Well, the Cork County Board can’t be accused of letting the grass grow under their feet as they met on Tuesday night to ratify the appointment of Pat Ryan as the county’s new senior hurling manager.
ess than 48 hours after the news broke that Kingston was to leave the post he had held for five of the last seven years the powers that be announced Ryan is the one to lead the county’s favourite sporting side for the foreseeable future.
Cork GAA Chairman, Marc Sheehan said, "We are thrilled to have someone of Pat's calibre so ready to take up the significant mantle of Cork Senior Hurling manager. Having seen his management and coaching skills with our teams previously, I have no doubt that the development of our players is in safe hands."
Kevin O'Donovan, Cork GAA CEO, said, "Pat's appointment is another clear example of our desire to provide a pathway to managers and coaches through both Club and County systems. His record in both arenas speaks for itself and we look forward to him building on the significant work completed by the outgoing management team in the ongoing pursuit of Liam MacCarthy."
Ryan was favourite for the job with many Cork hurling fans when Kingston left the role for the first time in 2017 after serving as a coach with Cork when the county won that year’s Munster title. Ryan also impressed as a manager at club level with Sarsfields leading the Glanmire side to County Championship success – 2012 and 2014.
In 2017 Ryan was also tipped to lead Waterford but chose to take some time out from the game – returning two years later to lead the Cork Under 20s.
While Ryan has had success at all levels of the game it was with the Under 20s that his star shone brightest as he led the county to two All Irelands on the bounce - 2020 and 2021.
Ryan received praise from many quarters for the brand of hurling his young charges played – excitement growing around the county that the future was bright for the men in red.
While many will question the speed with which this appointment has been made few will argue that Ryan hasn’t earned the right to take the top job in Cork sport, and even less will wish him anything less than the best of luck.
After ratification on Tuesday night, all eyes will now turn to Ryan to see just what kind of a backroom team he selects to support him as he looks to end Cork’s All Ireland drought.
So, what about the man sailing off into the sunset and how will he be remembered by the faithful? Well, first and foremost, one can’t complain about the level of effort put in by Kingston and his backroom team.
Five years is a long time to dedicate to a job that previous manager John Meyler described as far more than a full-time job all on its own.
Kingston’s first reign saw his side collect two Munster titles and, while both were appreciated, the ultimate goal of All Ireland success was never achieved.
Kingston’s inter-county managerial career (part two) coincided with the rise of Limerick hurling and, while his side came close on a couple of occasions, Cork under the Tracton man just didn’t have what it took to take out the Treaty side when the opportunities arose.
Kieran Kingston has brought a lot to the Cork job. The former All-Ireland winner looked to bring the best of what people associate with Cork hurling to the fore – that being talented hurlers with a flair for fitness and the finer points of the game – but ultimately it appears that what Cork had in the beautiful skills they seemed to lack in physicality, and ultimately that seems to have been the rock Kingston’s sides perished on.
Kingston’s belief that his sides should play a running game from the back was questioned throughout his reign and, while the brand of hurling played in recent years was easy on the eye, it was less successful when it came to results. And we are definitely in the results business.
Much of the commentary in recent times has focused on whether Cork have improved under Kingston, but the answer to that question has to be tied in with what the opposition have been doing.
Cork almost took out Limerick under Meyler in 2018, but that really does seem to be a long way ago now. Cork did improve under Kingston. The manager has brought through a host of new, hugely talented players that have many years of top level hurling to look forward to, but in those years Limerick, the side that Cork should have put out of the 2018 championship have gone from strength to strength. Limerick are the new benchmark.
Players of the quality of Dáire O’Leary, Shane Barrett and Ciarán Joyce have brought a spark to Cork in recent times with Jack O’Connor, Darragh Fitzgibbon and Tim O’Mahony all becoming better players under Kingston and his crew but all this still didn’t seem to be enough to push the County Board into offering more than a one year extension – the dreaded vote of confidence by another name.
When all is said and done I for one firmly believe that Cork are in a better place now than they were when Kingston took charge. The county has a stronger, deeper and more robust squad to pick from.
They are developing a more physical side to their game and have shown that on their day, for 50+ minutes, they can compete with the best – all that said, the problem that the Rebels now face is that other sides, like Galway, Clare and Kilkenny have moved further ahead – with the obvious elephant in the room (Limerick) still the standard bearers of the sport.
A big Autumn of club hurling ahead for Ryan and his backroom team to get around to before the 2023 season offers new hope that finally Cork can climb to the summit and get their hands on the Liam MacCarthy Cup.
Exciting times ahead.
