Anthony Daly: There are thousands of lads with All-Ireland medals who wouldn’t lace Hoggie’s boots
MAGIC MAN: Cork’s Patrick Horgan. 'There was always a rabbit somewhere to be pulled out of his hat', says Anthony Daly. Pic: James Crombie, Inpho
IT'S a long time ago now but I can still vividly remember coming home from Thurles after Clare lost the 1977 and 1978 Munster finals to Cork and just dying to get out into the back garden to try and relive and recreate some of those moments in my own little realm of innocence and fantasy.
In my mind, I was Mick Moroney taking sideline cuts, Johnny Callanan shooting balls over the bar and Seán Stack defending with stoicism and honour. Even though Cork had all the big names at the time – Jimmy-Barry Murphy, Ray Cummins, Charlie McCarthy, Johnny Crowley, Seánie O’Leary – I only wanted to be like my own.
Almost every child does but I always felt that Patrick Horgan was different in how he inspired so many kids from counties outsidehis own. He may have been cherished in Cork but he was loved everywhere. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I asked young lads from all around the country to name their favourite player and so many came back with the same answer – Hoggie.
Magicians have that kind of a hold on the minds of kids, and adults, because you never know what they’re going to do next. That was how Hoggie rolled in how he weaved his magic and spun his tricks. There was always a rabbit somewhere to be pulled out of his hat.
He was, and still is, a magician. I paid my €12 last Friday night to watch Glen Rovers and Midleton in the Cork senior hurling quarter-final knowing full well that, whatever kind of a match it was, I was guaranteed to be treated to some form of sorcery and genius from Hoggie. And I wasn’t disappointed.
Hoggie was incredible. Even with a sweeper as good as Tommy O’Connell outside him, Hoggie found a way to keep the scoreboard ticking, bagging 1-3 from play and nailing a trademark goal from a 25-yard free, catching the goalkeeper and every Midleton defender on the line off guard.
He has given us all moments that will last forever because the greatest entertainers are remembered for how they continually entertained and enthralled their audience.
Some of those moments will always be fondly recalled because of the gold-dust Hoggie sprinkled over them. What I recall most about some of those iconic plays was the icy temperament he showed in that moment to be able to make those plays what they were.
When everyone else in the ground was losing their heads, Hoggie was always able to keep his; his late point which put Cork ahead in the dying moments of the 2013 drawn All-Ireland final against Clare; the penalty he buried to beat Limerick in the 2024 round robin which kept Cork in the championship; some of the late frees Hoggie nailed against Clare in the 2024 All-Ireland final.
He and Cork didn’t win either of those All-Ireland finals but so much of Hoggie’s profile and iconic status was, I felt, wrongly bound up with his quest for that elusive All-Ireland medal. I always felt it a disservice to the great man to keep referring back to that manic search for what he didn’t have instead of enjoying what he gave us all.
Just look at what he consistently gave to the game? Is that memorable contribution tarnished or diluted by Hoggie not having an All-Ireland medal? Of course it isn’t. There are thousands of lads out there with All-Ireland medals who wouldn’t lace Hoggie’s boots.
You need all kinds of players to play this game at the highest level but the glorious stickmen are the ones we always remember most. I have seen a lot of hurlers during my lifetime but I don’t think I have ever seen better stickmen than Hoggie, Tony Kelly, Eoin kelly and TJ Reid.
There was always the critic who was quick to nail him for some of his performances on some of the biggest days but Hoggie still always ended up in credit. I had a go at him a couple of times and he gave me the odd rub back in some of his interviews. I will always call it as I see fit but I absolutely loved watching Hoggie. I would certainly regard him as one of the greats.
For every great player, this day unfortunately always comes, but it seems more poignant than ever now with Horgan leaving the inter-county the game without that Celtic Cross.
Of course there is bound to be speculation in the aftermath of such a decision. Does Ben O’Connor and a new management want to go with a clean slate? Is this the possible start of a clear-out of some of the older players?
It’s not going to get any easier for a 37-year old corner-forward when you see all these ravenously talented young corner-backs like Adam Hogan and Robert Doyle only getting more eager to keep taking scalps with each passing season.
Time waits for no man but we all saw this year what Noel McGrath was still able to do for Tipperary. Maybe there was more left in Hoggie. Maybe Ben wanted Hoggie to stay on. Who knows? Whether it was Ben or Hoggie himself that made that call, Hoggie knew that this day was always going to come anyway. And now its here.
It is a shame in many ways that it ended for Hoggie the way it did, with him being taken off during Cork’s meltdown in the second half of the All-Ireland final in July. But that’s not how people will remember him. There were too many glorious moments for one bad day to take the sheen and polish of all that gold.
He was and always will be a reference point. For some of us still trucking around trying to do the odd bit of coaching here and there, we always return to the importance of first touch. And the first player you always think off in that context is Hoggie. It was if he had glue stuck to the bas of his hurley. There was no better stickman. Was there ever a better player in full flow? It was just pure joy to watch him hurl in that state.
Every genuine hurling supporter loved Hoggie because they just loved to watch him perform. Hoggie was just Hoggie. It’s amazing that he never got Hurler-of-the-Year but that was probably a product too of Cork not winning an All-Ireland.
In any case, not having that Celtic Cross will never define the legacy of Patrick Horgan. What a player. What a career. What a legacy. One of the all-time greats.
There will always only ever be one Hoggie.
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