Coleman excited for O'Connor Cork era, O'Neill hails Currid's Limerick return

THE NIGHTS MAY be dark, and the training sessions cold and wet, but that hasn’t dampened Mark Coleman’s excitement for the Ben O’Connor era of Cork hurling.

The 2017 All-Star was naturally sad to see Pat Ryan depart as manager after coming so close to All-Ireland glory.

That emotion has since been replaced by a fresh feeling sweeping through the Rebel camp as they begin their 2026 preparations.

“It’s been a big change,” said Coleman. “There’s a lot of new faces around in the backroom team and the panel as well.

“Naturally enough, it’s always a tough time of year to go back training, but on the whole, it’s exciting to have a new management team. Everyone has a point to prove again.

“It was disappointing to see Pat go, but maybe it brings that bit of freshness again.

“It’s their first year, so they’ll probably drive it on another bit. It’s probably not what we were thinking at the time when Pat left, but it definitely brings a bit of freshness into it.”

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As for first impressions of O’Connor’s management style, Coleman says the focus has remained firmly on S&C to date.

“We haven’t had much interaction so far this time of year, with no games.

“It’s very much strength-and-conditioning-​based at the moment. I suppose time will tell, really.”

The same applies when asked about Niall O’Halloran’s departure as coach, three months after being appointed to the role. When asked if he’d had many dealings with O’Halloran, Coleman replies: “No, absolutely not. We didn’t do any sessions with Niall at the time.”

Cork’s second-half collapse in the All-Ireland final against Tipperary was a topic they didn’t shy away from in the aftermath. From those conversations, Coleman doesn’t detect any lingering scars which would impede their future prospects.

“You have to look at the team as a whole and see that there’s a young team there, and if you look at ‘23, ’24, ’25, it’s been better every year.

“You have to look at it that way and look at ’26 again as another opportunity to build on that.”

Also speaking at the launch of the Co-Op Superstores Munster Hurling League, Cathal O’Neill hailed the return of sports psychologist Caroline Currid to the Limerick hurling backroom team.

The Sligo native has built a glittering reputation for her work with All-Ireland-winning teams in Tyrone, Tipperary, Dublin, and Limerick, where she was involved for each of their five Liam MacCarthy Cups.

She stepped away at the end of 2023 before rejoining John Kiely’s set-up for 2026.
Three-time All-Ireland winner O’Neill described Currid as a “mother figure” and “calming voice” in her work with the squad.

“We’ve nearly all worked with Caroline, so we know what she brings,” he said.

“She’s a huge player favourite, and we were all in favour of her coming back. She brings that bit of calmness to the group, so we’re just delighted to be working with her for the coming year.

“She is that mother figure for us, that we’re able to bounce ideas off her. If we have a problem, we can go to her. She’s just that calming voice, and you can be sure that she’s going to make it somewhat better or go away completely. We’re just really happy to have her back.”

A major departure from the camp this autumn was five-time All-Ireland-winning captain Declan Hannon.

“What a servant and what a player,” said O’Neill.

“He’s someone I looked up to even when I was in primary school and secondary school, so I was just delighted to have the chance to share the dressing room and play with him.”