Teddy McCarthy was a superhero who wore his status lightly

We may all be capable of being heroes, just for one day, but Teddy Mac was one every day. And that’s why we loved him

FINAL JOURNEY: Pallbearers shoulder the remains of Cork sporting legend Teddy McCarthy to his final resting place at Rathcooney Cemetery after requiem mass at St Joseph's Church, Glanmire on Saturday. Pic Larry Cummins

It’s obvious that those who say that you should never meet your heroes had never met the great Teddy McCarthy. The outpouring of genuine love that accompanied the untimely passing of a genuine icon last week was felt from Sallybrook to Glanmire, from Cork to Donegal, from Ireland to, well, everywhere.

There was understandable disbelief at the sudden death of a young undisputed legend, because everybody had only just seen him. He was watching Cork and Kerry last Saturday, Cork and Offaly last Sunday, and on Monday he was in Ballinlough, watching his sons Niall and Cian help Passage defeat Na Piarsaigh in the final of the McCurtain Cup. Teddy Mac was a superhero who walked among us every day, and wore his status lightly.

In a world where the great are more and more removed from those who adore them, the richness that accompanies being able to see our heroes, like Teddy, has never been more pronounced, more important, more valuable. Even people who are old enough to know better could never help but be star-struck at the sight of Teddy walking towards them in a supermarket or at the bar with other contenders for Cork’s Mount Rushmore. We all might have stared a bit too long, or blurted out something that sounded much better in our minds, but we all got the same treatment, the same respect, the same knowing glance and smile.

And so it was that the young, the old, the brave and the bold crammed into St Joseph’s Church in Glanmire and lined the footpaths of Brooklodge and Riverstown to say goodbye. There were friends and family, comrades and rivals, all of whom were united in the loss of someone who reminded us of the best of times, made us feel alive, made us feel invincible.

Teddy’s achievements are many, and some will never be repeated, and so it was only fitting that men of the same pedigree, men who need not be known by their full name due to their own sprinkling of stardust, bore his remains into the church; JBM, Morgan, Muller, Larry, Cahalane and Dr Con.

His son, Cian, spoke just as his father played; on instinct and with supreme quality. He told us how he “was thinking should I write stuff down, should I do this should I do that and I said realistically no. Because Teddy never followed the script anyway. So I said look I’ll try wing it and speak from the heart because that’s something he would have done himself.” 

He told us how he “could go on and on about all the games he played. This that and ten more. You can see all the tributes all over the place. They’ve been absolutely incredible. Everyone knows all those stories.” 

But the Teddy that his family knew had mellowed with age and was somebody who we could all recognise. Time does that to us all. He was the doting grandfather who had forgotten how he had been when he first became a parent, he was the father who was well able to jibe with his children be it about greatness skipping a generation or dish out hard-earned praise, he was the man who was happiest in the company of those he loved. And they will all “drive on now. We’ll stand tall – because that’s exactly what he did for all of us.” 

Fittingly, he was carried out in the company of Liam and Sam to the airy beauty of ‘the Banks’ and by God do our thoughts oft in fancy take flight down here in Cork. Yet no matter how high into the ether those flights of fancy take us, they will never soar as high as Teddy actually did, be it in the Pike, Riverstown, Thurles, Croker, Killarney or down the Páirc.

The tragedy is that no longer will we see him in those great sporting cathedrals of Ireland. He has left us with a myriad of memories but I find myself imagining Teddy sitting in the Gaelic Grounds two weeks ago as David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’ blared out before Cork and Limerick went toe-to-toe. How he would have relished that sentiment, to take on the best that there is, and beat them. But in reality, there is only one Bowie song that is fitting for someone like Teddy. We may all be capable of being heroes, just for one day, but he was one every day. And that’s why we loved him.

He has now gone to eternal reward, but, to paraphrase what one great Cork man said of another who was taken far too soon 44 years ago, he will never be forgotten as long as people remember him, and that will be, forever.