ON A WEEK where a giddy excitement envelopes Sarsfields, an All-Ireland club hurling final beckoning them on Sunday for the first time, Johnny Crowley pauses to reflect.
Their route to Croke Park has been defined by a capacity to deal with setbacks. Crowley acknowledges the storm damage that wrecked the club grounds in October 2023 and the scale of the challenge in lifting their players after last October’s county final loss, but in the countdown to Sunday he is most thinking of the club stalwarts not around to witness this occasion.
“It is well documented the damage (from the storm) that was done. It literally devastated the whole place. Then on top of it, it is just incredible that you had three huge characters within the club, Ger Mulally, Teddy Mac, and Conor McCarthy, their passings really hit the club hard because they were three young men, three hugely important Sars people in different aspects.
“Ger was treasurer of the juvenile club and doing a hell of a job. Conor was so involved in training young fellas around the place. Then Teddy was Teddy. With the disruption and these huge losses within the club, we just kept going and we kept finding a way.
“At no stage did we ever, ever see ourselves playing in an All-Ireland club final. As a young lad, you will always have ambitions of, I can play in a county final. I remember ’89 with my dad, God rest his soul. We played the Glen.
“To think that you’d play in an All-Ireland club final, it would never come into your mindset. But look, we have a huge, huge task ahead of us.”
Plotting to take down Dublin’s Na Fianna is the centrepiece of Crowley’s second coming as Sarsfields manager. He took the club minor team featuring current core stars Conor O’Sullivan and Daniel Kearney to a county title in 2007, and stepped up to steer Sarsfields to a county senior in 2010.
“I had three very enjoyable years with Castlelyons, I had been with Ballymartle for a while and I won a county with Ballinhassig in 2012 – Teddy (McCarthy) was on the line with Bandon and I was on the line with Ballinhassig, so we had a great day on the Wednesday, the two of us!
“Teddy, he was the instigator really. He was coming in as vice-chairman here (with Sarsfields) and I was involved with Castlelyons, we had got to another county final – he was actually ringing me the week of the county final and I was saying, ‘Give us two weeks!’
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“I met him then, that would have been November 2022. We sat down and I said, ‘Sure, why not have a go off it?’
“Getting the right management team in place was the first step, without even looking at panels or players or stuff like that. I have a fantastic management team, with Sully, Joe, Eoin and Darren and Neil Fitzpatrick is the S&C.
“It’s all worked out really well, it’s been amazing – I could never have dreamed that we’d do what we’ve done in two short years.”
O’Sullivan’s presence added profile to the setup. After a decorated playing career with Cork, the Cloyne native had also built up extensive experience as part of county management teams.
“He was definitely someone I felt I’d like to have with me,” says Crowley.
“Initially, to be honest, I was going to do it myself, the coaching and managing, but I stepped back and took a helicopter view of everything, a few weeks at home, and I felt that it was too big a job to do both.
“I think they needed a manager and needed a coach. In 2010, luckily, when we won a county, I did both but I just think the whole environment has changed so much and that can’t be done again.
“I just felt that we needed a really strong character, maybe somebody from outside. Luckily, I would have a good friendship with Diarmuid for many years. I met him for a coffee and sat down – initially, Diarmuid was on board from the very first moment I met him; having said that, it did take two or three weeks to see what our plans were and what my ambition and his ambition was.
“Everything he was talking about, I was talking about and everything he liked, I liked. It matched up.
“We’ve put huge time and effort into then whole thing and we go very, very deep into analysis and GPS and game-time and S&C. It’s bearing fruit now.”
Johnny Crowley celebrates with Diarmuid O'Sullivan at the final whistle after Sarsfields defeated Ballygunner. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
They inherited a playing group that were chasing a breakthrough, only a few survivors from the Sarsfields group that landed four Cork senior titles between 2008-14.
“There were a lot of young fellas coming through and you’re trying to find what’s inside in their heads as well,” recalls Crowley.
“We tested them big-time early doors with various training sessions and S&C sessions. Mentally, they were very strong, to be fair to them. They instigated where we were going to go with their performances and their attitude.”
That mentality was tested further last November. The outlook was bleak after losing the county final to Imokilly, an odd scenario of having to digest defeat, while also having the knowledge that their season was not over.
Crowley could see the mood was on the floor at their first training session in preparation for the Munster campaign.
“Afterwards, as a management team, we said it was out of the way, that that session had to happen. We said to the lads. ‘I’ve been driving the bus for the last 18 months and ye’ve responded to everything we’ve asked ye to do, but we need ye to take over that now and ye need to drive the bus, ye need to show us how much ye want it, or if ye want it.’
“To a man, to be fair, the following session, that Saturday morning – whatever we had said in the dressing room that Thursday night, they answered it. They were just absolutely well up for it, the emotions were high and there was a great buzz around the place.”
Then the management made the hard choices. Before their Munster semi-final against Clare’s Feakle, they ripped up their starting fifteen. Ben Graham was drafted into goal, Cillian Roche introduced at centre-back, while Cathal and Colm McCarthy formed a new midfield partnership.
Crowley knew the pressure was ratcheted up as a result of those calls.
“It was certainly a brave call from the management. If we had lost that game – even though we had had huge success and had brought the team of – that could have been it. In a local environment, that could happen – when you’ve four lads that don’t play and four that come in, you could have a hostile environment.
“I think locally I would have been under pressure because while it is management’s decision to do things, it’ll rest on my shoulders at the end of the day. And I think because the calls were pretty big to be fair, I think I would have got very ridiculed, to be honest with you.
“But luckily, we got the result and to be fair the changes we made were really good. The fact that we won it probably bought us a bit of credit and it’s just mushroomed from there, really.”
They overcame Feakle with a devastating late burst of scores. Then there was their memorable take down of heavy favourites Ballygunner. They survived a nail-biter against Derry’s Slaughtneil.
Na Fianna are the last remaining hurdle to overcome.
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'Their passings really hit the club hard, three young men, hugely important Sars people'
ON A WEEK where a giddy excitement envelopes Sarsfields, an All-Ireland club hurling final beckoning them on Sunday for the first time, Johnny Crowley pauses to reflect.
Their route to Croke Park has been defined by a capacity to deal with setbacks. Crowley acknowledges the storm damage that wrecked the club grounds in October 2023 and the scale of the challenge in lifting their players after last October’s county final loss, but in the countdown to Sunday he is most thinking of the club stalwarts not around to witness this occasion.
“It is well documented the damage (from the storm) that was done. It literally devastated the whole place. Then on top of it, it is just incredible that you had three huge characters within the club, Ger Mulally, Teddy Mac, and Conor McCarthy, their passings really hit the club hard because they were three young men, three hugely important Sars people in different aspects.
“Ger was treasurer of the juvenile club and doing a hell of a job. Conor was so involved in training young fellas around the place. Then Teddy was Teddy. With the disruption and these huge losses within the club, we just kept going and we kept finding a way.
“At no stage did we ever, ever see ourselves playing in an All-Ireland club final. As a young lad, you will always have ambitions of, I can play in a county final. I remember ’89 with my dad, God rest his soul. We played the Glen.
“To think that you’d play in an All-Ireland club final, it would never come into your mindset. But look, we have a huge, huge task ahead of us.”
Plotting to take down Dublin’s Na Fianna is the centrepiece of Crowley’s second coming as Sarsfields manager. He took the club minor team featuring current core stars Conor O’Sullivan and Daniel Kearney to a county title in 2007, and stepped up to steer Sarsfields to a county senior in 2010.
Then he went off coaching in different places.
“I had three very enjoyable years with Castlelyons, I had been with Ballymartle for a while and I won a county with Ballinhassig in 2012 – Teddy (McCarthy) was on the line with Bandon and I was on the line with Ballinhassig, so we had a great day on the Wednesday, the two of us!
“Teddy, he was the instigator really. He was coming in as vice-chairman here (with Sarsfields) and I was involved with Castlelyons, we had got to another county final – he was actually ringing me the week of the county final and I was saying, ‘Give us two weeks!’
“I met him then, that would have been November 2022. We sat down and I said, ‘Sure, why not have a go off it?’
“Getting the right management team in place was the first step, without even looking at panels or players or stuff like that. I have a fantastic management team, with Sully, Joe, Eoin and Darren and Neil Fitzpatrick is the S&C.
“It’s all worked out really well, it’s been amazing – I could never have dreamed that we’d do what we’ve done in two short years.”
O’Sullivan’s presence added profile to the setup. After a decorated playing career with Cork, the Cloyne native had also built up extensive experience as part of county management teams.
“He was definitely someone I felt I’d like to have with me,” says Crowley.
“Initially, to be honest, I was going to do it myself, the coaching and managing, but I stepped back and took a helicopter view of everything, a few weeks at home, and I felt that it was too big a job to do both.
“I think they needed a manager and needed a coach. In 2010, luckily, when we won a county, I did both but I just think the whole environment has changed so much and that can’t be done again.
“I just felt that we needed a really strong character, maybe somebody from outside. Luckily, I would have a good friendship with Diarmuid for many years. I met him for a coffee and sat down – initially, Diarmuid was on board from the very first moment I met him; having said that, it did take two or three weeks to see what our plans were and what my ambition and his ambition was.
“Everything he was talking about, I was talking about and everything he liked, I liked. It matched up.
“We’ve put huge time and effort into then whole thing and we go very, very deep into analysis and GPS and game-time and S&C. It’s bearing fruit now.”
They inherited a playing group that were chasing a breakthrough, only a few survivors from the Sarsfields group that landed four Cork senior titles between 2008-14.
“There were a lot of young fellas coming through and you’re trying to find what’s inside in their heads as well,” recalls Crowley.
“We tested them big-time early doors with various training sessions and S&C sessions. Mentally, they were very strong, to be fair to them. They instigated where we were going to go with their performances and their attitude.”
That mentality was tested further last November. The outlook was bleak after losing the county final to Imokilly, an odd scenario of having to digest defeat, while also having the knowledge that their season was not over.
Crowley could see the mood was on the floor at their first training session in preparation for the Munster campaign.
“Afterwards, as a management team, we said it was out of the way, that that session had to happen. We said to the lads. ‘I’ve been driving the bus for the last 18 months and ye’ve responded to everything we’ve asked ye to do, but we need ye to take over that now and ye need to drive the bus, ye need to show us how much ye want it, or if ye want it.’
“To a man, to be fair, the following session, that Saturday morning – whatever we had said in the dressing room that Thursday night, they answered it. They were just absolutely well up for it, the emotions were high and there was a great buzz around the place.”
Then the management made the hard choices. Before their Munster semi-final against Clare’s Feakle, they ripped up their starting fifteen. Ben Graham was drafted into goal, Cillian Roche introduced at centre-back, while Cathal and Colm McCarthy formed a new midfield partnership.
Crowley knew the pressure was ratcheted up as a result of those calls.
“It was certainly a brave call from the management. If we had lost that game – even though we had had huge success and had brought the team of – that could have been it. In a local environment, that could happen – when you’ve four lads that don’t play and four that come in, you could have a hostile environment.
“I think locally I would have been under pressure because while it is management’s decision to do things, it’ll rest on my shoulders at the end of the day. And I think because the calls were pretty big to be fair, I think I would have got very ridiculed, to be honest with you.
“But luckily, we got the result and to be fair the changes we made were really good. The fact that we won it probably bought us a bit of credit and it’s just mushroomed from there, really.”
They overcame Feakle with a devastating late burst of scores. Then there was their memorable take down of heavy favourites Ballygunner. They survived a nail-biter against Derry’s Slaughtneil.
Na Fianna are the last remaining hurdle to overcome.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Cork Hurling Johnny Crowley Sarsfields