Pat Ryan: Limerick set the standard for all hurling counties with their attitude and effort

Pat Ryan has long accepted that a strong spotlight is baked into the gig as Cork hurling manager.

That Cork chose to have a press evening before Saturday’s Munster SHC final against Limerick – with Ryan, selector Wayne Sherlock and three players available – goes against the modern grain of teams being siloed away from ers.

However, while Ryan is happy to do his bit for the promotion of hurling, both inside and outside of Cork, some of the external hype around the Rebels has not been universally welcomed.

Cork’s first Allianz Hurling League title in 27 years served to amplify the noise facing into the championship and Ryan felt that some of it went overboard.

“To be honest, we weren’t talking about it inside here but it’s hard because fellas are amateur athletes,” he says.

“They’re going into work, you’re hearing it. I’m not on social media, [but] fellas are seeing it on social media, there’s text messages going around.

“There was even one came to my phone about Saving Private Ryan at one stage, but that’s the like of it. A fella sent that to me on the Sunday morning before the match and I was thinking, ‘What the…?!’

“You get on with that. Don’t get me wrong – I know that’s the game we’re in now as well, that’s why we had a media night, we feel we need to promote the games. 

Some people don’t have them but we like to have them because I think we’re here to promote the games, fellas want to hear and read about the matches.

“I loved reading about the matches myself when I wasn’t involved. That’s why we do it but, from my point of view, I thought some of it was rubbish.

“The really annoying thing was some of our own people writing off Limerick – are they off their game? 

That’s only setting us up for a fall. They’re things that fellas pin to dressing rooms and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“We try to be as humble as we can, that’s what we try to do in Cork. There was a thing written ages ago around the football thing, which I’d say John Cleary hates, this thing about ‘Corkness’.

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“It drives me mad when I hear that thing. What’s Corkness?

“It’s about representing the jersey as best we can instead of that. I just thought a lot of it was wrong, even about Paddy Power paying, that was only a gimmick and a stunt and wrong for a betting company to be doing that for amateur athletes, putting them under that pressure.”

A 16-point defeat two and a half weeks ago away to Saturday’s opponents served to dampen the fervour around Cork somewhat and they face into the final as underdogs.

Cork are looking to bridge a seven-year gap to their last provincial title, with Limerick having won each edition of the competition since.

When Ryan won his first Munster medal as a player, in 1999, Cork beat a Clare side that were seeking their fourth provincial victory in five seasons – is that something to draw on?

“Our fellas wouldn’t even know those stats, to be honest with you, so it would be pointless,” Ryan says.

“We just try concentrate on what we’re doing. An awful lot is written about this Limerick team, but their biggest stat is going for the seven Munster titles in a row.

“That’s the standard they’ve set, it’s been so high with their attitude and their effort. 

They could have taken a break at any time over the last six Munster finals, because they were in the All-Ireland series anyway, but they haven’t.

“They haven’t been focused on being the third team out or whatever and maybe there’s something in that as well. Their standard has been their standard every time they go out and that’s where we’re all trying to get to.

“You can only get to that by being in these matches. They’re in these matches all the time, they have the experience of it.

“We felt we were gone out of that situation where we wouldn’t be putting in a bad performance, but maybe I took my eye off the ball on that.

“I can guarantee you we’ll be able to perform in the final.”