Conor in line for a giant leap
IN HIS fledgling days as a pro footballer, Roy Keane used to get the hump at the lack of international call-ups for Cork players. Back then, Keane felt Dublin jackeens were more likely to get selected, irrespective of whether they were better players or not. Not now.
In Ireland’s UEFA Nations League squad of 24, there are 12 players from Dublin-Cork, and the seven-five split in favour of the capital crew is probably just about bearable for Keane.
Of those, Conor Hourihane from Bandon appears bestplaced to benefit from the absence of Declan Rice and Harry Arter in the Cardiff trenches tonight.
So far, the Aston Villa midfielder has featured twice as a substitute in competitive games under Martin O’Neill, against Serbia in Dublin and Denmark in Copenhagen, but he is poised to be pushed forward from the start against Wales this evening.
Known for his tigerish tackling, mobility, and a thumping shot from distance, Hourihane has been familiar to Keane long before this week, for they were together as manager and player at Sunderland and Ipswich respectively.
Since then, Hourihane took a couple of steps backward to go forward in his career with productive spells down the leagues at Plymouth (142 appearances) and Barnsley (131 appearances) before his move to Villa in January 2017.
That lifted him firmly into the view-finder of O’Neill and he has been a squad regular since his debut against Iceland in Dublin 18 months ago.
Not that he has a vivid recall of his first game in green. ‘I remember walking out and hearing the national anthem. I thought “Wow, I have finally got here” and it [the night] did pass me by.’
Allowing a friendly to fade from the memory is one thing but competitive games are different and there is a sense that tonight’s Welsh return could be one of those duels which Irish players won’t forget in a hurry.
Certainly not the build-up, in terms of losing players like Harry Arter and Declan Rice, and Shane Long and James McClean to injury.
The Arter absence was sparked by a row with Keane, of whom Hourihane holds in a regard akin to hero worship. ‘I was a big United fan, mainly because of Roy, being a Cork lad and all that,’ he said.
No one knows more about trench warfare than Keane so Hourihane should be prepped about what to expect, if selected, this evening.
He certainly feels more comfortable about the prospect of making his first competitive start. He’s not the cowering sort.
‘I’ve managed to get five Irish caps, played in the Championship play-off final, and the Birmingham-Villa derby, so I have played in big games and I’d like to think that makes me better equipped to deal with things the next time I get a chance,’ he said.
‘I have been in [the squad] for over a year now, I am grateful to Martin for keeping me in and I have earned a few caps, which is nice.
‘This is the start of a new campaign and I am feeling fresh, and part of the squad now too, as it takes a bit of time to get that feeling. I work hard and I want to be playing.
‘When I first came in, we had good players in the Premier League. That’s not the case now, places are up for grabs.’
In a team lacking goals, Hourihane has built up a decent record at club level. In his past four seasons, he’s averaged 11 goals each campaign, with a goal every four and a half games or so.
‘I have had that knack over the years of scoring goals, it’s a big plus in my game. I always aim to get to double figures and it’s a dream of mine to score for my country.’
Now 27, Hourihane played 14 times for the Irish U19s and eight for the U21s, at a time when Keane’s theory about a pro-Dublin Cork bias was still relevant.
‘There were a lot of Dublin lads then, I’ll be brutally honest,’ said Hourihane.
‘There are a couple still around like Jeff [Hendrick] and Robbie [Brady]. A lot of them probably aren’t playing football anymore.
‘Maybe they peaked at that time and we peaked at a different time. I’d prefer to be peaking now than back then.
‘It was tough, it wasn’t easy getting up to Dublin for training all the time, it was always in Dublin but you just have to get on with it.’
With six strong Cork accents in the squad, and Keane barking orders from the touchline, Hourihane has no hang-ups about the geographical shift.
‘It’s great to see. The Irish squad were always heavily-populated with Dublin lads since I’ve been through the age groups, from under-15 all the way to senior level.
‘This week is probably the first time there hasn’t been too many Dublin lads. It’s spread all across the country, it’s great to see lads from other counties coming up.
‘There are a lot of Cork lads in or around the squad now.’
There certainly are and Keane, for one, approves.