O'Sullivan vows Cork's band of brothers will fight to bitter end
YOUNG LEADER: Cork's Darragh O'Sullivan pictured at a press evening ahead of the upcoming All-Ireland final versus Offaly in Semple Stadium. Pic: George Hatchell
The GAA, for many, is a chance for youngsters to build relationships that can last a lifetime.
At club level, building those relationships with the schoolmates you play football and hurling with can often be quite easy. Doing so at an intercounty level is a touch harder, given the variety of personalities and geographical backgrounds within a camp.
For Ballinhassig and Cork under-20 defender Darragh O'Sullivan - having worn the red jersey alongside many of his current compatriots since their days playing under-14 - the bond within coach Ben O'Connor's Cork camp has been a key factor on their journey to this Sunday's All-Ireland final against Offaly.
Selector Ger O'Regan's (St Finbarr's) continued involvement has been another vital aspect, as O'Sullivan explains.
"This year, in particular, we’ve got a great management team with us," O'Sullivan said. "We have Ger O'Regan, who was part of that 2021 [minor] management team and I suppose there’s a lot of this team who have stuck together.
"We’ve been together since under-14, winning All-Irelands the whole way up.
"Ger has that expectation of all of us and he knows what to expect from us and the standards we can hit. If we have a dull moment, we can go and talk to Ger about it.
"He’s a great role model to have around the team, and with Ben [O’Connor], [Ronan] Curran, [Anthony] Nash and Terence [McCarthy], they all offer their own attributes as well."
O'Sullivan - a Leaving Cert student in Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh in Bishopstown - was asked whether or not there was any point during the campaign where he thought the wheels may come off their Munster and All-Ireland charge.
The Ballinhassig hurler's response was stern and without hesitation.
"No. At the start of the year, we had a meeting and we decided we were all going to buy into our pact, and one of those things [included in the pact] was that we were never going to die in any game.
"In that very first huddle, I remember, [Micheál] Mullins, the one thing he said was ‘we’re a family from here on out, one where we can call ourselves brothers’."
He continued: "Automatically, we had confidence in each other. We kind of knew that if there was one fella going off and the next fella coming in, we had confidence that he [the sub coming on] would do his job.
"It stuck to us throughout, it’s just a never-say-die attitude really is what we have."
Cork's band of brothers may extend past family boundaries, but it rings true for our interviewee more so than most, given his brother Adam is also in the setup.
"It’s a great feeling to have Adam [O’Sullivan] on the team alright like.
"It’s all fun and games until he scores a few points when we are marking each other. It’s an awkward journey home!" he quips, before going into more detail.
"No, it’s a great feeling to have Adam on the team and it’s great for the family, the club.
"When I mention the club at home, this place with this group of lads, this is a kind of a club atmosphere as well, just with how close we are because we have all bought into the same pact. We all know each other inside out."
The influence of team psychologist, Dr. Jennifer Hayes, has been invaluable, O'Sullivan insists. A real driver of that never-say-die attitude.
"We’ve got a great psychologist, Jen," said the defender.
"It’s been great, really. She’s constantly bringing something new to the table. It’s just a new face in front of you and a new thing to have in the bank."
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