Shane Kingston says father-son dynamic ‘makes no difference’ in Cork hurling set-up

Shane Kingston: When talking to his father ‘we try to keep the Cork stuff separate’.

Now in their third year as player and manager, Shane Kingston insists his relationship with his father Kieran in the Cork set-up is a comfortable one.

Colm Collins, Jack O’Connor and Brian Cody are just three current managers who have brought their sons into the panel, while previous ones such as Joe Kernan have stepped away to allow their sons stand on their own two feet and avoid any suggestions of nepotism.

An All-Star nominee last year, no accusations can be slung Kingston senior’s way and the pair know when the Cork kit is donned their relationship formalises.

“It’s not awkward,” says Shane. “I have got used to it over the last number of years and as you can imagine he’s been involved in all my teams growing up.

“I’m used to it now at this stage. It makes no difference to me.

“Even when he wasn’t involved he was in the loop, he has a love for hurling, when he gets the chance to talk to me about it he’s going to do it. But we try to keep the Cork stuff separate and leave it until training.”

There’s another family affair in the camp as the Collins brothers Pa and Ger vie for the No. 1 jersey but Kingston sees nothing but healthy competition between the siblings.

“Probably the most important player on the pitch these days is the goalie. Look, I think Pa has played five years at U21 so he’s fairly experienced. Obviously, we were very sorry to see (Anthony) Nash go given he’s been so important to Cork for the last number of years, but look it’s up to Pa now to take over from what Nash left at.

“I’d say they’re used to it at this stage — I don’t know what it’s like at the dinner table. Look, the two of them are on fire if either one of them played. They’ve been doing it since they were very young with Ballinhassig so we’re just delighted to have them there.”

In the early league games, Donal O’Grady’s input has been hailed from a defensive point of view but Kingston says his presence is being felt across the board.

“Donal has been there and done it all, he’s bringing a lot to the table, he’s doing a lot of everything, helping out with the backs, forwards, with Ger (Cunningham) and Sully (Diarmuid O’Sullivan) and Christy (O’Connor) with the coaching.

“He loves his video analysis, he has been doing that for the last number of years and we’re delighted with that. He’s been very helpful so far.”

Kingston jokes that he is a professional hurler for the summer having finished his masters exams in food business. Plans for the post college? “Anyone who knows me knows I’m not too concerned about that for the moment, focusing on hurling for now and look for a job in September.”

Cork have shown themselves to be more than a match for Limerick in recent years and the Douglas man suggests they don’t concentrate too much on the reputation of their opponents.

“Over the last few years, the games against Limerick have been very competitive, each team goes out to give their all. Limerick have backed it up in 2018 and last year. They are All-Ireland champions and we are going to have to do everything in our power to overcome them.

“They’ve won leagues, Munsters, All-Irelands the last three years so it’s a tough task. But we won’t be too concerned about that. We have to just focus on ourselves and put ourselves in the best possible position and put in a performance against Limerick and let the outcome take care of itself.”