Hurling's cuckoo Shane O'Donnell calls more to join him
DARKNESS INTO LIGHT: Clare hurler, Shane O’Donnell, pictured ahead of the launch of Darkness Into Light 2024, proudly supported by Electric Ireland. O’Donnell has teamed up with Electric Ireland and Pieta for Darkness Into Light which takes place on Saturday, 11th May, 2024. People can sign up to take part in this year’s event at darknessintolight.ie. Pic: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Bruce Lietzke was a Texan pro golfer who did things his own way.
In a 10-year period between 1981 and ’91 that covered his 30s, he recorded seven top-six finishes in the Majors, six of them in the USPGA Championship, and won five PGA Tour titles. This despite playing a measly average of 20 events a year.
After three years of travelling to England, Lietzke simply stopped playing in The Open after 1982. Three years later, he sacrificed The US Open. “I've played some of my best golf after long, long layoffs,” he once said. Another time he chimed: “Nobody enjoys the off-season more than me. November and December are like holy months to me.”
One time, a caddie of his, dubious about his employer’s insistence that he would not be practising, put a banana in his bag to see if his clubs remain untouched. He returned to discover a foul smell months later.
Based on his performances against Limerick and Cork these last two Sundays, there is nothing stale about Shane O’Donnell but he is his sport’s Bruce Lietzke. For the past three seasons, he hasn’t been seen since April but the cuckoo of hurling has been in full voice upon his return.
At this stage, nobody is surprised by a player who has defied a lack of match fitness to win back-to-back All-Stars. Nobody but O’Donnell who wonders why others aren’t following suit.
“I genuinely think that anybody that’s played for a number of years and has years in the bank could do it and I have actually suggested to a lot of our senior players that they should do it.
“I’ve discussed it with our S&Cs. Match fitness is a huge thing and getting, for example, that 20 minutes in the league final or a challenge game, I would be absolutely out on my feet but it comes around in one and a half matches. Once you have it under the belt, as long as you have that fitness, I do a good bit of fitness work coming back in, you’d be surprised how quickly it comes around.
“From the hurling stuff, it’s in the bank. Anyone who has played inter-county for eight or 10 years could take a break and take it back up in a week or two, I’m absolutely confident of that.”
O’Donnell feels being fresher makes it easier to turn around a bad display than if he were part of the Clare set-up from the outset of pre-season. “I don’t think I’m certain that if I go back the first week in November that I’ll be on it the last week in April. You can dip in and out of form at any stage.
“The one thing it does offer you is that psychological, mental freshness and you can bring that energy to training and matches in a way that if you’re training since November you can’t just flick a switch, especially when there is such a tight deadline between league and championship.
"It’s very hard to make that pivot and that extra 10% you need after the league to move into championship games.”
Turning 30 next month, O’Donnell feels his approach has prolonged his career although this may be his last year in a Clare jersey, as he intimated at the end of 2023.
“I won’t rule out playing next year but I wouldn’t absolutely say, ‘Yeah, I would’ as well. There’s probably a couple of players who are approaching that decision but, also, nobody wants to be the first one to make that call so it’s kind of very precariously balanced then that I think if one player were to hang up the boots there could be a number of us doing it.
“But personally at the moment, I’m really enjoying my hurling. I don’t want to retire next year but I don’t know what’ll happen outside of hurling from my work perspective. It could be that it just makes sense for me to move abroad and kind of retire.”
In his last season, Kilkenny great JJ Delaney spoke of embracing everything. The Éire Óg, Ennis man can empathise.
“There is no definite decision but I am aware going into some of these games that these could be some of the last days that I do this and I appreciate it a bit more. I take in the pre-match a bit more because of that but not in the sense that I definitely know I’m retiring.”
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