Cork hurlers winning ‘gave everyone a great bounce’ says football star Tommy Walsh
One of the standout players for Cork against Donegal last Saturday afternoon was Kanturk’s Tommy Walsh.
Brother of the legendary Aidan, and cousin to current number 10, Paul Walsh, Tommy is now a genuine inter-county rising star and one of the answers to the often unanswered question, who is Cork’s long term number six.
On the field last weekend at the end of the tie and surrounded by young and old in search of a autographs Walsh junior spoke to the media to give his take on what was in his own words “a special day.”
Wins like the ones last Saturday are special for those involved however those victories are for more than those currently wearing the blood and bandage.
“The start of the league, make of that what you will, but there's real character in this group... the senior lads like Mags [Ian Maguire], John O, Deano [Ruairí Deane] and Mattie [Taylor], what they've been through, days like this, they deserve. You have to enjoy it.
“We came back after Kerry and we'd an awful lot of regrets, both personally and collectively. Our focus was to top the group when we regrouped on the Thursday after the Kerry game.”
Sides that have momentum need to keep that momentum going and Walsh is clear that the successes since that loss to Kerry need to be backed up and another Ulster side are the next challenge that needs to be overcome.
“We've two out of three wins and we need to follow it up now against Tyrone,” he said.
“Small things went against us, from up in Ballybofey to the defeats to Louth and Cavan, but I think we came away from all of that stronger as a group.
“John Cleary's drills at training have come to fruition and we know we've quality lads up front. We actually missed a lot of chances, but getting the three goals [against Donegal] meant we came good.”
Walsh follows in the footsteps of his brother Aidan so knows what success can mean at this level, and, despite his youth at the time, those heady days still loom large in the memory.
“I was a fairly small lad in those days, but I still have memories of it, special memories. You'd look up to the likes of [Graham] Canty, Noelie [O’Leary] and all of those fellas, and you'd be hoping to follow in their footsteps. That's what being a Cork footballer is about but to have any chance of that you need to be consistent.”
Following on from his brother is a big deal for Tommy, but playing with his cousin is also massive for the defensive star.
“We're [Paul and Tommy] living 200 metres apart down home. So it adds something extra, for sure.”
According to Walsh, Cork football benefitted from the crowd and the venue as well as another unlikely source.
“The crowd really pushed the lads on. It made a difference, especially when we got the two goals after half-time the whole place was lifting. You see with the hurlers winning, it gave everyone a great bounce what they did and hopefully the supporters will continue to back us.
“We've our core supporters too. Like I remember that day up in Fermanagh and we'd fellas up there following and we'd no right to anything after three losses in-a-row.
"I met a few there who were up in Fermanagh and this win was for them as much as for us. They're proper Cork football people and I'm delighted for them especially.”
Cork football has been the butt of many a rough comment in recent times and Walsh knows that wins have come before and those successes have helped this year.
“We got a bad name but it was what it was and we came good. It's a bit like last year, we got a few great wins under our belt against Mayo and Roscommon, they've stood to us this season.”
Walsh will look to cement his and Cork’s place in the All-Ireland series quarter finals in just over a week’s time – no doubt the Tyrone lads will have their work done on both the rebels and their number six well before the throw in for that one.
Get ahead of the day with the morning headlines at 7.30am and Fionnán Sheahan's exclusive take on the day's news every afternoon, with our free daily newsletter.