Donal O'Grady: Like Frank Sinatra, Teddy McCarthy did it his way
STANDING PROUD: Sarsfield players form a guard of honour for Cork sporting legend Teddy McCarthy as his remains are carried to his grave at Rathcooney Cemetery, after requiem mass at St Joseph's Church, Glanmire on Saturday. Pic: Larry Cummins
The full names of the stars are not needed. In hurling, the greatest of them all is simply referred to as Ring. Beckenbauer, Best or Cruyff in soccer. LeBron or Brady in American sports. It’s exactly the same for Teddy Mac. The rest of the surname is superfluous. Those with a passing interest in hurling or Gaelic football, no matter where they are based, at home or abroad, will have heard of Teddy Mac.
Mainly because of his double All-Ireland of 1990 but also for his aerial prowess, athleticism, skill and playing style, as a dual player for many years.
When I think of Teddy on the playing field, it's his ability to leap skywards for the ball and seemingly hang in the air, defying gravity for a time before coming down with the sliotar or football.
The 1993 photograph of him leaping high in the air against Wexford is an image burned in my mind. It would make a great sculpture.
I first came across Teddy as a young teenager in the North Mon in the early 80s. I was very impressed by his athleticism and amazing talent. As I got to know him he struck me as having a mind of his own and that he was his ‘own man’.
I was reminded of that in 1986 when I was a selector with Cork. Teddy was brought into the matchday squad for the Munster final against Clare but was released to play with the U21 footballers the night before Cork did battle with Antrim in the All-Ireland semi-final. Teddy was in our plans for the final and the coach and main man Johnny Clifford was very anxious for him to attend the Antrim game the following day, although he wasn’t in the matchday squad. However, Teddy headed home rather than travel to Croker with the hurlers.
Johnny was really interested in having Teddy with the senior hurlers and went to chat with him at training the following Tuesday about commitment and so on. Teddy listened intently, telling Johnny that he would give his all for the jersey. He then almost floored the coach at the end of their conversation by telling him that he was going on holiday to Spain the following weekend, refusing point blank to cancel the trip.
At the next session, Johnny asked me to have a chat with Teddy to try and get him to change his mind. Myself and Teddy spent about 20 minutes after training in the tunnel at Páirc Uí Chaoimh chatting about the situation, with me outlining why he should stay. However, I failed to persuade him to change his mind and informed Johnny that I had used every argument at my disposal to no avail.
I wasn’t to know then that he was wavering and on the verge of giving in. ”Another couple of minutes and I would have relented.” he stated later in his autobiography.
Teddy was a fantastic athlete and we knew his fitness wouldn’t be an issue. Johnny Clifford was a very practical man. When we next discussed how to handle the situation when Teddy came back from holidays Johnny said: “His fitness will be fine and it’s quite simple. If we want to win the All-Ireland we have to play him".
Not many others made their senior hurling championship debut in an All-Ireland final. But Teddy took it in his stride.
In hindsight, he knew his own mind best and knew himself best. He had a lot of games played already that summer and he returned refreshed and in a relaxed state of mind, the ideal preparation for his first senior All-Ireland. Like Frank Sinatra, Teddy did it his way. He was handed a specific role and delivered big time, having a fine game against Galway. His senior hurling career had begun with aplomb and he never looked back.
That same year I will never forget the atmosphere in the school on a Friday morning before the mid-term break in late October. Ireland were playing Australia in the compromise rules final test. It was akin to a World Cup final and Teddy, a former Mon boy, had been picked to start.
The pupils were packed into teacher Nicky Barry’s chemistry lab, himself a Sars man, where a TV set was mounted high on his desk. The action on the pitch was more about the ferocious physical battles than the football. Teddy was in the thick of things and to the forefront of the action. He never drew back and relished the challenge laid down by the physically imposing Aussies. He was eventually sent off but the physical and verbal exchanges carried over to the sideline and were captured on camera as he refused to take a backward step.
The pupils were going ballistic and they loved him for his defiant attitude. We saw his sending off as a badge of honour. He had got stuck in and refused to back down. It was quintessential Teddy. He displayed a fervour, determination and passion that day that he carried throughout his career which must have inspired his Ireland teammates. You would forget at times that he was only 21 that day.
The 1987 replay in Killarney between Cork and Tipp was the first Munster hurling final I saw on ‘the box’ in an RTÉ studio while working on The Sunday Game. RTÉ didn’t show provincial games live then. At the time I would travel to the games and then return to Donnybrook for the Sunday night programme. but logistically, Killarney was a bridge too far. There was a huge crowd and there seemed to be a special atmosphere in Fitzgerald Stadium. Sitting there watching the action unfold was like watching a live hurling event alone in the cinema. Teddy was superb. He gave a five-star performance. Tipp won after extra time. But he was my ‘man of the match’.
That was the thing about Teddy. He was a man for the big occasion and the bigger the better. Simply put, he was box office.
He was at home on the field of play. A prince of the small and big ball games. His superb achievement of the double in 1990 will always live in the memory and will always be unique to Teddy.
Ní fheicfimid a leithéid arís.
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