Seánie McGrath: Ben O'Connor is an innovator who will demand creativity from Cork players
The spring of ‘99 was the first time I shared a dressing-room with Ben. Our last game of the League round-robin was away to Wexford. Gorey was never a venue you particularly enjoyed traveling to. Tough place to go, tougher again to come away with a result.
I had obviously seen Ben line out at underage in the years before that, but didn’t really know much about him. We were under the cosh the same day in Gorey until Ben, only 20 at the time and introduced as a second half substitute, came in along the end-line and scored a fantastic goal.
I remember going back in the car, thinking, Jesus, this fella is something special. And he went on to have an incredible year for us and an incredible career for Cork.
When styles began to evolve and change, Ben was very much to the forefront. It is only the supreme hurlers that can successfully execute the short-passing game, and he was certainly one of them. He embraced that change in style. He was an innovator.
And so I am really looking forward to seeing what style of play he will go after with Cork. It was my last year on the inter-county scene, 2003, when the Newtownshandrum short-passing approach became more and more pronounced in Cork’s approach. It bucked a trend and was desperately successful for the county between ‘03 and ‘06. Will he lean back into that? Will he go near it at all?
Given the innovation he himself displayed on the field, I suspect he’ll demand a similar level of creativity from his players. He’ll want his players to be independent minded inside the white lines.
Ben’s forceful personality wasn’t immediately obvious when we first shared a dressing-room. Then again, he was just out of his teenage years, and it was an overall young dressing-room that did what it was told. His forcefulness, mind, was immediately obvious on the field. He was never bothered by who was marking him. He never shirked his responsibilities, never went hiding.
That latter point is so pertinent to the expectations he will demand of the Cork players. It’ll be the highest of standards and nothing else. There’ll be no frills with Ben. Players won’t get away with much, if anything at all.
I won't say it'll be Ben's way or no way as he will hear what players have to say, but he’ll be quite determined and focused on the style and standards he wants, and he’ll want fellas buying into that quick enough.
I’m delighted Ben has got the gig. He was the outstanding choice. Now, a lot of the names linked to the vacancy over the past couple of days were justifiably part of the conversation because of what they had achieved in their respective playing and sideline careers. The three-man committee, though, secured the services of the right man.
At 46, Ben’s age profile is perfect. The fact too that he has had the last year to recharge is and will be a massive plus.
Ben had been on a lengthy run of Charleville involvement, Midleton involvement, and then two years with the Cork U20s. Stepping back from the U20 post at the end of the 2024 campaign will have allowed him to build his energy back up and have a proper rattle off this because the senior job is going to challenge him.
I did four years as Cork selector 10 years ago. The demands and the environment are unrecognisable since then. The intensity of operations inside the camp and scrutiny from outside continue to grow at an uncontrollable rate. The job will be all-consuming for Ben, and so no bad thing that he’s coming in fresh after 12 months off.
From his two years with the U20s, he’ll obviously have a fair idea of the players he wants to integrate into the senior set-up. The timing of his appointment also means he’ll catch the last round of club championship group games. Will he have his eye on promoting certain club hurlers to inter-county status. Are there existing panelists he wants to shove up the ladder and promote to the first team.
His style and his selections won’t be known and visible until the early months of next year. Between now and then, is there a body of work to be done on the psychology side and where players’ heads are at in the aftermath of July 20?
Across the second half against Clare on the opening day of Munster, the first game against Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds, and the second half of the All-Ireland final, Cork shipped some awful drubbings. There has to be lingering mental residue, surely.
So, does Ben get in and around that by bringing it up in the conversations he will be having with players, which he may do as Ben is known to be very hands on as a manager. Or does he employ someone with the relevant expertise to address, tease out, and hopefully heal those scars. Or does he leave all that unsaid and prioritise what’s in front of him rather than behind.
Again, it’ll be intriguing to know what road he travels.
To the man he is succeeding, I want to echo all of the many genuine tributes that have been paid to Pat over the last couple of days. Pat can be so proud of the job he did. He can be so proud of how he conducted himself in the job and dealt with all the different pressures of the post, especially in this most difficult year for him personally.
Everything with Pat was about Cork hurling. It was never about personal ambition. My own gut feeling was that he would remain on. Listening to his comments since he stepped away, I get a sense of release from Pat.
Off the back of losing someone that really put Cork back on the map and was thought of so affectionately by players and supporters, Pat’s successor had to be a big Cork hurling figure. We’ve all seen what Ben has done at club and inter-county underage level, but I can't wait to see how he adapts to senior level.
Ben excited me as a team-mate and player. I’m excited now to see how he handles this latest Cork chapter of his.
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