Conor Lehane: 'It's about being a grown up, you've got to take it on the chin and just drive on'

The 42

16-07-2025

IN DECEMBER 2021, Conor Lehane got a call from Kieran Kingston.
The Cork manager invited Lehane to meet up and placed his offer on the table – a call back to rejoin the county's hurling squad.
Twelve months after being cut from their plans, Lehane was provided with a route to return to the Cork panel at the age of 29.
'Just met up for a coffee and we just had a chat,' recalls Lehane.
'The option was there. Just went home, had a think about it (and) in a way didn't jump back into it. You could say, 'Oh yeah it's 100%', but in a way you were so kind of settled and that was it. Your mind was made up.
'You gave yourself a few days and you remember if you want to go back in, you want to make sure you're going to be going in at 110% rather than just going, I'll see how it goes.
'Once I had the few days, it was a straightforward answer.'
He seized the chance at a second shot at a way of life he had been accustomed to since his teenage days, first recruited to the Cork senior squad while studying for his Leaving Cert and making his senior championship debuat against Galway at the age of 18 in 2011.
Lehane was a precocious hurler, fast-tracked to the highest level. In the drawn 2013 All-Ireland final he netted after a brilliant solo run against Clare. Across the 2017-18 seasons he fired 2-30 in championship action, including 1-3 in Cork's loss to Limerick in an All-Ireland semi-final epic.
But consistency was a quality that eluded him. In the 2020 Covid championship, Lehane started against Waterford but lost his place for the games with Tipperary and Dublin, restricted to cameos off the bench.
When Cork formulated their plans for the 2021 season, Lehane was cut.
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He accepted the decision with grace, channelling his hurling energies towards the club game with Midleton.
When they won the county title in November 2021, Lehane was the captain in the stand grasping silverware after performing as the leader on the pitch in dazzling style with his tally of 13 points out of Midleton's 24 against Glen Rovers.
'It wouldn't have been a case of going out and being like, 'I'll show them or anything.' recalls Lehane.
'If I was kind of doing that, I felt I'd nearly make it about myself. Go out and perform the way you would regardless of what year Cork went. It's kind of showing respect to your club that you're doing what's right rather than making it about yourself.
'It's easy for me to say now, I didn't think about it, but I genuinely accepted that, that was it.
'Looking forward to the following year would have been crazy in order to be able to focus on what was going on now. That's something that you do when you're a bit younger. You get carried away about the next year. It's exhausting mentally to think that way.
'You just need to discipline yourself to focus on what's actually currently happening and what you can actually put some bit of control towards rather than the ifs and buts. That's all imagination.'
He didn't harbour any feelings of resentment and kept an eye on Cork's progress in 2021 as they journeyed towards the All-Ireland final.
'I watched the final. I was with my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time. We watched it at home. With Covid there was only limited capacity. I would have gone if we could.
'I know at the time we were training that day and I was so focused on Midleton. We didn't want to be making a big fuss by going up and making it like a thing. I was happy out to watch it at home.
'It was a weird feeling because you're buzzing for lads to get there, but you're obviously gutted you can't be involved.
'But it was the way it was. You just dealt with it and you dealt with it in the best way you could. I wished all the lads the best.'
His club form had been exceptional that year, making a persuasive case for inclusion once more.
'Look, if there's eight or nine better forwards than him in the county, we don't know anything about hurling,' was the verdict of Ben O'Connor, the Midleton coach, after Lehane's tour de force in that county decider.
Midleton manager Ger Fitzgerald threw plenty plaudits Lehane's way.
'He's always been outstanding for us. He's a huge captain, he's our leader. He's a huge influence. Deserved nothing more than that performance and that stage, but it was made for him and he took it.'
In March this year Fitzgerald sadly passed away. He had been a constant figure in Lehane's hurling life, also managing him with Cork at U21 level.
'Sure Ger was a gentleman, it's so sad what happened him this year for him and his family,' says Lehane.
'The support that came from the club and what he meant to everyone, showcased in the size of his funeral and the removal and the respect that he got. To be able to say that you won a county together is an incredible memory to have as well.'
Last year saw Lehane find his gametime restricted. He started against Offaly and came on as a substitute against Dublin, but was a peripheral presence thereafter.
In December he got married, and after the Cork team holiday in Florida, and his honeymoon in South Africa, he returned determined to attack the 2025 season.
A dislocated shoulder in February against Limerick, and a torn hamstring after the league, disrupted his plans but he kept focused on the end goal.
'I'd love to have been involved (last year). I'd have loved to have been a part of it and try and make an impact. But it's about being a grown up as well, you've got to take it on the chin and just drive on. You've no other choice really.
'If you get too caught up in it you'll only end up getting distracted and not being focused enough for whatever the next stage of the year is and you'll only end up being in your head. So you've just got to have the frustration of it, park it, and then what's next.'
He got a run late on against Waterford in the Munster round-robin as he clipped over a point. The Munster final saw him shine in extra-time, dovetailing with Shane Kingston for the critical contributions that got Cork over the line. Lehane notched a brace of points and smashed home his penalty in the shootout. Against Dublin last time out, he nailed one point and assisted another.
When called from the bench, he is eager to impact instantly and has the crystal-clear attitude to achieve that.
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'Your mindset nearly has to be you could be brought on at any stage. You might be, or you wouldn't be, but you have to just be prepared to the type of impact you want is a positive impact.
'Not necessarily, you don't have to go in and get three points. It's winning the break, winning a free, getting a tackle, getting into the right position, making sure the puckout that's coming up that you're tuned into what that is.
'Making some sort of positive impact to what's actually going on in the pitch rather than going in and feeling that you have to put the pressure, bang in a goal or bang over three points.
'Let that come naturally if it's going to come. Just make sure you're taking it ball by ball and you're making something that helps the team at that moment.
'You want to come on and play well in general but if that overrides what needs to be done for the benefit of the team during that game, then you're in trouble. It has to be what's actually going to benefit everyone.'
Twelve years after his maiden All-Ireland final experience, he is back involved. He had a clear view behind Domhnall O'Donovan for the point that rescued Clare in the drawn game and contributed to Cork's now two decade wait to land the Liam MacCarthy Cup.
Lehane attended game during the 2005 championship as a youngster but was not presented for the final winning flourish in Croke Park. That Cork side caught his imagination, Ben O'Connor the player of choice that he watched intently.
Another chance to emulate those heroes now, the low-key approach after the Dublin game amongst the squad reflective of their awareness of the challenge that awaits.
'The best thing about it, everyone was kind of celebrating and hugging, met the families and stuff but we just went straight back into the dressing room, we had our chat.
'We just went straight to the train station then and headed home. There wasn't any over-celebrating really, we'd been there. The way last year ended, it was nearly like a humbling in a way, just delighted with the win, but back to base again.'
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