IN THEIR quest to tame a Tipperary team who skinned the Cats, Cork will hope to benefit from the input of a man who is currently dealing with Lions.
Gary Keegan, the Ireland rugby team’s performance guru, also lends his expertise as a mental skills coach to the Rebel hurlers.
He is in Australia having been added to the Lions set-up by head coach Andy Farrell.
But Pat Ryan confirmed that Keegan has maintained his commitment to his side nonetheless as they prepare for this weekend’s All-Ireland SHC final.
The Cork boss said: “Gary has been really involved. He does a lot of one-to-ones with our players. In fairness, he’s been unbelievable for us over the last couple of years.
“He’s probably down to us maybe five or six times a year. He does an awful lot of one-to-ones with the lads and with myself. We do an awful lot of Zoom calls actually which helps, more of a collective Zoom together.
“He’s done one or two of them since he’s been away in Australia with the lads and he’ll do one or two more before the All-Ireland. In fairness to him, he makes the effort.
“He was up at half three the last day after one of the matches. He’s gotten really, really keen. He’s got a great affinity to these players and he’s as good a fella that you could meet.”
Tipperary, who saw off Kilkenny to book their place in Sunday’s decider, will be aiming to thwart Cork’s bid to end a 20-year wait for All-Ireland hurling glory. And several members of the Tipp panel know all about what Keegan brings to the table.
He was part of their coaching ticket in 2019 when Liam Sheedy brought the Premier County their most recent taste of Liam MacCarthy Cup success.
Keegan initially linked up with Cork during Kieran Kingston’s reign as bainisteoir. And when Ryan took the reins ahead of the 2023 season, he was eager to retain his services.
He added: “Gary has a great affinity for this group of players. He was adamant that he wanted to stay involved. Obviously his work schedule had gotten busier and things were pulling off him and all that side of it, but he was adamant that he could do it.”
Commenting on the growing level of self-belief within the Cork team, Brian Hayes insisted it was ‘testament to Gary Keegan’ after the St Finbarr’s forward delivered a man-of-the-match display in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final win over Limerick.
But the manager also leaned on Keegan as he sought to identify areas where gains could be made as his team looked to atone for losing the 2024 showpiece to Clare after extra-time.
Ryan said: “I suppose sometimes it’s realising that you are the top man and that you are the front man. You realise that you need to be front and centre and you need to be more engaged.
“I was probably managing instead of leading. We have Gary Keegan involved with us and Gary would speak an awful lot about that with me, ‘You need to lead a bit more instead of maybe managing the situations a bit more’.
KEEGAN’S IMPACT
“It’s not taking over or anything like that, it’s that you’re giving the direction clearer to people and you’re giving the direction of what we want to do and the standards and expectations of everybody are clearer.
“Then fellas just go and do their jobs, whatever their role is within our group. As well, the fact that we did perform really, really well in 2024, the players believed in us as a management team more.
“And when the players believe in you as a management team and understand that you’re doing the right things, and that you can get them to where they want to get to, what their dreams and expectations are.
“That gave us a bigger footing again in 2025 to go on and expand our game-plan and expand the way we wanted to do things. We set up a leadership group and that has worked really well this year. The lads who have come into it have been brilliant.
“From 2023 to 2024 it was better. To 2025 it’s even better. We’re much more player-led in what we’re doing, how we play, how we analyse matches and how we come back at it.
“We’ve a fantastic analysis and video group led by Tomás Manning that really go after a lot of the things that we want to do.
“We’ve dialled it down a bit as well. The 20-minute video sessions are gone. It’s five, six, seven minutes regularly just to get fellas tuned in and that seems to be working as well.
“It’s working at the moment and it’s going well. But the proof will be in the pudding on Sunday.”
RYAN’S ‘BIGGEST BUGBEAR’
Meanwhile, ahead of another Croke Park full house this weekend, Ryan added his voice to the increasing sense of frustration among managers over the continued absence of the maor foirne.
The role, which allowed a team official to enter the field to deliver messages, was scrapped in 2021. Cork have been playing in front of sell-out crowds all through the Championship and during games such as his side’s recent All-Ireland semi-final victory over Dublin.
When the decibels are raised by a bumper attendance, Ryan explained that it is ‘impossible’ to communicate with players.
He said: “It’s the biggest bugbear I have. You’re putting in the best time you can and you want to make changes, but you just can’t.
“I was shouting at Mark Coleman ten yards away from me. It was only a simple thing, to push up on a puck-out, but he just couldn’t hear me. It’s crazy that we’re the only sport you don’t do it in.
“Maybe things went too far before, the cult of the maor foirne running on to the field all over the place and that side of it.
“But I think there should be a situation where you have some sort of mechanism in place where you can maybe give instructions two or three times a half in a game and you have a runner or something like that.
“There are better fellas than me who could come up with those ideas. But it’s absolutely crazy that coaches can’t adjust in those situations. I’d say we’re definitely the only sport that has it. It’s amazing”
