Pat Ryan: Women's international won't affect Cork training schedule

EchoLive.ie, 9 Jul

Ireland-France game takes place at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh next

Tuesday, July 16

Pat Ryan pictured at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, where the Cork media

night for the All-Ireland SHC media night was held. Picture: Inpho/Tom

Maher

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Denis Hurley

Next Tuesday will see SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh graced by Caitlin

Hayes and Amber Barrett rather than Brian Hayes and Shane Barrett, but

it’s not an issue for the Cork hurlers.

The Republic of Ireland women’s team’s Euro 2025 qualifier against

France on July 16 means that the venue can’t be used for Cork training

that night in the lead-up to the All-Ireland final against Clare five

days later.

However, it’s not an issue, according to Cork manager Pat Ryan, who was

speaking at the team's media night ahead of the final.

“It’s not going to impede our training,” he said.

“[We’ll be in] Páirc Uí Rinn next Tuesday. We kind of rotate between

Páirc Uí Rinn and sometimes we go to Fota so there’ll be no issue

there.”

In terms of travel arrangements for the weekend of the final, Cork will

work from the same template that they operated for Sunday’s All-Ireland

semi-final win over Limerick at Croke Park.

“We stayed overnight in the Burlington on the Saturday night for the

semi-final so the plan is to do the same for the final,” Ryan said.

“We found it way more relaxing than going up on the train in the

morning. So we’ll travel up on the Saturday and there is the usual

function that normally happens for Cork teams after All-Irelands so

we’ll be staying the Sunday night as well.”

Cork fans celebrate after the win over Limerick. Picture: Stephen

McCarthy/Sportsfile Cork fans celebrate after the win over Limerick.

Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Ryan works for Pfizer in Ringaskiddy but has cleared his schedule so as

to fully focus on the task at hand against the Banner County.

“I’m on two weeks’ parental leave at the moment so it’s not too bad,”

he said.

“So no, look, to be honest with you, I’m lucky in my job, I have good

bosses and stuff like that so I took two weeks’ parental leave. That

prep that you needed to do before Limerick needed to be done.

“Obviously, I was confident that we would win and I knew that this week

would be a really, really helter-skelter week and I had that planned

into it and I’ll go back to work Monday week.”

As good as the 1-28 to 0-29 win was, Ryan knows that there can be room

for improvement.

“Fellas were delighted,” he said, “it was a huge task going up to Croke

Park and beating Limerick.

“There is no point telling you how good a team they are. Look, there

was great satisfaction in that win. We had a few drinks down on the bus

and fellas were ready to go today for a gym session there now.

“Look, we went scoreless for the last ten minutes, which was a

disappointing thing from our point of view and probably didn’t stick to

the way we wanted to play.

“[We] probably panicked a small bit and didn’t use the ball well enough

in those last ten minutes but we were obviously up against a very good

team like Limerick who are very good at closing games out.

“They missed one or two chances but, in fairness, I think the one or

two chances they missed our lads were really trying to get back and put

pressure on their shooters.”

Brian Hayes (15) and Alan Connolly react to Hayes's disallowed goal

against Limerick on Sunday. Picture: Inpho/Ryan Byrne Brian Hayes (15)

and Alan Connolly react to Hayes's disallowed goal against Limerick on

Sunday. Picture: Inpho/Ryan Byrne

A harsh throw-ball call on Ethan Twomey prevented Cork from stymieing

Limerick’s late momentum, while Brian Hayes was denied a second goal –

which would have put Cork eight ahead – in the first half when Alan

Connolly was pulled.

Ryan appreciates the difficulty in getting such decisions right.

“It’s hard, it’s very hard,” he said.

“At the time, I thought Alan’s was a throw personally but then when you

see it back and it wasn’t a throw. Ethan’s wasn’t.

“I think Ethan’s glove gives a bit of a look that he’s throwing the

ball all the time but it’s actually the glove in hand and he’s kind of

long-limbed as well.

“He’s a kind of a loopy hand-pass and I knew his wasn’t and we’d a

great ball in the middle of the field with Shane Barrett, six points

up. It could have been a real changing moment. We were getting an

opportunity to go seven points up and they were taking a free to take

it back to five.

“I knew his wasn’t but I thought Alan’s was. I actually thought it was

a free, I actually thought he was fouled coming into the ball but there

were loads of those decisions.

“I thought Thomas Walsh did a fantastic job with the game as a whole.

You couldn’t argue with it. He was in charge of a great spectacle of

hurling.”