NATIONAL HURLING LEAGUE JIMMY BARRY-MURPHY:There's a new buzz down Cork way with the return of one of its hurling legends, writes IAN O'RIORDAN

HE SAYS he took no more than an hour to think about it, but did he think about the ground beneath his feet? Plenty of people consider Jimmy Barry-Murphy a god, and for good reason, and now we’re told he’s ready for the second coming.

F Scott Fitzgerald always said there are no second acts in American lives, and he might as well have been talking about hurling managers. Sometimes the easy part is guiding a county to an All-Ireland, especially if they walk away happy. If they come back, hope to repeat the success, things get a little more interesting.

In the modern game of hurling plenty of men have tried it – and failed: god-like figures, too, such as Michael “Babs” Keating, Ger Loughnane, Eamonn Cregan, either by returning to their own county, or elsewhere. The last man to actually pull it off was Cyril Farrell, who managed Galway to the 1980 All-Ireland, took a breather, then came back and won two more, in 1987 and 1988. His third coming wasn’t as successful.

It’s equally rare in football, with Jack O’Connor’s second coming in Kerry to win the 2009 All-Ireland taking him where precious few managers have gone before.

It’s possibly just coincidental that as the new hurling season gets properly under way nine of the top 12 counties have new managers in position. Some are coming back to their rightful place, such as Davy Fitzgerald in Clare, some are coming back as complete outsiders, such as John Allen in Limerick – but none of them are coming back with the level of awe and expectation as Jimmy Barry-Murphy in Cork.

It’s not like he’s coming back to familiar territory either: it’s now 16 years since Barry-Murphy last took the position, and 12 years since he left it, and he’s had little involvement in the game in the meantime.

Only three players on the Cork team remember him from his previous incarnation as manager, and the majority of them weren’t even born when he last played – not that any player who won five hurling All-Irelands, 10 Munster titles, an All-Ireland football title and seven All Stars during an incredible 13-year career will ever need any introduction.

There are some similarities to his first reign as Cork manager, including the fact that now, at age 57, he hardly looks a day older. When he started out then, in 1996, Cork hurling was also at a bit of a low, last winning the All-Ireland in 1990.

They weren’t without hope, as Barry-Murphy had himself managed the Cork minors to the 1995 All-Ireland. There was no overnight success either, as it took him four seasons to deliver the All-Ireland, and only after a fairly desperate injection of younger players.

His 1999 All-Ireland winning team are still famous for being 15 bachelors, amongst other things, and in many ways the canvas he’s presented with now is as equally blank as it was in 1996.

There’s no such thing as a dearth of underage hurling talent in Cork, and his first priority will be tapping into that, still walking that fine line between youth and experience. What is certain is that no one is twisting his arm here, forcing him to come back against his will. When Denis Walsh was let go last August, politely told by the county board he wasn’t wanted for a fourth season, Barry-Murphy was asked more in speculation than anticipation, then one hour later they had their man.

Why now? It was the first question Barry-Murphy was asked at this week’s Allianz League launch in Croke Park, in several rounds of interviews, and he answered it with typical respect and patience.

“I suppose work is a little quieter, and I’d a little more time on my hands, but I was surprised when I got the call, yeah. But I didn’t take long to think about it, no more than an hour, then said yes.

“I still live for hurling. I still follow the game very closely, so I wouldn’t be out of touch with the scene, although maybe a little bit out of touch with the way the game has gone. The intensity is extraordinary now, the bar raised by Kilkenny, Tipperary, no doubt about that, but the Cork players are mad for the challenge, and we want to help them prove that.

“But I don’t think it’s quite like coming in the first time. We are talking now about a situation where Cork have had a very successful team in the middle of the last decade, in 2004, 2005 and 2006, they were very competitive. In the last couple of years obviously we haven’t been as successful as we would have liked. I also think the Cork Under-21s did very well last year, but of course it’s going to be tough, daunting, and it is going to be a long road back. And of course hurling has changed so much since I was last involved, so it’s going to be a bit of a learning process for me, too. But I’ve got good people around me, you delegate the thing, and that’s the key to it really I hope.”

So Barry-Murphy knows what he’s letting himself in for, and like any successful manager, knows how to go about it too: he chose his selectors wisely – Ger Cunningham, Johnny Crowley, Kieran Kingston and Seánie McGrath all being former All-Ireland winners themselves – then further delegated with a combination of safety and adventure. He opened the door again to Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, kept Ben O’Connor’s engine running, and named goalkeeper Donal Óg Cusack as his captain – these being the only three survivors from his last term as manager.

He also looked beyond the horizon, naming Irish 800-metre record-holder David Matthews as physical trainer – despite him being a complete outsider. There was little point in just imitating what Kilkenny and Tipperary were doing; if Cork wanted to beat them they needed to be better again. When Matthews outlined what he believed were the obvious links between the elite runner and the elite intercounty player (in an interview in this newspaper) Barry-Murphy was immediately engrossed.

“He called me up a day or so later, and asked me would I be willing to meet up for a chat,” said Matthews. “I told him yeah, suggested the next few weeks, and he said no, how about tomorrow?”

Barry-Murphy has never been slow to think outside the box, figured an athlete with the background and enthusiasm of Matthews could possibly give his team a little extra edge. It’s early days, but among Matthews’ most eager students are Ó hAilpín and Cusack, who repeatedly tease fresh ideas out of him, despite their own considerable experience.

Matthews had never known Barry-Murphy before, only the icon, and wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when standing as a former athlete amongst a giant of hurling. “An absolute gentleman,” is what Matthews discovered, perhaps not knowing that anyone who has ever worked with Barry-Murphy says the same.

Given Cork’s underlying air of discontent in recent years the importance of having a well-liked manager is perhaps critical. It’s not like Denis Walsh did a whole lot wrong; it’s just some people questioned whether he was right to drop Ó hAilpín, if he really did have the full respect of the players. There shouldn’t be any such problems this time – at least if Cusack’s views are anything to go by.

“Players just want to work for him,” he said, at a Gaelic Players Association event this week. “I remember walking into the Cork dressingroom in 1994, and he was in charge of the minor team, and thinking ‘that’s Jimmy Barry-Murphy there’, and sitting down listening to him. I don’t know how many years ago that is but when he walks into a Cork dressingroom you get the exact same feeling still. He’s still a hero to me, and I think he brings that out in players, that people just want to do it for him as well as doing it for themselves.”

Faith is a two-way street, and Barry-Murphy has already gone both ways, naming Cusack, O’Connor and Ó hAilpín in his team for this evening’s league opener against Waterford, while also introducing Ross Cashman and Darren Sweetnam.

He says he didn’t bring back Ó hAilpín to “babysit” the younger players: “When we looked at the players available to us we just felt he had a lot to offer still. The example he shows in the dressingroom, and in his preparation, rubs off on other players, and I hope we will be proved right.

“But certainly we’ve tried to bring, not a light-hearted mode to the preparations, but for players to enjoy it. No matter what walk of life you’re in, if you’re happy going to work you do a better job. I think that’s common sense.

“That’s the attitude I’m bringing to the game. Of course this league is going to be very cut-throat, very pressurised, and if you’re not doing your job properly you’ll know where you stand soon enough.”

Second time around managers who came back for more

CYRIL FARRELL

In 1980 he managed Galway to their first senior All-Ireland title since 1923, took a breather, then came back to win two more in 1987 and 1988. In his third coming, in 1996 to 1998, he wasn't able to repeat the success.

MICHAEL BOND

Made an amazing debut when managing Offaly to the 1998 All-Ireland title. When coaxed back in 2001, didn't come close to repeating the magic.

MICHAEL "BABS" KEATING

Managed Tipperary to All-Ireland hurling tiles in 1989 and 1991, then after some brief spells in Laois and Offaly, returned again in 2006 and 2007 but with no joy.

DONAL O'GRADY

Masterminded Cork's win over Kilkenny in 2004, then stepped aside, although his appointment in Limerick last year was less about winning All-Irelands than it was about settling the ship, which he effectively did.

EAMONN CREGAN

As Offaly manager, in 1994, inflicted an All-Ireland defeat on his native Limerick, then took over the Limerick reins, between 1997 and 2002, but to no great avail.

GER LOUGHNANE

Famously guided Clare to historic All-Ireland hurling titles in 1995 and 1997, then later moved to Galway, for the 2007 and 2008 championships, but couldn't rediscover the winning formula.