WHEN YOU ARE chasing a silverware breakthrough, you may as well try to time the achievement for a big stage.
Conor Cahalane has lined out for Cork at the highest level in hurling, he has All-Ireland underage final experience to his name, but at club level his hurling endeavours have proved fruitless.
Achieving success with St Finbarr’s in the shape of Cork senior hurling glory yesterday was a milestone for the 25-year-old.
“Unreal, it’s the first hurling medal (with the club) so it just feels so surreal now, I can’t believe it’s happening.
“I won the Donie Cremin Tournament, a Barrs competition named after John’s father, (John Cremin, St Finbarr’s selector), but that’s it.”
Victory arrived on a day when howling winds and relentless downpours dominated the conversation at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
“Never played in conditions like that. We were going out for the warm-up there, chancing two or three different hurleys and it wasn’t working. Those conditions are kind of unholy.”
St Finbarr’s adapted better to fashion the club’s first senior hurling final win in 29 years. Cahalane’s dynamism surfaced in a crucial manner in the second half as he set up the team’s first goal and struck home the second himself.
“We got lucky in a way that two puckouts broke through and we broke the line.
“To be fair to Brian, he made a good position and I just saw him at the back post. He was on the end of it, it was a great finish, in fairness.
“To be fair, I’d have to give a lot of credit to Dónal O’Grady. He did a lot of work with us this year with the (Cork) hurlers, running through in those scenarios and batting the ball in as it’s very hard for the keeper to stop.
“When I was running through, I said I’d keep going and hopefully get the bat. I probably did savour it because it’s such a big occasion to get a goal, (for a) personal moment I was just delighted.”
The outcome represents a notable shift in the hurling fortunes of St Finbarr’s. In 2020 they won one out of their three group games and lost their sole outing in Páirc Uí Chaoimh by 14 points.
In 2021 they won one of out their three group games and lost their sole outing in Páirc Uí Chaoimh by 10 points, at the hands of Blackrock.
2022 has seen them unbeaten across six championship games and Cork’s primary stadium proved a happier hunting ground as they claimed three victories there in knockout settings.
Past form did not douse Cahalane’s hopes this season.
“I know the last couple of years we failed to get out of the group, but we were still hurling well.
“We were blooding in a lot of young fellas there, Jack’s age and Ben Cunningham’s age, Ben O’Connor. They had another year of experience and it probably stood a lot to them.”
The hurling triumph arrives a fortnight after a football exit in Castlehaven colours for Conor and his brothers Damien and Jack. The situation for the Cahalane trio to play against St Finbarr’s hurling team-mates before linking up for a county title bid, may seem curious from the outside but in the camp it was no deterrent.
Congratulations to Damien & Conor and Jack Cahalane on winning the Cork County Senior hurling final today.
— Castlehaven GAA (@CastlehavenGAA) October 16, 2022
A special day for Damien as he has now won both Cork senior football and hurling County Medals. pic.twitter.com/a96aBsbLMe
“We put down a tough week after the football because we were disappointed to lose that.
“To be fair, when you’re coming back into a set-up that is so professional and looking forward to a county final, it is a lot easier to get over it. They’re a good crowd to be fair and we wish them all the best for two weeks time.
“We probably weren’t in a happy place (at half-time) because we had done a lot of the hurling but at the same time, Blackrock, there was only a point in it at half-time. They got a good goal in fairness to them.
“We said if we could stick to the way we were hurling and just up the work-rate a bit, I think that showed in the second half, the work-rate of the lads there was unbelievable.”
