You’ll hear a lot of talk this week about what it means to be from Cork. Especially if we do win the All-Ireland hurling final on Sunday. Only for me, there’s always been a distinction between being from Cork and being from Cobh.
I know people like me, who are from Cobh, will always say we’re not exactly from Cork. Because we’re definitely not from the city. We also have our own accent in Cobh. We talk differently to people from the city, like Rob Heffernan and Roy Keane.
Growing up in Cobh, there were three different soccer teams. So that was our sporting thing, more than the GAA. I know the Cobh GAA club is quite strong right now, my cousin and my uncle were always hurling mad, and have the Cork flag flying high.
My dad, who is from Dublin, came down to join the Navy in 1967-78, where he played hurling, football, soccer - a bit of everything. He also played hurling for a while with the Brian Dillons club, in Cork city.
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Then when living in Cobh, he joined Cobh Ramblers, and was the goalkeeper for many years. That’s also where Roy Keane got his senior start, and my dad was still there.
In 1991, I had just won the World Student Games and was back home in Cobh for a Ramblers game. Roy was there, being a similar age, both setting out on the international stage, and there was the photo opportunity long before mobile phones.
Then in 2005 we both got the Freedom of the City of Cork, and got another picture together in the paper.
The red of Cork was always important growing up too, and effectively decided if you supported Manchester United or Liverpool. My dad is still a diehard Manchester United fan. My brother Tony and I were Liverpool fans. I remember he had a big Liverpool poster on his bedroom wall.
I also had one of those red satchel-like schoolbags, with a zip across the top, and mine had the Liverpool name and crest. It was always cool to have your team on your bag like that at the time.
When I started competing in cross-country, the best runners in Cork were also the best in Munster, and in Ireland. People would always say there must be something in the water down in Cork, maybe there still is.
I never played much GAA. When I trained around the field at Cobh Vocational School, the camogie team would be out training and I thought it might be nice to be a part of that. I did play one game - in Bandon, I think - but I was so afraid of getting hit in the shins with the hurley that I didn’t get very involved, just ran a lot. My dad loaned me his old shin pads from his soccer days, and they were all making fun of me.
But I always loved having a hurley. I still carry one with me when walking the dog in Melbourne, hitting the sliotar. It’s always been a bit of a conversation starter, all over the world.
For me, the Cork thing became even bigger when I moved away from Ireland, went on scholarship to the US. For some reason, most people would assume you were from Dublin. Or if they asked, was I from Cork? I’d say no, I’m actually from Cobh. And then they’d get the full explanation. It’s that place where everyone left from on ships all those years ago.
As I started competing on the world stage, I became more aware of Cork hurling and football, and the connection it gave to me. I always wanted to go to the hurling final, but back then, it was early September, and the athletics season was still in full swing.
In 1999, my eldest daughter Ciara was born, I wasn’t racing that summer, and I got to go the hurling final. When Cork won, she got to sit in the Liam MacCarthy Cup, just a few months old.
Jimmy Barry-Murphy was also our big superhero growing up. I got to meet him in 1999, when he was Cork hurling manager, which was a huge deal for me. I was also there for the 2013 final, when Barry-Murphy was back as manager, and drew with Clare the first outing. Cork definitely should have won that year.
When I started being successful internationally, Cork people would always get behind me. There was that kinship with being from the People’s Republic of Cork.
Then whenever I’d come home, after winning on the European and world stage, there was celebrations at Cork City Hall, and also Cork County Hall. They were very distinct, and there was always a discussion where to go first.
I also got to know Seán Óg Ó hAilpín quite well, when both of us would visit Gerard Hartmann Clinic in Limerick for some intense physio and strength work. And through Seán Óg got to know his brothers Setanta and Aisake, who played Australian Rules football with Carlton football club in Melbourne.
People talk about the rebel spirit, maybe some Cork cockiness, and I couldn’t imagine being from anywhere else. Flying in and out of Cork airport, you always feel that you are home. And there’s no easier airport in the world to fly in or out of.
The year I first got to drive a C-reg on a car, it was a badge of honour, proudly displayed driving up to Dublin and around the country. There was also that time you could apply for a Cork passport, and I still have mine.
I’m in London this weekend, for the Diamond League, but I’ve already been on to a friend there to make sure we find a good pub to watch the final.
People are saying this is Cork’s game to lose, but the Cork players and management will know that they can’t go into any game thinking they’re better than the players they are facing. It doesn’t work that way. You have to fight for it, no matter where you are from.
Being from Cobh is also one of the main reasons I bought a house there. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else in Cork, because Cobh is a different place altogether. It must be something in the blood.
