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The Mental Game: Seán Óg Ó hAilpín on Pressure and Performance
For former Cork hurler Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, the build-up to major finals presented a unique psychological challenge. While one might assume familiarity with the high-stakes environment would ease the pressure, Ó hAilpín found the opposite to be true. “It was a whole different ball game for me,” he admitted. “You knew what was ahead of you, so in a way, you think that that would help a player. I just found it worse.”
As his career progressed and he experienced more finals, Ó hAilpín realized the danger of becoming overly fixated on the game itself. He emphasized the importance of having “release mechanisms” to manage this intense focus. In his earlier years, he would take a few days off work leading up to the All-Ireland, seeking to distance himself from the impending match. However,towards the latter part of his career,his approach shifted. “Towards the end, I ended up working up to Friday at 5 in the evening, as it took my mind away from the game,” he explained. “I found when you’re on your own for a while, inevitably, you’re just thinking too much about it. So I just did things to take my mind away from the game, and it helped me enormously.”
reflecting on his playing days, Ó hAilpín is frequently enough asked what he misses most. While acknowledging the satisfaction of winning, it’s the intangible moments that he cherishes. “The winning is great and all that,” he stated. “But it’s these moments the build-up to the game, where you have butterflies in your stomach.” These are the moments that truly tested him.
“are you going to do it or not? I always found that it helped me,” he continued. Ó hAilpín thrived under pressure,relishing situations where he was expected to perform and deliver. He contrasted this with scenarios where victory wasn’t anticipated, suggesting that such games lacked the same competitive edge and the same potential for personal growth. “I found myself more times than not in those scenarios, you come home losing as it doesn’t give you the same edge as having to deliver under pressure. If you do deliver, then the growth in your advancement [is huge].”
He drew a parallel to Cork’s current situation, noting their consecutive final appearances without an All-Ireland win in two decades and their recent losing streak in finals. “You know that there were questions asked of us, and we were able to get through it and deliver and hold our own. I see that in the context of the backdrop of this final. Cork are there two years in a row, we haven’t won an All-Ireland in 20 years.The last four finals Cork have played in,we’ve lost.”
The current Cork squad faces a similar test. “Especially for this group of players, they fell short. Agonisingly. The question is going to be put to them, when the pressure comes on, will ye be able to deliver?” Ó hAilpín expressed his hope that the team will rise to the occasion.”I hope it’s the same with the panel that take to the field on Sunday, that question of being asked to deliver – under pressure where it counts most – that our fellas will respond to that in spades.” He pointed to their resilience in the Munster final victory as evidence of their ability to overcome adversity. “They grew together after the Munster final victory and I think the manner in which [they won], they were floored a couple of times but the fact they were able to get off the canvas and eke out a draw.”
Cork has demonstrated a capacity to perform under pressure throughout the season, notably in their penalty shootout success.”You talk about pressure, what about penalties? At the end of the day, they passed it with flying colours. Limerick shrunk in penalties. I think Cork will be asked the same questions that Limerick asked of them in the final. I think we’ll get the same answers as the Munster final.”
