldn’t weigh too heavy on them either.”

Cunningham said: “Looking in as a supporter for the last couple of years, making the U21 finals is encouraging. We didn’t win them but it exposed the lads to playing an All-Ireland final.

“They’re 18, 19 so it’s a big step up but you’re at least picking from lads who’ve played in All-Ireland finals at minor and U21 level.

“Then you have the lads who are already there, getting the mix together between the new guys and the older guys, and then making them competitive — to make All-Ireland finals and win them.”

Kingston acknowledged the gap to the last senior All-Ireland hurling title: “Everyone knows when Cork last won an All-Ireland - it was 15 years ago, and 2013 was our last final.

“We can’t be looking back. Whatever baggage might be there with some players, we have to focus on the now and to prepare for the future.

“For these guys it’s up to them to write their own history, not to focus on the past. We have to take the learnings from the past, but we must write our own history, and we have to look at how we write our own chapter.”

“That follows on agreeing roles for the backroom team as a manager, then we outline what we expect from the year, the standards on and off the field.”

Kingston acknowledged that he’d missed the buzz of inter county management.

“I was there as selector, coach and manager, but there are two things — first, when you’re there it’s so challenging but second, when you’re out you miss it.

“I didn’t think the opportunity to manage Cork would come a second time. It’s a huge honour, there’s huge expectation, it’s a huge challenge but we embrace that.”

Cunningham acknowledged in particular that the team had come so close to making the final in 2018 but was unsure of the impact of the All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Limerick that year.

“Is it relevant? Time will tell. You’d take the learnings from what happened in 2018 and 2019.

“The manner of the (2018) defeat, they came so close. The fact that Limerick went on to win the All-Ireland probably made it worse.

“There’s a sense that time is pushing on for the older fellas on the team, and that that was a chance — it wasn’t let slip but it was within the tips of the fingers, say. For instance, the word from Galway that time was that they didn’t fancy Cork with the pace Cork had.

“After getting to the 2013 All-Ireland final, for instance, it took five or six years to get back to near that level. So how much do you look back and how much do you look forward?”

Cunningham was invited to compare expectations of hurling success in Cork and Dublin, which he managed recently.

“In this situation it’s slightly different (to Dublin) because playing for Cork there’s a heritage and a tradition involved, and it’s about winning the ultimate, the All-Ireland.

“We’ve come close a couple of times but this isn’t a two-, three, or four-year gig. It’s the NL you look at, the short term and try to build on each one and you’d hope that at the end of the year you’ve given yourself a chance to win it.

Kingston and Cunningham were speaking at the relaunch of the Páirc Uí Chaoimh premium ticket scheme.