Meade: Carbery hurlers can play at highest levels

CARBERY’S only representative in the Cork senior hurling panel is hoping to see more hurlers from the division make the inter-county breakthrough in the seasons ahead.

Newcestown clubman Luke Meade has been involved in the Cork senior hurling team since 2017 and was previously described as ‘the most underrated hurler in the county’ by former Rebels’ shot-stopper Anthony Nash.

Meade, who started three of Cork’s four Munster SHC games, is proof there is plenty of hurling beyond the viaduct.

A teacher at Bishop Galvin Central School in his home parish of Newcestown, Meade was one of the special guests at the West Cork Sciath na Scol football finals in Clonakilty, along with Randal Óg’s Sean Daly, the only Carbery player on the All-Ireland winning Cork U20 hurling team.

‘I met Sean at the Sciath na Scol finals, and it’s a brilliant achievement for him to be part of an All-Ireland winning team,’ Meade tells this week’s Star Sport Podcast.

‘It’s important because it’s great to go around to the various camps (in Carbery) and see young players with hurleys in their hands because maybe if a couple of us weren't there, that might not be the case.

‘There is great interest in hurling and football in West Cork. You try your best to keep everyone interested and involved. It’s great for my own club to have someone involved in the Cork set-up, and in West Cork in general, to try and drive on the hurling in parts that might not have focussed on it too much over the years.’

West Cork is regarded as a football stronghold, so the visibility and profile of inter-county players like Meade in the region is important. He is proof players from this region can hurl at the highest levels.

In recent seasons, Bandon’s Sean Ahern and St Colum’s Shane Murnane were part of the Cork minor hurling panel, while Newcestown’s Cathal Wilson won an All-Ireland U20 hurling title with the county in 2021. Clonakilty’s David Lowney was previously involved with the Cork seniors too, as was Bandon’s Michael Cahalane. Padraic Cullinane (Ballinascarthy) and Cian McCarthy (St Oliver Plunkett’s) were previously involved with the Cork minor hurlers, while Ciáran Nyhan (Ballinascarthy) and Ronan McCarthy (St Oliver Plunkett’s) helped the Cork U17s win the All-Ireland title back in 2017. It’s a trickle, rather than a conveyor belt, but Meade is convinced more hurlers from Carbery can make the breakthrough.

‘That is the hope, and there is no reason why fellas can’t do it,’ Meade says.

‘When I am going around to camps, talking to children, that’s the message that I am trying to get across: there is no reason why anyone, whatever club they are from, can’t be involved with Cork teams, whether it’s minor, U20 or senior. You need to put in the work and the practice.

‘The clubs need to help out as well, to help drive them on, and to keep driving on hurling in their own clubs. There are great hurlers and footballers in the division, it’s to give them the chances through their clubs, through Carbery or through development squads. They are no different to anyone from East Cork or North Cork or the city. There is no reason why they can’t be part of the squad, They just need to put in the work.

‘It’s good that they can see Sean and myself around the place because it shows it can be done.’