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ON the Sunday night of last month’s All-Ireland senior hurling final, amid all the hoopla, Cork goalkeeper Donal Óg Cusack found himself looking forward. Despite playing a star role in the win over Galway, he was concentrating on future preparations.The Cork county championship semi-final between his club Cloyne and UCC loomed in the distance. As well as guarding goal for Cloyne, Cusack is also club trainer. So, instead of partying he took time to contact club manager Tomás O’Brien and his fellow selectors to organise training for the other players at 6am the following morning and to painstakingly outline what the session should entail. He may have collected his third All-Ireland senior medal, but for Cusack 2005 will be a failure unless Cloyne win their first county title. To that end, they defeated UCC and their many inter-county stars. All they must do now is negotiate the challenge of Newtownshandrum. |
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Jerry O’Sullivan hurled for Cloyne for
more than 30 years. He experienced days good and bad. Won a county junior
title in 1987. Retired after losing an intermediate final to Bishopstown in
1992. Then he immersed himself in other GAA activities. He’s currently the
club vice-president, and the language and cultural officer. He’s also the
Cork county board’s coaching officer. He has given five sons to Cloyne, too. |
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“This is a massive week for the club,”
he says. “And of course it’s bigger again for the five lads. You’d just be
hoping that everything will go right for them on Sunday. I've been involved
with Cloyne from the day I was able to walk. I've been there so long that to
be this close to a county title is incredible. It would mean everything if we
won.” |
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The O’Sullivan contribution to the team
is unique. Eoin, Donal, Diarmuid, Colm and Paudie are on the panel. But
Cloyne are founded on the family ethos. There are three Cusacks involved. A
pair of Cahills. Declan and Brian Motherway. All hail from the east Cork village
where Christy Ring, the greatest hurler of all, entered the world. His
brother Willie John is the club president. Cloyne’s recent history is marked
by near-misses. In 2003 they lost a county semi-final to Blackrock by two
points, after Diarmuid O’Sullivan cracked a penalty off the crossbar at the
death. Last year they journeyed to the final, felling the All-Ireland club
champions Newtownshandrum en route. There they came unstuck against a Na
Piarsaigh team illuminated by Ó hAilpíns and streetwise swagger. |
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Today, Cusack will look to channel his
teammates’ inevitable frustration. Diarmuid O’Sullivan may be Cloyne’s
headline name, and Paudie O’Sullivan their most gifted youngster, but Cusack
is their leader.He was made trainer in 2003, his intelligence and resolve
marking him out as the best candidate. It is a role he has revelled in.Every
training session is meticulously planned. This year the club has journeyed to
destinations including Dungarvan and Bantry for training weekends. Team
meetings are held in the officious surroundings of Bayview Hotel's conference
room in Ballycotton. The early morning sessions have become routine.Pat
Carroll is a Louth man. He landed in Cloyne 31 years ago and married Mary
Cahill, sister of club secretary Donal.Three years ago, the club approached
him about creating a website. He obliged and has dutifully tended to it
since. Now, he is the club’s press officer, too. |
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“They’re one of the most professional
clubs I’ve ever been involved in. They’re forward-thinking, always planning
ahead. Cloyne demand high standards and they achieve them.” When the subject
turns to Cusack, Carroll showers praise on him. Jerry O’Sullivan does the
same. Cork selector Ger Cunningham called him one of the most inspiring
people he’s worked with. “Donal Og has demanded loyalty from these players,”
says Carroll. “And he has received it. He’s an inter-county hurler, but he’s
been leading us to this stage.“If they won the match now, it (the
celebration) would be frightening. This is far more than a county title.” The
date of this campaign’s first training session tells you they have the
desire. It was the weekend after the 2004 county final. |
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