‘No-brainer' – Wayne Sherlock reveals why ‘we always knew Pat Ryan would be Cork manager' ahead of All-Ireland final

The Irish Sun

20-07-2025

ASKING Cork supporters of a certain vintage what springs to mind when they think of Wayne Sherlock is likely to elicit good memories of 1999.
With the Blackrock defender excelling in his debut season at senior inter-county level, Jimmy Barry-Murphy guided a young Rebels side to All-Ireland SHC glory.
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Wayne Sherlock backed Pat Ryan to lead Cork to the All-Ireland
Credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
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They were both part of the Cork panel that won the All-Ireland in 2005
Credit: Ray McManus/Sportsfile
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Cork have not won Liam MacCarthy since 2005
Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Given that the majority of the panel had been emboldened by winning underage titles, it stands to reason that
Sherlock
cites a game in Thurles two years earlier as the genesis of their success.
He recalled: 'I marked Liam Cahill actually in 1997 in the Under-21 Munster final, which was where it all started for that group of players really. So playing Tipp is always special.
'When I grew up, my parents didn't go to games so you'd listen to people on about
the games
yourself that you realise it's massive.
'Cork don't want to lose to Tipp and Tipp don't want to lose to Cork, so it adds to the buzz.'
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Both management teams for today's Liam MacCarthy Cup final were well represented in that Under-21 provincial decider 28 years ago.
Current Tipperary manager Cahill was joined in the Premier attack by selector Mikey Bevans. Cahill hit 0-4, only for the hosts to suffer an agonising one-point defeat following a last-gasp Timmy McCarthy goal.
As well as selectors
Sherlock
and Brendan Coleman, the Cork team featured Pat Ryan at midfield. The friendships that were forged on the field have stood the test of time.
Later, Sherlock and Ryan were also
work
colleagues in
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And when Ryan took charge of the Cork Under-20s for a two-year stint that yielded back-to-back All-Ireland titles, he arranged a meeting with one of his old team-mates at the Maryborough Hotel to request his assistance.
Sherlock recalled: 'Going down, I knew it would be tough because I'm on shift
work
and stuff. I'm either 100 per cent in or I'm not at all.
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'In fairness, Pat was understanding and he said I wouldn't need to be there all the time, but I wanted to be. The minute he asked me, there was only going to be one answer.
'I probably have to know the fellas well enough to get involved with them. When he told me the people he brought in with him, there were no egos. No fellas just there to get their names in the paper and stuff.
'It was purely fellas who want Cork to do well. I hope that we come across that way. We just want these players to do well. At the end of the day, we're happy to stay in the background.
'And I think when Pat speaks, people listen because he doesn't speak bulls***. He just speaks from the heart and the players respect him hugely.'
When Kieran Kingston vacated the Cork senior management position after the 2022 season, there was an outstanding candidate to fill it. Following their success with the Under-20s, Ryan got the band back together.
Sherlock answered the call again. The 2004 All-Star explained: 'I suppose I knew Pat, I played with him, I worked with him. I just think it would be hard for me to go in with someone I don't know that well. They might have completely different ideas to you.
'I don't want to sound like there are only certain people I'd work with but I wasn't sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring either.
'And I wouldn't say he had eyes on the senior job but when Kieran Kingston stepped down, there was only one man for the job. And as a Cork supporter, when Kieran stepped down I wanted to go and watch a Cork team managed by Pat Ryan. So it was a no-brainer for me.'
'Cork don't want to lose to Tipp and Tipp don't want to lose to Cork, so it adds to the buzz.'
Wayne Sherlock
A third All-Ireland medal was claimed by Sherlock in 2005. Liam MacCarthy has remained absent from Leeside ever since yet, for the second year in a row, Ryan finds himself one win away from ending the famine.
Sherlock said: 'Even when Pat was playing, you always knew he was going to be a manager. I probably didn't see myself, to be honest, being in a selector or coaching role or whatever.
'But you always knew Pat was. He just thinks about the game so much. He thinks about the players so much.
'Every time he speaks, Pat makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Rob Downey said it after the Munster final that everyone loves Pat and we'd do anything for him. The resilience he has shown this year to come back and row in behind his team is something exceptional.'
'UNBELIEVABLY STRONG'
Throughout his three-year reign as Cork senior gaffer, Ryan has carried himself with dignity and respect.
That he has remained an exemplary figurehead this season has been particularly admirable.
Back in February, he
Sherlock said: 'I suppose Pat is the man that we know but his
family
have been unbelievably strong too. We were at his house that tough week and the first thing he said was, 'I'm going to be at the game on Saturday'.
'Look, we respected him, we didn't try and change his mind. He said he'd be there, that we had a job to do and that's the way it was.
'It's something that he hasn't brought into the group here at all. How he's done it is absolutely phenomenal. I actually don't know how he's done it but it just shows the man he is.
'When he's tuned in and has a job to do, and he has a very strong
family
behind him, I suppose what he's doing is making them proud and giving them good memories in a tough year.'
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Cork manager Jimmy Barry Murphy celebrates following the Guinness All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final in 1999
Credit: David Maher/Sportsfile