One of the greatest GAA Joes of all time, former Cork hurler Joe Deane, talks to JOE.ie about his new perch in the TV3 commentary box, how the championship is shaping up and whether there’s still room in the game for the nippy corner forward.
Joe Deane’s career in the red jersey of Cork was nothing short of magnificent. Time never stands still, however. His playing days are in the past, and nowadays he’s enjoying more time with his family and playing with local club Killeagh.
Somewhere along the road, as he walked the line to retirement from the inter-county game, a role in the media has seeped in. His baptism with TV3 was kind: he was the commentary sidekick to Mike Finnerty for Cork’s hop, skip and jump victory over troubled rivals Limerick.
Here’s what Joe told JOE…
JOE: Well Joe, what do you make of the championship to date?
Joe Deane: The championship has been reasonably competitive so far. I think the last weekends in particular with Offaly putting it up to Galway was a good sign. The Cork and Tipp game was a great game. Tipp probably didn’t play great on the day but they had a few surprises. Everyone expected Tipp and Galway to put it up to Kilkenny this year but they haven’t done that based on their performances to date. They haven’t come through as good as most expected but I suppose the season’s early yet.
JOE: How did you find it being in the commentary box for TV3? Easier than being on the field?
JD: It was completely different than being on the field. It’s much easier and much less nerve-wracking, I can tell ya.
JOE: Cork have come through Tipperary and Limerick to reach the Munster final. What did you make of those matches?
JD: The Tipperary game was the big one for Cork this year to start off with. It focused them. It was a great performance. It was great to come out and beat Tipp. The Limerick game, they were always going to win it. It is always hard for a team [in those circumstances] to raise their game to the same level of Tipperary. If they beat them by 35 points they’d say Limerick were useless, if they won by two or three points then Cork weren’t great. Limerick gave a good account of themselves with the players they had involved.
JOE: It’s troubled times for Limerick hurling. Do you think this saga has diminished Munster hurling?
JD: Nobody wants to see it. Limerick are a proud hurling county. They’ve always been a difficult team to beat, we’ve always had great battles with Limerick over the last ten years. Nobody wants to see the Munster Championship devalued by games like the one against Cork. I think it’s up to everyone to sit down around a table and get it sorted sooner rather than later.
JOE: What’s your assessment of Kilkenny’s display against Dublin?
JD: Kilkenny made an impressive start I think. They got through Dublin comfortably. Dublin appeared to be a coming team last year and are always a hard team to beat for Kilkenny but they brushed them aside very easily, even with a lot of their tops guys coming off the bench. So they’ll be very hard to stop as the year goes on.
JOE: Who can stop the Cats?
JD: When it comes down to it the teams really capable of giving Kilkenny a rattle are Cork, Tipp and Galway. Waterford, I think, there’s always a big game in them. If Cork were playing Kilkenny next week or in a couple of weeks’ time they might be capable of beating them. But Waterford, Galway, Cork and Tipp. Put all those teams in the same category – any of them are capable of beating Kilkenny on any given day.
JOE: You work in a management position with ACC Bank. Have you ever thought about bringing those managerial qualities to hurling and perhaps someday become manager of Cork?
JD: Not at this stage. I’m still playing club hurling and football which takes a lot of time. I’m married with two young kids so at the moment I would say no. I’d certainly like to get involved with teams as the years progressed, maybe in four or five years’ time. I’ll see do I like it at club level. I couldn’t say I’d manage Cork in 10 years. At the moment I want to take life a little bit easier.
JOE: What about the physical element of the game today, do you feel there’s still space for smaller corner forwards like yourself?
JD: The physical element is a part of the game today but there’ll always be a place for the small, nippy corner forward, who would certainly complement the likes of Joe Canning. There’ll always be room for those lads. The game has definitely got harder over the last number of years, but I think Pat Horgan works well with Aisake and Damien Hayes works well off Joe Canning. They’re good relationships.
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