The crosscode question: what will Cian O’Neill bring to the Cork hurlers?
Cian O'Neill will be Head Coach with the Cork senior hurling team in the 2027 season. Pic: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho
Before they conquered the Cats, Tipperary had to steel themselves for battle. A fundamental part of that was the physical sessions in The Ragg. Everyone knew what was coming. The message would land: Cian O’Neill had them for half an hour. Brace yourselves.
“Our training was absolutely animalistic at the time,” says Tipperary All-Ireland winner Darragh Egan of their 2010 triumph. The former Wexford manager is friendly with O’Neill on two fronts, having worked with him as a coach while also crossing paths professionally through PE and education.
Cork will be O’Neill’s first senior intercounty hurling involvement since he finished with Tipperary in 2011, but his methods back then were ahead of their time. Basketball was a significant influence. Part of its appeal was that the offensive game mattered just as much as the defensive game. The same is increasingly true of modern hurling.
“I remember those training sessions; it was just a level that we hadn’t ever seen.
“It was mainly around physical development, but it was also mini-games. Swarm tackling. I remember one night in Morris Park where we were in groups of six, it was a two versus four. There would be a 10x10 metre square with the two trying to keep possession with a four-man swarm tackle. That swarm tackle is a huge part of today’s game.”
O’Neill’s 21 seasons of unbroken involvement with inter-county teams have primarily come in Gaelic football. The principles he has developed, though, are readily applicable to the other game. Nor is he the first to work in both sports. Coaches like Paul Kinnerk, Mick Dempsey and Dave Morris have all crossed the divide at intercounty level.
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“What I’m really interested to see is where he fits in,” says Egan.
“I can’t imagine him on the pitch doing technical ball work, getting the touch and hand sharp. But I can guarantee his mini-games, his knowledge and awareness of the pitch, he’ll have a great input on that. I’d nearly be certain he won’t do the technical, ball-to-hand stuff.
“He has proven it with his football teams. He would have worked with Paul Kinnerk. I’m sure they were tic-tacking over and back over the last few years.”
There are other fundamental elements of his approach that will be transferable too. Former Mayo manager James Horan worked with O’Neill in 2012 when they won a Connacht title and reached the All-Ireland final. Horan has repeatedly heralded his work ethic, the energy and preparation he brought every night.
“What jumps out for me obviously is his application, his work-rate. He has a phenomenal work-rate. I mean that in terms of preparation, how he executes it, how he preps players before the session, how he communicates through it and how he reviews and follows up on it. The session itself is a huge event that he prepares for better than anyone else I have seen.”
O’Neill’s connection to Ben O’Connor is well established, the pair having worked together with Newtownshandrum when they won the Munster title in 2009. At the time, Ben’s brother Jerry heralded O’Neill for making an “unbelievable” impact, while stressing he was a welcome departure from some of the coaching they had encountered elsewhere.
"There's a bit of bluffing going on around the place in clubs over teams who mightn't have a great idea of what they're doing, but with these lads everything is done for a reason," he said 17 years ago.
Cork goalkeeping coach William Biggane was also a member of that squad. It comes during a period of considerable backroom change, after Ronan Curran departed the setup while Niall O’Halloran left in the early stages of last year.
Egan spoke with O’Connor during his time with Wexford. He learned something about how the Cork manager’s mind operates.
“I got the vibe from Ben he loved the coaching element, just loved being on the field too. I was the same in Wexford. You are a manager and have to manage people and players, but you can’t bat away the grá to be on the pitch running a session for 15 or 20 minutes.
“I remember back in Cian O’s time or even in 2019 when myself, Tommy and Eamonn were with Sheedy, you’d get the text: ‘I have them tomorrow for half an hour.’ You would step back and let them at it. It was brilliant to see. It was physical, manic. The players used to get a right kick out of it.”
Back then, Sheedy would move training to The Ragg instead of Dr Morris Park to avail of the tight confines, which were ideal for physicality. Players would crawl off the pitch exhausted afterwards. That was the point.
As for how the Cork hurlers will receive a predominantly Gaelic football coach who recently departed Kerry, Egan is confident it won’t be an issue.
“Cork are at the top level for a few years. They just want to engage with somebody who’s going to make them better. It might be better with their lines of running, their off-the-shoulder work, how they approach the tackle, how they create space.
“All of these things, you will absorb the knowledge from someone who has operated at that high level. As an intercounty player, you judge the individual in front of you based on what he says in that moment. It is not if he has six All-Irelands or none, if he was a soccer player or a hurler. If you feel it will benefit you, you will soak it up.”
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