 |
Family fortunes see the team through to victory
by Eamon Sweeney IT IS a tale of two families the Mulcahys and O’Connors. And, on the day that was in it, the Mulcahys in particular.
Sports reporters often try to guess at the emotions of players. “So and so must have felt this,” we’ll say, or “such a one must have been delighted with that.” But there is no way anyone who has not lost a parent can imagine how the three Mulcahy brothers must have felt in the run up to the Cork senior hurling final.
The pre match opinion was that the death of their father Dan last weekend would have made it impossible for the trio to give the match their full attention and that, as a result, Erins Own had to be considered warm favourites.
In the event, all three Mulcahys were magnificent. Brendan at full back never missed a ball and saw his direct opponent taken off, Pat was imperious at centre half back and Donal won heaps of good possession on the right wing of the attack and struck a fine first half point. The Mulcahy boys built a worthy monument for their late father.
When Ben and Jerry O’Connor link intricately in attack, you’re ready to believe a thousand crackpot theories about the telepathy of twins. They are the class acts on the Newtown side and proved it again yesterday. Jerry’s work rate was phenomenal and his switch to centre half forward to counter a rampant Brian Corcoran in the final quarter turned the game his side’s way.
His contribution of three fine points from play was matched by his brother who decided to go even better by adding a superb 70 and some difficult points from frees. A soaring effort from the left wing to put his side two points up with time running out underlined the fact that he is the Gay Byrne of hurling, the man who loves the late late show.
In the past eighteen months he has scored crucial late points in two Munster finals, an All Ireland semi final and an All Ireland final. This strike which put his club on course for a remarkable first senior championship might have been the sweetest of all.
Being Ben and Jerry’s father could almost be enough to secure Bernie O’Connor the eternal thanks of Newtownshandrum. But he is of course much more than that. The boss of the new champions is the catalyst behind a hurling revolution. His club epitomise all that is best about the GAA.
Newtownshandrum is a small parish who, logically speaking, should not be able to compete at this level. But, under the guidance of O’Connor, they have run rings round logic. Look at what they’ve extracted from their scarce natural resources, Under 21, Minor and Under 16 titles last year crowned by the capture of the prestige championship in the most powerful county in the land. On their way to the final, they had to overcome divisional combinations, most of whose constituent parts on their own were bigger than Newtown. It is an incredible story.
There are moments in sport when a competitor or team seem to have an irresistible momentum behind them, Munster overcoming the heat in Toulouse, Clare bridging a massive gap in 1995, Cathy Freeman carrying the hopes of a continent on her back and going clear down the home straight in Sydney. That was the kind of feeling which seemed to spur Newtown on as they made their final drive for victory, a sense that this was their moment and that there would never be a better day for them to lift the Sean Og Murphy Cup. The likes of John Griffin, Declan Murphy and Mike Morrissey touched the heights in those minutes and showed that the club is more than the family firm of Mulcahy and O’Connor.
Erins Own proved unable to summon up the same intensity though they are entitled to feel aggrieved by the disallowing of Tomas O’Leary’s late goal which would have earned them at least a draw. Perhaps this was another sign that it was Newtown’s day.
They were kept in the game by a triumvirate of talent which combined old and new. Brian Corcoran gave the lie to predictions of his imminent demise, like a great actor he makes his performances look simple because he has mastered the most difficult of skills. And two of their marvellous minors reminded everyone that this is a team with the ability to return to the big stage. Mark O’Connor struck three great points and showed great bravery in the face of some tough treatment, in goals Kieran Murphy made a string of good saves, culminating in an extraordinary stop from Ben O’Connor which can hardly have been bettered in any competition this year.
It was a wonderful occasion, a reminder of the potent magic of the real GAA, a grass roots association which has nothing to do with marketing and the weasel words of progress and modernity.
That it took place at the same time as the finish of a series which showed that all the advertising in the world can’t change a mongrel pup into a pedigree prize winner is ironic. Don’t believe the hype. If we praise the mediocre, there will be no words left for the truly significant achievements.
|
