Seán Óg climbs for children’s cancer
“It was like the dressing room after playing Kilkenny in an All-Ireland final; it was the walking wounded. There were bandages on knees, arms, you name it.”
The words of Cork hurling legend Seán Óg Ó hAilpín who last weekend took on the highest mountain peaks in both Cork and Kerry back to back to raise money for children with cancer.
The former Cork captain was a guest climber on the southern leg of the 26 Mountains to Mayo challenge, a nine-day battle of will and stamina which sees participants climb the highest peak in every Irish county. Seán Óg took on Cork’s highest peak, Knockboy on Friday before crossing the Kerry border to summit Carrantuohill, Ireland’s highest peak, on Saturday, with an overall goal to raise €1 million for Irish charity Cancer Fund for Children.
Taking on the entire 26 Mountains to Mayo challenge was a team from Arachas Corporate Brokers, Ireland's largest nationwide insurance broker, for whom Seán Óg is a brand ambassador.
By the time Seán Óg joined up with the group, which included staff from Cork Arachas branches, they were already on day seven of the challenge. They went on to complete the challenge on Sunday having gained a total elevation of over 11,000 metres, surpassing the height of Mount Everest.
Seán Óg said: “No matter how painful or sore your body is, it's dwarfed by the purpose of the campaign to help young children and young people who are going through their own battle through cancer.
“On the walk up Carrantuohill, I heard someone say they had surpassed the million, which is great news, so people have really jumped on board and really supported it.
“They (Cancer Fund for Children) have a centre in Newcastle, county Down, which is called the Daisy Lodge, so they're looking to do another Daisy Lodge in Cong, county Mayo,” he added.
With his body still in good nick, Seán Óg said he hopes to find time to further explore his own county’s great outdoors.
“I said to myself coming home from Kerry the other day, that's definitely something down the road for me,” he said.
“I feel that I'm still in relatively good shape; my knees are okay, my hips are okay; calves, hamstrings, relatively okay.
“There's something powerful about being out in nature.
“You have moments of peace with yourself, with the elements, and there's something therapeutic about that,” he added.
To make a donation in support of Cancer Fund for Children, visit 26m2m.com or cancerfundforchildren.com.
Turning to hurling, Seán Óg, the last Cork hurling captain to lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup, was full of praise for the Cork team who finally ended Limerick’s reign as Munster champions in a thrilling tie on 7 June.
The match marked the first-ever penalty shootout in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship after the game ended Cork 1-30 Limerick 2-27. Cork won 3-2 on penalties after extra time, claiming the Rebel County’s 55th Munster title and putting Limerick’s run of six titles in a row to an end.
Though delighted with the result, Seán Óg said he’s not a fan of penalties being used to decide big games.
“I don't agree with this, I'd be traditional that way. I would rather see a replay,” he said.
“I think a replay is a fair way to decide an outcome after 70 minutes of enthralling action and then extra time. I think after that, if the game is not decided, I think another day is justified,” he added.
Asked how the great Cork team of 2004-2005 would have done against the current Limerick side, Seán Óg admitted that his old team would probably struggle from a conditioning point of view.
He said: “They’re a ferocious team, that Limerick team. I mean, we did two in a row and attempted to do three in a row; Kilkenny beat us for three in a row and that was as good as it got for us. Limerick got four in a row, like, so even that in itself tells you.
“Everything is relative. It's the argument of, how would Christy Ring do in today's era? If Christy Ring had the same training methods and techniques of today's age, he'd still be a superstar.”