Cork star lauds performance coach Gary Keegan's role as Rebels bid to bridge 19-year gap
“There are text messages coming in maybe once or twice a day from him about different things that we need to do. He's brilliant."
Niall O’Leary has hailed the impact of Gary Keegan on the Cork hurlers as they close in on All-Ireland glory.
The renowned performance coach was brought on board by former manager Kieran Kingston for the 2022 season and was retained by his successor Pat Ryan having also been part of the set up during Kington’s previous stint as manager.
Keegan is also on board with the Irish rugby team and has All-Ireland winning pedigree too having worked under Jim Gavin and Liam Sheedy in Dublin and Tipperary respectively, while he first came to prominence as result of his role with the Irish boxing team which excelled at the 2008 Olympic Games.
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There are many things that have fed into the Cork hurlers’ improving performances over the past couple of years, but O’Leary insists that Keegan is one of them.
"He's brilliant, to be honest,” said the Cork defender. “It's great to have a fella like that on board who's been at such a high level with the Irish rugby team and we get to take things from him as well.
“He's done great work with us over the last couple of years. He's a busy man. I suppose we don't get to see him as regularly as we might want to, but he's always there on the phone.
“There are text messages coming in maybe once or twice a day from him about different things that we need to do. He's brilliant."
And while Keegan works on the collective, he’s been there for O’Leary too.
"Definitely. Everyone has done individual work with him over the years and he's brilliant. He has really helped me.
“Since I started on the panel in 2019, I've definitely taken a lot from him on different aspects of my game and everything. He has really helped."
Some may sniff at it, but O’Leary referred to “different breathing practices that we’ve brought into our game to bring us back down to earth” this year under Keegan. It certainly didn’t do them any harm in the semi-final against Limerick as they made a fast start.
“It’s just a reset, really, to relax a fella before going out,” O’Leary explained.
The 2021 final against Limerick, when they were wiped out early on and ended up suffering a 16-point defeat, stood to Cork last time out and presumably will again on Sunday.
“I think it did, to be honest,” he said.
“I think even on the parade around the field, a lot of us in the semi-final just kept the head down and stayed concentrating on what the task was ahead. In ‘21, a lot of fellas were doing a lot of looking around and maybe it created a lot of nerves on the day, I don’t know.
“I think we’ve definitely learned a lot since.”
Outside of Keegan, the Castlelyons man has other sounding boards too, like his clubmate Timmy McCarthy who was on Cork’s most recent All-Ireland winning sides of 1999, 2004 and ‘05. He’ll be feted as part of the silver jubilee team ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland final against Clare.
“A lot of fellas know Timmy, he’s a great man and we’re very lucky to have him in the club.
“I was actually only doing a Cúl Camp with him last week, so it’s nice to have a fella like that that you can talk to.
“And, again, he’s not a fella that’s going to be asking you a lot of questions about the game, either. He’d rather take your mind off it more than anything, which shows his experience, really.
“It’s great to have him.”
But for all the qualities that Keegan and various others working under manager Pat Ryan bring to the operation, fortune has favoured them this year more than last, O’Leary believes.
“Looking back on last year, we were getting performances,” he said. “I think it was a small bit of luck more than anything has gone our way this year.
“You look back to Limerick last year, losing by a point to them, it could have gone any way. This year, we’ve had a nice bit of luck in different games but, again, looking at the squad of players we have, there’s a good bond there and fellas are willing to work hard.
“I think that that’s a big thing that has come from the games recently, the workrate out of everyone. The three lads inside have done serious scoring and, again, it’s gone unseen the work they’re doing at the back of that, chasing fellas and things like that. It’s great.”
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