Sonia O’Sullivan: There is something about the Cork psyche

When I first started winning some races as a junior I’d often hear some curious responses afterwards. Sure it’s a Cork thing. There must be something in the water down there.

Maybe there is something about the Cork psyche, especially when it comes to sport, and we got another little reminder of that over the past weekend. And not just with the Cork hurling team.

I’m not sure if it’s got anything to do with the quality of the water, but I think there is a certain mindset to Cork people, that is focused and determined and passionate to be the best. And maybe to attract attention too, and to never go about it quietly either.

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Ireland’s Gary O’Donovan and Paul O’Donovan (left) celebrate winning silver at the Olympic Games in Rio. Photo credit: Mike Egerton/PA

It’s certainly something that I’ve grown up with, somehow instilled in me, and something that stays with you for life.

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When I first started travelling away with the Irish team, Cork athletes always seemed to be well represented, usually more than any other county. Marcus O’Sullivan was a big influence on me in those early years and certainly wasn’t shy about being from Cork. It often got me thinking: why is it we continue to deliver so many quality athletes like this?

It could be all down to the simple geography of the land, the largest county in Ireland, always fighting to be noticed and to be acknowledged.

Or the Rebel County syndrome, where there’s a will there’s a way, and often delivering above the odds.

I was doing a bit of a clear out over the weekend, one of those things that has to be occasionally done, like it or not.

As I pulled out the ever-growing collection of t-shirts and hoodies, I came across two red Cork jerseys, and I had to stop to think. When did they last see the light of day? I wasn’t sure if I even had a current Cork jersey, or if I’d get the chance to run around the local park clad in red come September?

So I folded them away, and the next morning woke up to the news that Cork had just pulled off an epic win over Tipperary in the Munster hurling championship quarter-final, against all the odds.

Bounce back 

As I watched back some of the highlights, and read through the media reports, Cork’s energy and passion was evident. Once again they had risen from the ashes at Semple Stadium, beating the reigning All-Ireland champions Tipperary, Cork suddenly back where they belong.

And once you get the energy like that back again it is hard to contain it, and now if feels like everything is possible once again. Including the All-Ireland.

I think it’s the test of any athlete or team, to be able to bounce back like that. I’d often reflect back on the words of Sean Kennedy, my coach in the early days back in Cobh: “Great athletes always come back.”

It was usually one of those moments when injury had me on the sidelines, when the joy and momentum was missing. It’s at times like that when you need people to prop you up and help you to regain the belief, maintain the faith.

There is no doubt the Cork hurling team had been down in the trenches for the last couple of years, trying to battle their way out of it. Now that they have seen the light and faith has been restored, there is no reason why the expectations can’t be matched with the belief and positive energy.

Once you find that inner belief and determination, it never truly goes away. An athlete can have all the attributes – the perfect preparation, peak fitness, the best coaching – but the most important ingredient is the self-belief in the ability to win.

It’s something you notice first in young athletes, their innate ability to compete, to rise to the occasion, and know how to win when the stakes are high.

It’s not always about the physical capacity but the collective mental belief and aura that can lift an athlete or a team to unstoppable proportions. That’s what the Cork hurlers showed on Sunday.

It works in similar ways too, whether with an individual or team sport, because with the athlete, it’s also about having a team of people around you, all contributing to ensure the athletes are free to deliver the best possible result.

Rob Heffernan gave another example of that – and the Cork psyche – over the weekend. At age 39, Rob has been the most consistent Irish athlete in recent years, and could so easily hang up his shoes and frame his Olympic bronze medal, happy knowing he was a World Champion too, in 2013.

Individual aspirations

Instead, Rob keeps striving to be the best he can be, and to share that with his fellow Irish race walkers. On Sunday, at the European Walking Cup in the Czech Republic, he was part of the Irish team that won bronze medals in the 20km race, along with training partners Alex Wright and Cian McManamon.

It was the first ever team medal for Ireland in a race walking event, and there’s no denying Rob’s influence in it. The race was over 20km, well short of his preferred 50km. He not only contributed to the team score but his belief that this could be achieved and his inspiration continues to filter through the Irish team.

Rob’s actions often speak louder than words, working not just as an individual, but trusting his team-mates and knowing that together the team result can often feel much greater than any individual placing.

It’s not always easy to put aside your individual aspirations, but looking at Rob’s reaction afterwards, the team result was one of those days when everything gelled together, and the cumulative result felt even better than any single individual performance.

I was thinking about that in another way too, with the reminder this week that it’s now 15 years since Roy Keane walked out on the Irish soccer team in Saipan, just before the 2002 World Cup. Maybe Roy needed a few more Rebels on his side, but he wasn’t able to put aside his individual aspirations when he found himself working with poor facilities and an indifferent management at the team’s training base.

Roy always had that aura about him, to make things happen, and proved that on so many occasions throughout his playing career. Only now is he been given the chance to inspire the Irish team with his vision and driving energy, as assistant coach, as they chase World Cup qualification later this year.

Home crowd

This determination and resilience is often shown in different ways. Roy had his way of doing things, and like some others that come to mind – Christy Ring, Jack Doyle, Ronan O’Gara, Derval O’Rourke and now Gary and Paul O’Donovan – they all tick the boxes in their own way, knowing how to win, with that ability to rise to the occasion and deliver.

Another part of the mindset is being from a sports-mad county like Cork, and wanting to deliver for the county as well. Because if you are successful in Cork no county is quicker to claim you as one of their own.

If you are from Cork then you are owned by Cork, and there is no denying where you are from. And with that comes a little extra pressure to win in front of your home crowd.

I remember the first time I ran the Cork City Sports, as a 17-year-old, now 30 years ago, and thinking to myself, ‘I have to win here’. It was the senior 3,000m, and I somehow found that inner belief to win.

And in later years, when I returned to Cork as World or European champion, I always felt the same. ‘I have to win here’. For whatever reason it was always easiest to find that winning mentality when back in Cork, maybe because there is something in the water down there.