Patrick Horgan on playing on with Cork: 'I still have the feeling where I would do anything to compete'

The young bulls of inter-county hurling may pound some road Christmas or St Stephen’s morning to make space for their feasts. Not Horgan. Strangely enough for a man who's obsession with hurling has seen him banned from pitches. “I know a lot of people like to train Christmas Day and they have their own thoughts why they do that but I wouldn’t be for it. I’ll spend that day going around to all the nieces and nephews and seeing what Santa brought them.” 

Heading into his 18th season with Cork, the older bull is taking his sweet time. Now is the deep breath before the plunge. He’ll read the Joe Canning and Richie Hogan autobiographies over the festive period. Both were born in 1988 like himself. If he wanted, he could draw parallels with them although they have reached to the summit.

The Galway and Kilkenny men write of how they drew inspiration from being slighted. Horgan sees some of that in himself but only to a point. “If you’re looking for something like that going into games, you’re a bit late. I know where they’re coming from, though. I’d look for an angle early on in a season. That’s where the work has to be done. You don’t want to be hearing any bad things about yourself but when you do it just focuses the mind a bit more and it does work at times.” 

Injury put paid to Canning and Hogan’s immense careers. If Horgan hasn’t yet been blessed with their All-Ireland accolades, his compensation is the gift of longevity. Coming back for 2025 didn’t require a conversation other than an internal monologue.

“If you feel you’re a little slower to get to the ball or not up to doing the work, you’ll know. It wasn’t even a chat at home because if I did I’d be told, ‘What are you even thinking? Get out the door.’ 

“Pat [Ryan] has been really good to everybody in the panel but especially to the older fellas like me, he’s given a fair crack of the whip. He expects from everybody but we are all given an equal chance no matter what age we are.

“It wasn’t a difficult decision for me. Obviously, I love it but it needs to be seen on the field as well. I still have the feeling where I would do anything to compete. It doesn’t last forever but while I can, I’ll do everything. You look ahead to the work that has to be done. There’s no easy way around it, it just has to be done. You’re either hungry enough to do that or you’re not.” 

Seán O’Donoghue was his captain as Rob Downey will be in 2025 but having a club-mate makes it extra special. “I was absolutely delighted for Rob as everybody else was in the Glen but it won’t change his approach. He’s driven to set standards on the field and all he needs to do is continue that. He has two former captains in defence with him, Seán and Mark Coleman, so he’s surrounded by leaders.” 

The desire in the camp was evident on the team holiday in Florida as it was in the first collective session back. “We came back after the trip, started back training and from session one you could see fellas looking to be better than they were last season and that’s evident across the panel. You can imagine what it’s like to be around that when everybody is like that.” 

Returning to the All-Ireland final is of little interest to Horgan now. Five months gone, the loss to Clare is a spot in his rearview mirror. It could be considered the crescendo of another hard luck season for Cork but he interprets it as progress.

“There’s no real pity about it. We don’t see it that way. There’s so much competition out there. It’s not to play down our chances but there’s only a puck of a ball between most counties especially in the Munster championship so it comes down to a small rub of the green and maybe a decision for or against you. The margins are so fine. We know we’re a really good side but there are a few of them out there.

“The first year with Pat, we were very unlucky because we went out on a fine margin when we had been very consistent that year. We carried that through into this year just gone and that’s what gives us the bit of optimism.

“We’re expected to play well and the fact we have been doing that is an encouraging thing for us. At the same time, we’re back to square one. It’s such a long road to get back to where we were. We’re at the bottom of the ladder again. Like, Munster is going to be so competitive again. Two really good teams will be out of the championship as we know only too well.” 

But the goodwill swells for this Cork group. They would have to be sociopaths not to realise just how much joy they brought to their county folk this past year. “We do feel it as players. The year that just went, I never seen anything like that. Ever.

“After the season, a lot of people referred to the night against Limerick down in the Páirc as one they will never forget. People were saying they hadn’t experienced anything like that and they’d been going to games 40, 50 years.

“Since then, the support has just grown and they pushed up along the whole way and made a real difference for us. I’ve said it before, when you have the Cork supporter on your side, there is nothing like it.” 

The sideshow – and Horgan is clear that’s exactly what it is – in this pursuit of his is the all-time championship scoring race with TJ Reid. The greats will go once more into the breach in 2025 have swapped first place several times, Horgan currently ahead with 29-629 (722) in 83 SHC games to the Kilkenny man’s 34-604 (706) in 89.

“You know what, it’s a great thing,” he smiles. “Two of us still playing at the top. It’s unreal. When it’s over, it’s over and it will probably never be mentioned again but it’s good to be involved in it with a player like him who has done so much in the game and won so much. To be next to him or slightly ahead of him at the moment is great although I mightn’t stay ahead of him. It’s a really nice thing.” 

What advice would he give to anyone hoping to wring every drop out of their inter-county career? “Tie in with your S&Cs and make a plan that will help you along the way and train more specific to your position, I suppose, and the type of movements and speeds that you need. Targets are key. You can’t just float through the season. Pick two or three things that are really important to you in your position and be the best of them as you can. Do that and you will always have a fighting chance.

“When I came onto the panel first, everyone was doing the same thing. We could be running up a hill or running a kilometre and that’s great as it sets the mind but as you go on, there is more specific stuff that you need to work on.” 

We found Horgan in philosophical mood before July’s All-Ireland final. He spoke of the journey and insisting no one game or medal would define his inter-county career. Yet come January 1, the clock strikes 20 for the county’s wait for Liam MacCarthy and Horgan is the personification of that longing.

He understands but he can’t simply project himself on the Hogan Stand steps on July 20. “It’s about not looking too far ahead but looking at the here and now and getting excited about a training session. Going in, meeting the guys, knowing they’re all of the same mindset of wanting to get better but also knowing it’s going to be fun. You have that two or three times a week and more often than not that is going to come out in a game.

“Hurling, football, the GAA, it’s there for fun. It’s not there to be serious. Nobody’s handcuffing you to the dressing room or the pitch, you can leave whenever you want. It’s fun. Pat always says that. You go to work to make a living and when you come to training you’re doing it because you’re supposed to be enjoying it. Having fun, I think that’s a really important message.”