Stephen Bennett: 'Some fella wrote me a note inside in school telling me I was nearly as good as Alan Connolly'
PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month for April in hurling, Stephen Bennett of Waterford. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
“Break them on Sunday, fix them up on Monday” was Dr Pat O’Neill’s famous mantra about Dublin’s opponents.
“Bless them, then curse them” might be Stephen Bennett’s variation of the same sentiment on Saturday.
In the morning, as principal of Kilmagner National School between Conna and Fermoy, he will help oversee the six second-class pupils making their First Holy Communion.
In the evening, he will hope to ruin their big day when he leads the line for Waterford against their county.
“It's in the parish of Castlelyons, so they’ll all be cheering for Niall O’Leary on Saturday,” says the PwC Hurler of the Month for April after scoring an outrageous 4-22 in two Munster SHC games. “So, Monday morning, it'll be either fun or they'll be mocking me but sure, it's all part of it.”
Mr Bennett can give and take it. He previously worked in Ballyhooly for five years. And there’s the odd compliment too.
“Some fella wrote me a note inside in the school yesterday telling me I was nearly as good as Alan Connolly. That was the best compliment the Cork fella could give me!”
Principal in Kilmagner NS since January last year, Bennett works with the autistic spectrum disorder class. Hurling is put firmly in its place there.
“I suppose the first few years you think it's the most important thing ever and then realistically, as you get older, sure it doesn't really matter. It's a hobby, it's a sport.
“People lose their minds over it. Anything now, you're nearly given out to, or if you say anything, there's people said it to you… nah, the kids are brilliant. That's why I like it. You're in Monday morning and you've got seven, eight-year-olds looking up to you and I need to kind forget about losing the match yesterday because they don't care.
“It definitely does help with perspective just in general with all the kids. They're happy out inside there, and sure, you can't help but be the same. So yeah, I do think the job helps not overthink things, and, as I said, we're doing it for fun, like.
“Everyone's trying to win a game and at the end of the day. Sure, we all want to win an All-Ireland, we all want to win a Munster final and someone will win it, and then they'll talk about it for a month, and then next year it'll be who's going to win it again.
“So yeah, look, obviously I'm not playing it down either. Obviously, we really want to win Munster, we need to win the next two games and win an All-Ireland, but it's great to have other things in our life as well.”
It’s with his teacher’s hat on, not his Waterford cap, that Bennett would love to see the inter-county season extended. He has no truck with the Munster SHC format – “if we were good enough, we’d be through,” he says of the past disappointments – but the short timeframe is self-harming, he argues.
“It just feels there’s no talk about it until the weekend of matches, then for four weeks in a Munster championship you have everyone talking to you and everyone excited.
“In school, the kids — the excitement — they’re all bringing in hurls and asking can we go hurling. We were hurling yesterday evening. That’s what they want to see.” He continues: “I like the split season. I like getting a few weeks with the club and club players getting to go on holidays. But the (National) league now is being played in the winter.
“I was watching Clare U20s play Waterford in the first few rounds and it was really low-scoring in bad conditions. Then I watched Clare and Cork last (Wednesday) night and I thought Clare looked unreal. It was a brilliant game between both teams, but the weather was better, the pitch was better.
“I’d love two weeks between each game. I know it’s probably hard in Munster with five teams, but I think two games in six or seven days is just very quick.
“You see the football and there’s people already talking about Kerry and Donegal. You’re playing all over the country and I think they actually have a chance as well. There’s more rounds to it. So, there’s loads of football on then.
“I think hurling definitely could get more games. I’m not saying I’ve got any issue whatsoever with Munster — I think if you’re good enough you come out of it — but the more games, the better and the more teams that are playing each other, it can only be good for it.”
Bennett only returned to work last week after paternity leave. His wife Melanie gave birth to Mila Rose last month.
He can confirm his little girl was born in Cork and is being bred in the county, just a couple of hundred metres from the Waterford border in Curraglass.
“She was born on the 14th actually, the number I wore last week. I got her a one-to-two-year-old jersey. It’s a bit big on her.
“My parents will laugh now, but maybe we’ll get her singing or playing a bit of music instead – it might be easier on her. I always said supporting Everton, playing with Ballysaggart and Waterford, there were tough times, so maybe we’ll tell her to learn the guitar or something. Whatever she wants to do herself.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
