'Cork is my happy place' - City return all about timing for Seani Maguire
Seani Maguire with his nine-week-old son Romeo, after Cork City’s game against Athlone Town last week.
It was shortly after his second Cork City debut last Friday when Seani Maguire was analysed.
A brief cameo off the bench in a First Division encounter against Athlone Town lacked the razmataz of his previous existence at Turner’s Cross but the spirit had rekindled.
Not since his first few years at Preston North End has he experienced a consistency of contentment.
Last Friday reawakened that, this week’s FAI Cup clash against Derry City similarly, yet the prodigal son envisions days ahead in the months and years that will trump the memories bequeathed to the Rebel Army before his cross-channel departure in 2017.
“My Dad and in-laws noticed after last week’s game how much of a spring I had my step,” he noted about his homecoming.
“They hadn’t heard me talk about football like that for a while. Don’t get me wrong, there were happy moments in recent years but overall the last few at Preston North End were difficult. Cork is my happy place.”
It’s also the City where he and wife, Claudia Rose from nearby Ballyphehane, intend raising their young family. Baby Romeo arrived seven weeks ago and houses are being viewed to lay down roots. They did come close to purchasing a plot to build a few years back but this juncture, at 30, out of contract and his former Cork blazing back to the top-flight, was the point they believed was opportune.
That’s why he spurned the opportunity of joining champions Shamrock Rovers. Had he brokered a deal with the Hoops, it would have been the Europa League rather than the Irish second tier he was preparing for last week on his domestic return.
Options were plentiful but his conviction was resolute.
“I would have been a hypocrite if I hadn’t come to Cork City,” explained the Kilkenny native, who departed for Preston as the league’s top scorer midway through the double-winning 2017 campaign..
“I’d said all along that this was my plan. It was just about the timing.
“Last season, I was carpooling for three hours per day to Carlisle United. There were opportunities to stay in England but I wanted to be near my wife and son. There was no way I’d do that commute again.
“My agent spoke to Rovers and a few other clubs here but our base would always be Cork and this move was the right one for everybody.”
His capture, coming fresh off Ruairi Keating being re-signed, demonstrated City’s planning for the Premier Division in 2025 and beyond. Avoiding immediate relegation, as enveloped last year, consumes the discourse, both inside and outside the club, and City possess a strikeforce for next year the envy of rivals.
On a personal level, Maguire hasn’t disguised his objectives and those sentiments circulating last week drew ridicule on social media.
He laughs when discussing the messages received from friends subsequently, referencing the quotes.
“I didn’t even say GOAT,” he affirms with a chuckle. “How it came up in the interview was people branding me a legend from my first spell at the club. My point was that I wanted to be known for more than those 18 months, to leave a legacy when I’m finishing, and that word was put to me. I just agreed.”
Derry on Friday – a repeat of the 2005 title decider – delivers a snippet of the fervour due next year. Myopia doesn’t register with Maguire, for he’s been at pains to highlight that reverting to his original hunting grounds isn’t a swansong.
“I mean it when I say I can play until I’m 36,” he emphasises. “The game has changed and I look after myself, outside of football too.
“I’ve learned the hard way what works and lifting weights doesn’t. Northern Ireland’s strength and conditioning coach Craig Holding is someone I’ve worked with in the past, recommended by Darragh Lenihan and Greg Cunningham from when they were at Blackburn.
“I also do hot yoga and Pilates when there’s a break between matches. Overall, I feel in great condition and really believe my best years can be ahead of me.”
Such is his curiosity in the physical side of the game that he’s undertaking a course through Setanta College on the topic. He’s got the Uefa B coaching license collected as well, with a natural inclination to upgrade it to the A.
All that activity occurs simultaneously to his main job of rediscovering the bygone era of Cork City. That could domino another dormant feature – his Ireland career.
“I was glad to hear the new Ireland manager (Heimir Hallgrímsson) say he’d take an interest in home-based players,” said the forward who won the last of 11 caps in 2020.
“If I’m here next year after scoring 15 Premier Division goals, replicating what I did in 2017, it could be a question. I’m not shutting the door but there’s a lot of work to do before then.”
Doing so with a smile on his face can only accelerate it.
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