AS he soaks in Sarsfields’ progression to an All-Ireland final, there’s a child-like energy and enthusiasm hopping off Shane O’Regan.
Having lost his place in the starting team off the back of the county final loss to divisional side Imokilly in October, he hasn’t gone down the path of sulking around the place.
O’Regan calls his Munster final appearance, where he sunk then-All-Ireland favourites Ballygunner with 2-3 in the final quarter, “probably the best 15 minutes of my life”.
It wrote the former Watergrasshill hurler, who controversially transferred to Sars in early 2022, into the centre of his adopted club’s history.
But it still didn’t write him back into the starting team against Sleacht Néill. But the call was always coming at some stage.
He’d been on 30 seconds when Sarsfields went 0-12 to 0-9 behind. The first ball hops into his run, down along the stand. Head down, straight at the black spot, drawing a foul.
He got a big score with seven minutes to go that pushed the Cork men 0-14 to 0-13 ahead.
That directness in the way he plays is replicated in the way he speaks.
A flavour of it in how he responds to a question about that very quality, his intent to win the ball and just drive straight at defenders.
“Sure f*** it, might as well. The goal is there. It’s a simple enough game, like. It has to hit the net, has to go over the bar.
“I always go for goal first. If I can’t get that I’ll go for a point. If I can’t get that then I’ll look for a pass. Maybe that’s why you’re not starting!” he laughs in self-deprecation.
O’Regan and Sarsfields took Sleacht Néill extremely seriously.
Serving his time as a pipe fitter, he worked and stayed in Dundalk for a spell last summer, training with both Naomh Moninne there and O’Donovan Rossa in Belfast.
Nothing about the Derry and Ulster champions surprised him.
“Not to me, nah. I’ve a couple of friends in Armagh and I lived up in Dundalk last summer for a few months, I was up watching a couple of games when I was bored during the summer and I seen it, the hurling is there.
“Some of these clubs, they’re tough, they’re physical. I trained a couple of times with O’Donovan Rossa in Belfast, I’ve a few friends there I’m still in contact with and I see how strong and physical they are in training.
“These boys love hurling, they live and breathe hurling. I see the talent that’s there. They are really, really good hurlers up there.
“I think it’s not really looked at down in Cork, people think there’s only a few clubs, there’s not.
“The clubs that are there live it and breathe it and they’d do anything to be where we are today. I wouldn’t be underestimating them at all. I see the determination they have, I see the talent they have, I see the skill they have. They’re not behind us, like. They’re level par.”
O’Regan spells out how the sure sign that the management of the newly minted Munster champions respected Sleacht Néill arrived in the middle of the day after beating Ballygunner.
“We went back to the club, great night. Monday, met up during the day, most of us were dying. Then Johnny Crowley and Sully text into the group chat and said we’re training Tuesday night. I read that and I was like ‘ah gowaayyy’. The boys were looking at it thinking the same thing, ‘ah they’re joking’.
“We went down Tuesday night, down training, and I thought it might be a puckaround, a get-together. Nah. Nah. It wasn’t, nah.
“We were doing runs, we were doing matches, we were doing games. They drove into us.
“I looked over to Johnny and he could see my big purple head and he was laughing at me now a few times. Nelly [Darren Kenneally] had us running and I thought it was over, thinking ‘Jesus, right, get me home to bed’. And he goes ‘right, round two’.
“I think I did two more runs and completely flopped, I was like ‘good luckkkk’.
“The minute Monday was over, that was it, their focus was hellbent on today. Once we realised they’re on board and there’s no celebrating it, we were the same. We clicked back together, it was like nothing ever happened.
“People were saying to you about it around the club or in the shop but all we were thinking about was Slaughtneil. That’s the way Sully is, the way Johnny is, the way Joe Barry is, they kept driving into us to keep moving forward.”
Don’t allow the smiling, chaotic energy in the delivery of his words to mask the depth of what he’s saying or how much he cares.
When they started out the year they were Cork champions looking to retain their title but having been beaten by 18 points by Ballygunner in Munster last year, an All-Ireland final was far removed from their thinking.
O’Regan is stood with his back to the beautiful new 3,000-seater stand in St Conleth’s Park either blissfully unaware or wholly unbothered by the repeated alarms ringing out telling the few left that a fire has been detected and could everyone please leave.
In true Irish style, we all waited out the alarm, sure it was nothing.
His excitement at going to Croke Park in mid-January in palpable.
“We’re in an All-Ireland club final like, it’s absolutely insane. It’s absolutely insane. I can’t put it into words, d’yaknow?
“We’ve Dan Kearney on our team, we’ve Conor [O’]Sullivan, we’ve Jack O’Connor, Colm McCarthy, they’re all Cork seniors or were Cork senior hurlers, and I guarantee if you ask them they’ll say that getting to this is just insane.”
He has five weeks from semi-final until final to win his place back. But he’s circumspect about it. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, he’ll take the role he’s been given.
“Lookit, it is what it is. We’ve a panel of 40 fellas. I’m fortunate enough that I’m playing a certain part of the game, I’ve to look at it that way.
“We’ve fellas who would be starting if they were on any other club team in Cork, that’s the truth. I just have to do whatev.
“I’m not gonna throw my head in the sand and start kicking up a fuss about it, it is what it is. When I do get my chance, I have to do what they’re asking me to. That’s how everything works.
“If you can’t accept that, then you’ve no business being on our panel anyway for starters. I know what my role is, I just have to do what I’m asked to do.
“I’m gonna go back training and give it everything I can, and so is everyone else. There’s a couple of other players that aren’t on the squad today, they’re gonna be hellbent and they could even take a starting place, you wouldn’t know.
“We’re gonna have to just buy into what they’re saying, buy into their ethos and keep going, keep going. My jersey could be taken off me just as quick, simple as that. Once you realise that, you be a bit more determined to keep going.”
Off he goes down the tunnel, marching towards an All-Ireland final against Na Fianna.
Whether he plays 60 minutes or 20, you’ll know he was there.