I’m seen as being cocky – I thrive on big stage
Top gun Connolly sees a successful year ahead for Cork and Nemo Rangers
‘THERE IS UNITY IN CORK THAT WAS MISSING IN THE PAST’
LUKE CONNOLLY knew what was coming the evening he saw Billy Morgan marching across the UCC “farm”. His mentor at club and college level had clearly got wind that Connolly had left the Cork Under 21 squad a couple of weeks earlier. The young forward prepared to get his ears reddened.
‘He just pulled me aside. I was in with the Cork 21s at the time and wasn’t enjoying it. The pressure of it and the amount of training going on, it felt like I was going through the motions. I was playing with UCC and just enjoying it. And I was playing a bit of soccer at the time too,’ recalls Connolly.
‘Billy got wind of it and pulled me over at UCC training one night, asking me straight out what was going on? We had a bit of a chat, well it was pretty one-sided and I am probably using the term “chat” loosely. Strong words were used by Billy and I just listened. And I am where I am now largely because of that and I’m very grateful to him that I am still involved in the sport.’
When Connolly stood at that crossroads, there were a couple of different directions he could have taken. Playing up front for Cork soccer club, College Corinthians, he wondered about putting all his energy into that. Or just leaving Gaelic football behind.
‘Yeah, I could have easily drifted away. I have enough friends who have done that,’ Connolly remembers. ‘I was playing a bit of soccer on the side and that was going well. It would have been very easy to say that maybe I could just concentrate on that.
‘I have a sister who is playing professionally, so it is in the family and I was thinking maybe I should try this. But I am thankful I stuck with the GAA. And I am where I am now because of those tough years,’ says Connolly, now 27 and established as the leader of the Nemo Rangers attack, underlined by his virtuoso performance in the Cork SFC final when he bagged 2-4.
His sister, Ireland international Megan, is currently plying her trade with Brighton & Hove Albion in the Women’s Super League. Does he ever look at her success and wonder what might have been?
‘The way it is now, I am living almost vicariously through Megan. I am on the phone to her a lot, interested in what they are doing in training. I would have looked to progress down that road but I was a good soccer player in Cork, so there’s nothing to say I would have been a good soccer player across the water.
‘I became a better soccer player as I got older and the trials across the water happen when you are younger. And I was just another face back then. The GAA drove me a bit, gave me a bit more physicality and made me a bit braver.’
Connolly’s goalscoring instinct was honed on the soccer field and there’s a part of him that is still a striker when he is playing in the fullforward line.
‘I suppose my goalscoring did come from soccer. I would be fairly stubborn in my belief that scoring three points is better than one. I would always go for a goal when it’s on and a lot of managers who have dealt with me, hate that.
But you have to have a killer instinct as a forward. If you want to be a successful forward, you need that streak. I need to develop a bit more composure maybe, but three points is always better than one.’
There appeared to be little wrong with Connolly’s composure when he stood in front of Stephen Cluxton and Hill 16 during the summer, burying a penalty for Cork in the Super 8s game. Having been in the doldrums for a couple of years, Connolly says the Rebels relished being back in the big time.
‘I loved being on that stage,’ Connolly recalls with a smile. ‘Those are the games you want to play, against Dublin in Croke Park. Obviously, you would prefer to play them at a later date in the year. But that penalty into the Hill is a bit of a collector’s item. Not many people can say they scored against Dublin or Cluxton like that.’
What was going through his head as he faced the greatest goalkeeper of alltime? ‘Well people that know me will say I am a cocky so-andso at the best of times. I was delighted to get a chance to kick one into the Hill against him. Cluxton is the best around and he got close, but those are the days you relish as a player. And I want to be known as a big-game player.’
And with 11 minutes remaining in that Super 8s encounter, Ronan McCarthy’s team were within three points of the All-Ireland champions. Pulling off a massive shock did pass through Connolly’s mind and he reckoned that Cork might have concerned Jim Gavin and his players.
‘We have watched that game back and definitely thought we could have won. Even with the Tyrone game, we certainly should have won that and I will stand over that. But the Dublin game, we had chances that would have made it a very different game. And who knows what would have happened in the last few minutes if it was closer. There was a period when we worried Dublin a bit. At least I hope we did! And we showed that we can mix it with the best.’
The Rebels will be under pressure to climb out of Division 3 in the 2020 Allianz League, especially with the spectre of the Tier Two championship hanging over their heads, but Connolly feels that the trajectory is upward for the young Cork side now.
‘With the group we have, there’s a chance of more progress. Ronan (McCarthy) has developed a good panel. There is good unity there and we haven’t had that in the past, the group has been a bit splintered, for different reasons. But every‘The one has bought in to what Ronan wants to do.’
If Connolly and his Nemo teammates were to beat the all-conquering Corofin next Saturday, it would be another boost for Cork football. Two years ago, Connolly was part of a Nemo team wiped off the field by the ruthless Galway side.
‘They taught us a lesson that day. We watched a bit of the game recently but if we weren’t playing Corofin next week, I don’t think I would ever watch it again. I remember enough of it in my head. It was one of those days when we were caught in the moment, caught up in the whole atmosphere of the day and did not show up at all.
‘It wasn’t for want of trying, wasn’t because we were unprepared. It was just the fact that everything they kicked went where they wanted and everything we kicked, didn’t. We want to rectify that in a way the next day.’
The pep talk with a legendary figure like Billy Morgan illustrates the family feel within Nemo Rangers. They look after their own. And while young players are made aware of their rich history with seven All-Ireland titles in the club’s glorious past, it never weighs heavily on their shoulders, according to Connolly.
development system in the club is so good, players are brought up to just enjoy the game. You are geared towards senior, there’s not that much pressure on underage wins and silverware. If you look at underage records in Cork, you won’t see many Nemo teams in the finals. But what we have are closeknit groups who will stay together up until senior.
‘Of course, the expectation for success does exist when you get to senior. It is almost a given. There was plenty of expectation on our group when we got to the All-Ireland final two years ago and it will be the same ahead of this semi-final.
‘But we want to excel. We want to make our own history in the club. So, the tradition is more of a motivation than a hindrance.’
Six years after Billy Morgan had a few strong words for him on the side of a pitch in UCC, Luke Connolly is primed to make his own history now for Nemo Rangers, by denying Corofin in their pursuit of three All-Irelands in a row.