Gerald aims to rouse rebels
Having reached the last three All-Ireland finals expectations are
once again high for Cork’s hurlers. Something new manager Gerald
McCarthy is well prepared for. david thorpe gets the lowdown on the Rebels
chances for the new season.
 By David Thorpe
Few sports fans are more demanding than the Cork hurling faithful and
with the Rebels having reached the last three All-Ireland Senior finals
expectations will again be massive in the county.
But rather than viewing his new job as Cork hurling manager as a poisoned
chalice Gerald McCarthy says that the goal for the Rebels this season
is an All-Ireland title.
He said: “There are a lot of experienced players on the panel and
if they all perform to the level at which they have been then Cork will
go very close and I can guarantee everybody that as a management team
we’ll be working flat out to get things on track and bring back
an All-Ireland. We would never aim for anything less than that in Cork.”
It is noticeable that McCarthy refuses to rule out replacing some of the
Rebels team which has done so well in recent seasons.
He said: “I have a two-year term which is quite compressed in trying
to bring players through but there are certainly players who could be
ready to step up from the subs bench or from outside the panel and make
an impact so nobody is guaranteed their place next year.”.
While McCarthy is full of praise for the success enjoyed by the Cork team
in recent years he says that some changes will be made in 2007 particularly
that the Rebels will adopt a more direct style of play in the coming season.
He said: “Cork seemed to score a lot of points in games but not
many goals and I think that was down to the style of play.
“I feel that Kilkenny and Tipperary sussed us out a bit last year
so I’ll be looking for the lads to be more direct. That’s
not to say there’ll be no hand passing, but I feel an over-emphasis
on it is not working any more. It’s not primarily about changing
players.”
An immediate concern for the new manager will be replacing the Rebels
retiring full-forward Brian Corcoran but following Cork’s comfortable
defeat of a UCC team in a recent challenge game —McCarthy’s
first match in charge —the manager said that the while Corcoran
would be a loss to any county team he was confident that the Rebels had
enough strength in depth to remain competitive even without the inspirational
figure.
McCarthy was quick to highlight the potential of 18-year-old Cloyne clubman,
Paudie O’Sullivan, younger brother of county full-back Diarmuid,
who scored 1-5 from play in that challenge game and is being tipped by
many to feature on the Cork senior team in 2007 despite still being in
school.
O’Sullivan played at centre-back for the county minor team last
year but operates in the forward line for his club and it’s thought
that’s where his inter-county future may lie.
McCarthy said: “Paudie is a player with a great attitude and a lot
of talent and if he keeps working hard he has a chance of featuring this
year. Indeed there are a number of young lads out there who will figure
with us this season. Despite the time of the year they are putting in
a massive effort to show that they are worthy of their selection on the
panel. If they do that then there is no reason why they cannot push for
a place on the starting team in the league and we will see how they cope
from there.”
Sixty-two-year-old McCarthy enjoyed a glittering playing career with
the Rebels with the St. Finbarrs clubman winning nine Munster and five
All-Ireland titles as well as an All-Star before hanging up his hurl in
1979.
He played during what many believe was a golden era for the small ball
game but is modest about his own abilities saying he was a player who
worked hard and perhaps had less natural talent than most of his teammates.
Described by all who know him as a hurling man to his bare bones Gerald’s
retirement from top-level hurling wasn’t to last long. He became
manager of his club St. Finbarrs in 1980 and immediately led the Togher
lads to both the Cork and Munster Senior Titles.
In 1982 Gerald was appointed team trainer to the Cork team but controversially
resigned from this role after just one season saying at the time that
he was unhappy at his lack of imput into team selection. This is something
the affable McCarthy refuses to discuss now being anxious to move on.
McCarthy remained as coach of St. Finbarrs until 1986 guiding them to
four county titles. The inevitable call to manage the Cork senior team
came in 1990 when McCarthy was named as joint team manager and along with
Canon Michael O’Brien he brought Munster and All-Ireland success
to the Rebels in 1990.
The managerial partnership — which McCarthy describes as exceptionally
amicable —
resigned following the Rebels defeat in the 1992 All-Ireland final and
McCarthy subsequently took charge of Waterford bringing them to within
an ace of the All-Ireland success which the Deice men have threatened
for so long.
But McCarthy’s heart has always belonged to the Rebels. Many believed
that at the age of 62, having won all of the game’s top honours
as a player and manager, McCarthy might have been content to retire. But
the chance to manage his beloved county team was something he wasn’t
likely to turn down.
He said: “I jumped at the chance and hope that I can continue the
success enjoyed by the hurlers in recent years.”
Surprisingly there was some controversy in the wake of McCarthy’s
appointment something the Togher man says is not helping the cause of
returning the Liam McCarthy Cup to the banks of the Lee.
He said: “I don’t think it does Cork hurling any good at all
to have that smouldering away in the background. If there are people who
were genuinely aggrieved they weren’t interviewed, they should take
that up with the County Board rather than in the media.”
Whatever the fate of the Rebel hurlers in 2007 they will surely never
have a more passionate and experienced advocate than Gerald McCarthy.
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