A touch of the Blarney – and a wee bit of Roy Keane – help Conor tick over
Conor Mccarthy has kissed the Blarney Stone, and would love to emulate another Irishman with the gift of the gab.
St Mirren’s central defender played a massive part in getting the Paisley men to Hampden this afternoon, having hit an injury-time winner in the 3-2 quarter-final victory over Rangers.
Mccarthy was playing with Cork City when Saints’ boss Jim Goodwin persuaded his fellow Irishman to try his luck in Scotland.
Since then, the 22-year-old – who grew up in Blarney, County Cork – has shown he does more than talk a good game.
His home town is famous worldwide for the stone at the local castle that is meant to give you amazing powers of persuasion if you kiss it.
Mccarthy said: “I’ve kissed it five or six times and, to be honest, a few people have told me that I don’t stop talking.
“But maybe that’s an Irish thing! “Would I be the most-famous thing to come from Blarney, apart from the stone, if I win this cup? I’m not sure about that.
“But it would mean an enormous amount to ourselves, and our friends and family.”
The other famous footballer from Mccarthy’s home patch is Roy Keane (right).
“There wouldn’t be too many players from my town, but there have been some brilliant footballers have come out of County Cork in general,” said Mccarthy.
“No one more so than Roy Keane. He was one of my heroes. His parents only live 15 to 20 minutes from me back home.
“Keane was the epitome of Manchester United winning the Champions League and Premier League.
“He played in the same schoolboy league as I did when he was growing up. So to have a fraction of his success – and I mean a fraction – I’d say that would be a very successful career.
“I’ve met him. He’s really generous with his
time around Cork. He does a lot of stuff that he doesn’t get credit for. He’s a proper role model.
“He played for Rockmount Boys Club in Cork, which was about 10 minutes from me. It was either Rockmount or Blarney as a kid – and I played for Blarney, the rivals.
“He came to speak to the boys when we were kids for a pep talk. He’d often come after sessions for a Q&A.
“I also met him two years ago in Manchester. We were on a pre-season tour, and he visited us in the hotel.
Some asked him questions. But I was young, so I just sat and listened.”
Keane’s short spell in Scottish football with Celtic isn’t something he cares to remember, but he did win the League Cup.
Fellow Irishmen, like manager, Jim Goodwin, Joe
Shaughnessy, Jamie Mcgrath and Dylan Connolly, have helped Mccarthy to settle into a new environment.
He went on: “When I signed, I was quite fortunate because Jamie moved at the same time, and I was able to bounce off him.
“I wasn’t alone in that respect, and over the few months the manager has added more Irish faces.
“The banter is good between us, and we get on well, both on and off the pitch.
“The move has lived up to my expectations. I enjoy representing the club, and the people of Paisley. The club is striving to get better, year-on-year.”
Getting past Livingston, Mccarthy admits, always requires a side to show a bit of bottle.
He said: “They’re nasty, to be fair. They like to get the ball forward quickly. They have no set way of playing football.
“They’re a difficult team to play against, and we’re under no illusions that it will be such a difficult game. You just have to grit your teeth against them.”