SUNDAY BROUGHT A draining hurling year to a close on a high note for Seamus Harnedy.
Collecting his fourth Cork senior hurling medal in Imokilly colours was a sweet sensation, in light of the division’s five-year absence from the winners’ enclosure and the share of setbacks he had sustained on the field of late.
July delivered disappointment in the extra-time epic as Cork were pipped by Clare in the pursuit of All-Ireland glory. Last week delivered disappointment with his club St Ita’s in the East Cork junior hurling grade.
The veteran Cork forward never lost a sense of perspective.
His joy at Sunday’s outcome was increased by the sight of club-mate Ciarán O’Brien, whose mother Caroline passed away earlier this summer, captaining Imokilly to glory.
O’Brien was joined by his younger brother Darragh on Imokilly squad but missed Sunday’s decider through injury.
“I suppose we had a hidden motivation there – our captain Ciarán O’Brien is after a very, very, very tough year and it was as much to do it for him and the locality and the community as everything else.
“She would have been very important to the club at home, she has three boys on that team and she was one of our biggest supporters.
“They’re neighbours of mine and I’ve been around them all my life. They’re incredibly good lads and great servants of the club and obviously great servants of Imokilly as well.
“Him being captain was absolutely sweet. I hope she was very proud of him, I knew she would be. That’s why he was a small bit emotional and he was right to be.
“She was an important person, not only to the three boys but to the community as well.
“She was battling illness for a number of years but she never stopped supporting us. She was always there and she was brilliant for the club and a brilliant support of Imokilly as well over the years.”
Imokilly’s path to success was made challenging by the conditions they faced in the opening half. A six-point deficit at the break against titleholders Sarsfields was not insurmountable, but they were aware of the shortcomings in their early display.
“To be honest, at half-time there was a lot of soul-searching done, in fairness. A few experienced heads, like Bill Cooper and Brian Lawton, had some really good words to say – they’re lads that have been there in the thick of things before.
“I think Bill’s turnover just after half-time was crucial and Adam (Murphy) stuck it away. That kind of settled us a small bit because we really didn’t get going at all in the first half, myself included. The shooting efficiency was just a bit off.
“The conditions, in fairness – even before the game, it didn’t seem too bad. There was a gusty breeze there at times, it made it very hard to shoot.
“Look, thankfully we got there in the end. We’re just thrilled to get over the line.”
Local silverware concludes a year dominated by his performances on the national stage for Cork.
“I’m looking forward to the break, it’s nearly been 12 months on the clock. But look I suppose as you get older, you just focus on recovery a small bit more.
“Look it’s great to be still involved in occasions like this. Even though the All-Ireland final didn’t go our way this year, the journey with Cork this year was unbelievable as well.2
Will 2025 bring another season of inter-county duties for a player who made his championship debut in 2013?
“Good question! Look I’m just going to rest up now and give the body a bit of a break and I’ll chat to Pat and the management team then at a later point. But yeah look I really enjoyed it last year, Pat created an unbelievable environment.
“Like it was very easy there after the first two games of the year to throw the toys out of the cot (and) everyone turn on each other, but he kept the ship really unified.
“He’s an outstanding manager and he’s a great career ahead of himself in management. Yeah sure we’ll see where we go there too.”
