TIM JOE WHO picked up the West Cork crew and drove his bus on a two-and-a-half-hour round trip for training. Bugsy Barry and his intimidating facial hair, a mammoth minor who was playing senior as a teen. The frightening pace of Tipperary forward Shane Long.
Eoin Cadogan and Niall Horgan sit back and let each tender memory wash over them, a shower of nostalgia. They are speaking ahead of this year’s Electric Ireland All-Ireland finals. Tipperary play Offaly on Sunday in Nowlan Park, Galway meet Roscommon next week in Dr Hyde Park.
Both know how seminal these occasions are. It was the time of their lives. They were minor team-mates, two dual players. Horgan captained Cork’s minor football and hurling team in 2003. Cadogan played football alongside him that year and both codes the following season.
Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
As they revisit that spell, it becomes clear the typical partitions of everyday life didn’t bring an end to the fellowship that bound them for those two years. That binds them now.
First, lay all cards on the table. He would go on to become a Rebels stalwart. But at the time, what was Horgan’s perception of a minor Eoin Cadogan?
“Me and Cads knew each other beforehand because we played with Seandun underage,” he recalls with a laugh. “There was a good rivalry at club level. Eoin would be known to make sure he is known on the pitch when you are playing against him.
“Eoin was a great team-mate, a backbone of the ’04 side. At that age, everyone is the same. Trying to figure themselves out and the team. You end you gravitating toward people you really respected.
“Those putting in the same commitment you are. All you ask is someone will give everything they have. I certainly think Eoin standing next to you, you know he will give it everything that day. Just an honest and hard-working guy.”
Devoted. A defender ready for road. That is the perception. Then there is the reality.
“To be honest, I lacked fierce confidence underage,” admits Cadogan.
“I probably had more faith in my hurling capabilities than football. Numerous times I asked to pack in football around 15, 16. I wouldn’t get a game with my club. Even in school, I was kicking penalties behind the goal while the game was going on.
“When I turned 17, I stretched up a bit. A bit stronger. Then I was shoved in full-back. It was a case of get it and give it. I kept that mantra for my football career.
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“You learn a huge amount about yourself at underage level. As you grow up, you realise how you can implement those learnings. It was a hugely rewarding time, especially for someone who lacked so much confidence and didn’t believe he was good enough.”
Cork won a Munster minor hurling title in 2004. Kerry denied them a double, prevailing after a replay in the football decider. The beauty of the grade is that it can be a theatre for stories of evolution and inspiration, unassailable dreams on the field eventually dwarfed by life lessons garnered off it.
Horgan, a Glen Rovers and St Nicholas clubman, is one of the founders behind lifestyle brand Gym+Coffee. He progressed from the minors to U21 and won a football All-Ireland in 2007. Then it stalled. By the time he was 22, he had banked a decade of playing two codes for countless teams. Running that treadmill took its toll.
Regrets? Not really. The fear of FOMO kept him from picking a lane. And that stint stands to him still.
“Minor was the big thing, the launch point. You want to be in Croke Park. Be on TV. Rub shoulders with seniors. That was a huge honour for me. Personally, I found minor a huge step in my own personal development. I was 16 and ended up captaining Cork football and hurling minors. I found that so difficult. You are being looked to as a leader but you are only a kid really.
“Looking back I beat myself up a bit too much figuring that out. My GAA career didn’t get to the heights of Eoin’s in terms of senior. I managed to get a U21 All-Ireland but never anything further. For a couple of years, I beat myself up over that. Now I realise everything you learn during that period plays a part in who you become as a person.
“How you carry yourself, personally and professionally, those traits around leadership, teamwork, resilience, dealing with pressure, a bit of imposter syndrome here and there. You deal with it all and it shapes who you become. I look back proudly at my minor days in a different light.”
INPHO
INPHO
Of their team, Michael Shields, Patrick Kelly, Fintan Goold, Paul Kerrigan, Daniel Goulding, John Hayes, Alan O’Connor and Ken O’Halloran went on to be a part of the 2010 senior All-Ireland winning team.
Shane O’Neill, Patrick Cronin and Cathal Naughton were involved in the 2013 All-Ireland finalist group.
Cadogan went on to excel in both hurling and football, helping Cork to the 2010 football title and starting in the 2021 All-Ireland hurling final. The admiration for his first county captain has never waned.
“He might look at my playing career having stepped away. I see the success he has built with a company. I sit back and think fair play. I know he won’t admit this but Niall wouldn’t have been picked as a captain if he didn’t have serious leadership qualities as well as his playing ability.
“He brought those attributes and built an incredible business. What a journey. Sometimes we are cringy about complementing each other. We knock people quick if they are not successful, we should be comfortable praising success too.”
At that grade, what even is success? Ask Tipperary or Offaly and they’ll tell you it is all about getting over the line in Nowlan Park on Sunday. On barstools around the country, former minor greats can be found listing their lengthy achievements for anyone willing to listen.
“As a 16-year old is all about playing the game to win,” recalls Horgan. “The irony of it all is even if you win, you probably had another game two days later.”
With a knowing laugh, Cadogan interjects: “God forbid you went back to the club and played poorly. ‘Being a minor is gone to his head. Who does he think he is with his Cork socks!”‘
Horgan smiles and then charts the journey from thinking small to big.
“It is hard to give yourself too much credit or think about things in a more holistic fashion. You have more perspective as the years go on. It is not black and white, win or a loss.”
Cadogan took the same principle and applied it throughout his career. Moving from outcomes to a process until he was moving through a checklist without thinking.
“It is ticking boxes. Am I physically fit? Am I injury fit? Have I rehabbed appropriately? Yes, I have. I have done my preparation. Now the simple thing is to go out and perform. If it is not good enough, it is not good enough. But I did all I could. There is fierce honesty in that.”
That is partly why the stand-out moments extend beyond gongs and garlands. The first trial, running the Inchydoney sand dunes, the celebrations after Eoin Murphy’s late goal in their final win over Tipperary. They are the feats that stand the test of time.
“Those sort of moments, there is so many of them. In a strange way, I’m glad I am not saying I won this, this and this. The memories are rewarding,” Cadogan says.
Horgan wholeheartedly agrees.
“That is why I was delighted to be part of this campaign. Putting a different lens on the minor championships. It will always be competitive and you are always going to want to win. I don’t want to shy away from that.
“At the same time, it is hard to get across to a 16 or 17-year-old but think of all the other benefits you get playing from minor. Character development, friendships for life, all the valuable experiences that come with it.”
Their 2004 run ended at the hands of Galway, a day when Horgan marked a sixteen-year-old Joe Canning. What were the lessons from an experience like that?
“I remember all the talk of this lad, a type of Cú Chulainn,” he says with a smile.
“The night before the semi-final we stayed in Croke Park hotel and we were messing in a room. I jumped in a bed and fell, smacked my head off a side table. Completely split down my eyebrow.
“10pm we called the doctors and selector panicking, I had to get stitched up. We were shiting it, thinking we were in big trouble. In a funny way, it stopped my worrying.
“I think I did ok. I barely touched the ball but I don’t think he did huge damage. That was a huge win for me. I’ll take it anyway. I’ll prop up a barstool telling people about that!”
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Marking Joe Canning, dual player workload and what you learn from county minor
TIM JOE WHO picked up the West Cork crew and drove his bus on a two-and-a-half-hour round trip for training. Bugsy Barry and his intimidating facial hair, a mammoth minor who was playing senior as a teen. The frightening pace of Tipperary forward Shane Long.
Eoin Cadogan and Niall Horgan sit back and let each tender memory wash over them, a shower of nostalgia. They are speaking ahead of this year’s Electric Ireland All-Ireland finals. Tipperary play Offaly on Sunday in Nowlan Park, Galway meet Roscommon next week in Dr Hyde Park.
Both know how seminal these occasions are. It was the time of their lives. They were minor team-mates, two dual players. Horgan captained Cork’s minor football and hurling team in 2003. Cadogan played football alongside him that year and both codes the following season.
As they revisit that spell, it becomes clear the typical partitions of everyday life didn’t bring an end to the fellowship that bound them for those two years. That binds them now.
First, lay all cards on the table. He would go on to become a Rebels stalwart. But at the time, what was Horgan’s perception of a minor Eoin Cadogan?
“Me and Cads knew each other beforehand because we played with Seandun underage,” he recalls with a laugh. “There was a good rivalry at club level. Eoin would be known to make sure he is known on the pitch when you are playing against him.
“Eoin was a great team-mate, a backbone of the ’04 side. At that age, everyone is the same. Trying to figure themselves out and the team. You end you gravitating toward people you really respected.
“Those putting in the same commitment you are. All you ask is someone will give everything they have. I certainly think Eoin standing next to you, you know he will give it everything that day. Just an honest and hard-working guy.”
Devoted. A defender ready for road. That is the perception. Then there is the reality.
“To be honest, I lacked fierce confidence underage,” admits Cadogan.
“I probably had more faith in my hurling capabilities than football. Numerous times I asked to pack in football around 15, 16. I wouldn’t get a game with my club. Even in school, I was kicking penalties behind the goal while the game was going on.
“When I turned 17, I stretched up a bit. A bit stronger. Then I was shoved in full-back. It was a case of get it and give it. I kept that mantra for my football career.
“You learn a huge amount about yourself at underage level. As you grow up, you realise how you can implement those learnings. It was a hugely rewarding time, especially for someone who lacked so much confidence and didn’t believe he was good enough.”
Cork won a Munster minor hurling title in 2004. Kerry denied them a double, prevailing after a replay in the football decider. The beauty of the grade is that it can be a theatre for stories of evolution and inspiration, unassailable dreams on the field eventually dwarfed by life lessons garnered off it.
Horgan, a Glen Rovers and St Nicholas clubman, is one of the founders behind lifestyle brand Gym+Coffee. He progressed from the minors to U21 and won a football All-Ireland in 2007. Then it stalled. By the time he was 22, he had banked a decade of playing two codes for countless teams. Running that treadmill took its toll.
Regrets? Not really. The fear of FOMO kept him from picking a lane. And that stint stands to him still.
“Minor was the big thing, the launch point. You want to be in Croke Park. Be on TV. Rub shoulders with seniors. That was a huge honour for me. Personally, I found minor a huge step in my own personal development. I was 16 and ended up captaining Cork football and hurling minors. I found that so difficult. You are being looked to as a leader but you are only a kid really.
“Looking back I beat myself up a bit too much figuring that out. My GAA career didn’t get to the heights of Eoin’s in terms of senior. I managed to get a U21 All-Ireland but never anything further. For a couple of years, I beat myself up over that. Now I realise everything you learn during that period plays a part in who you become as a person.
“How you carry yourself, personally and professionally, those traits around leadership, teamwork, resilience, dealing with pressure, a bit of imposter syndrome here and there. You deal with it all and it shapes who you become. I look back proudly at my minor days in a different light.”
Of their team, Michael Shields, Patrick Kelly, Fintan Goold, Paul Kerrigan, Daniel Goulding, John Hayes, Alan O’Connor and Ken O’Halloran went on to be a part of the 2010 senior All-Ireland winning team.
Shane O’Neill, Patrick Cronin and Cathal Naughton were involved in the 2013 All-Ireland finalist group.
Cadogan went on to excel in both hurling and football, helping Cork to the 2010 football title and starting in the 2021 All-Ireland hurling final. The admiration for his first county captain has never waned.
“He might look at my playing career having stepped away. I see the success he has built with a company. I sit back and think fair play. I know he won’t admit this but Niall wouldn’t have been picked as a captain if he didn’t have serious leadership qualities as well as his playing ability.
“He brought those attributes and built an incredible business. What a journey. Sometimes we are cringy about complementing each other. We knock people quick if they are not successful, we should be comfortable praising success too.”
At that grade, what even is success? Ask Tipperary or Offaly and they’ll tell you it is all about getting over the line in Nowlan Park on Sunday. On barstools around the country, former minor greats can be found listing their lengthy achievements for anyone willing to listen.
“As a 16-year old is all about playing the game to win,” recalls Horgan. “The irony of it all is even if you win, you probably had another game two days later.”
With a knowing laugh, Cadogan interjects: “God forbid you went back to the club and played poorly. ‘Being a minor is gone to his head. Who does he think he is with his Cork socks!”‘
Horgan smiles and then charts the journey from thinking small to big.
“It is hard to give yourself too much credit or think about things in a more holistic fashion. You have more perspective as the years go on. It is not black and white, win or a loss.”
Cadogan took the same principle and applied it throughout his career. Moving from outcomes to a process until he was moving through a checklist without thinking.
“It is ticking boxes. Am I physically fit? Am I injury fit? Have I rehabbed appropriately? Yes, I have. I have done my preparation. Now the simple thing is to go out and perform. If it is not good enough, it is not good enough. But I did all I could. There is fierce honesty in that.”
That is partly why the stand-out moments extend beyond gongs and garlands. The first trial, running the Inchydoney sand dunes, the celebrations after Eoin Murphy’s late goal in their final win over Tipperary. They are the feats that stand the test of time.
“Those sort of moments, there is so many of them. In a strange way, I’m glad I am not saying I won this, this and this. The memories are rewarding,” Cadogan says.
Horgan wholeheartedly agrees.
“That is why I was delighted to be part of this campaign. Putting a different lens on the minor championships. It will always be competitive and you are always going to want to win. I don’t want to shy away from that.
“At the same time, it is hard to get across to a 16 or 17-year-old but think of all the other benefits you get playing from minor. Character development, friendships for life, all the valuable experiences that come with it.”
Their 2004 run ended at the hands of Galway, a day when Horgan marked a sixteen-year-old Joe Canning. What were the lessons from an experience like that?
“I remember all the talk of this lad, a type of Cú Chulainn,” he says with a smile.
“The night before the semi-final we stayed in Croke Park hotel and we were messing in a room. I jumped in a bed and fell, smacked my head off a side table. Completely split down my eyebrow.
“10pm we called the doctors and selector panicking, I had to get stitched up. We were shiting it, thinking we were in big trouble. In a funny way, it stopped my worrying.
“I think I did ok. I barely touched the ball but I don’t think he did huge damage. That was a huge win for me. I’ll take it anyway. I’ll prop up a barstool telling people about that!”
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Cork GAA eoin Cadogan GAA Hurling life lessons Niall Horgan