Gerald McCarthy: ‘I don’t think anybody will ever equal Christy Ring's passion, his drive, and his achievements’

From age 11 until he shared a Cork dressing room with him, Gerald McCarthy was in awe of Ring, and saw all sides of him. ‘He had a habit of emphasising something by poking you in the shoulder — you’d be black and blue from him’. He spoke to Tadhg Coakley

Legendary Cork hurler Gerald McCarthy with the photo of Christy Ring opening McCarthy’s shop on Princes Street, Cork in 1978. Picture: Eddie O’Hare

I sat down with Gerald McCarthy in his shop on Princes Street in Cork city, both of us keeping the requisite two metres apart. The only photo in the premises hung on the wall above his head, with a fresh-faced Christy Ring at its centre, wielding a scissors, cutting a white tape.

What’s your first recollection of Christy Ring?