TOM LYONS pays tribute to the legendary Patrick Horgan following his inter-county retirement

THE king is gone, long live the king. It was with a mixture of real sadness, and a little gladness, that we heard of the inter-county retirement of Cork hurling hero, Hoggie, on Tuesday.

Patrick Horgan – now 37 years old – was never known as anything else but Hoggie to his legion of supporters during the past 18 years in the red shirt of Cork. Just like Ringy and Deano, full names were never needed because there was only one Ringy and one Deano. Just like there was only one Hoggie.

Every sport needs its heroes and legends. Every team needs its icon. Hoggie was all those to his beloved Glen Rovers and Cork.

Did it ever worry him that he was following in the footsteps of the greatest, Ringy himself? If it did, he certainly showed it in the right way with his amazing talent and scoring records. Was Ringy smiling down on his fellow Glen man? Of course he was but, unfortunately, he just couldn’t pull the strings enough up above to get Hoggie his deserved All-Ireland senior medal.

But it should never be medals that define a player, although we’re inclined to think that way. Rather it should be his service, his skill, his commitment, his talent, his capacity to thrill the thousands with a flick of the wrist. Boy, did Hoggie fulfil all those criteria, and some.

We first saw Hoggie in action back in 2009 when Glen Rovers brought their U21 hurling team to Clonakilty to play the locals on a bonding day for their U21s. Ahamilla had just been opened for business and all eyes were on Glen’s new inter-county senior player who captained the U21 team. Patrick Horgan we called him back then and I can still recall the beautiful touch he had on the ball, a class hurler in the making. He was the star that day, as he was many days afterwards in the red shirt of Cork.

He wasn’t a big man but a great build for a hurler, and he was deceptively fast on the pitch. But it was the magic touch that enthralled us all. The flick, the pick, the superb wrist work, like Ringy in his prime. He was metronomic in his striking of frees and match reporters often wrote down the score before he even hit a free.

Hoggie was a joy to watch in action and we loved the way he would flick the high ball sideways in the air, round his man, flick the ball up and score. He retires as the highest scorer in the history of the championship and how many times did we see his scoring exploits rescue Cork from imminent defeat? Again and again, he carried Cork on his broad shoulders and the Cork fans loved it. The darling of the Rebel army, he rarely failed to deliver.

It wasn’t easy being the hero. Everybody expected wonders day after day, so when on those rare occasions he didn’t deliver and Cork failed to win, many of the arrows afterwards were aimed in his direction. Disappointed supporters had to blame somebody. In recent seasons, the question was being asked more and more if he should pack it up. True, he wasn’t the hurler he was five years ago, not as quick on his feet, missing the odd easy free, and we all knew time was catching up with him. But he was still vital to Cork’s chances of success. With the team so close to the elusive title over the past two seasons, he loved the game too much to give it up. He was also too good to leave out and we all knew it. He was still the man who could turn the game in the wink of an eye.

Who will ever forget the group game against Limerick in Páirc Uí Chaoimh last season, Cork having to win to remain in the race to Croke Park. Cork losing with minutes remaining, then Shane Kingston wins a penalty. One last chance. Who else to take it except the maestro himself. We have been following games for 65 years but never have we heard a roar like the one that followed the sliotar hitting the back of the Limerick net that evening. Final whistle and Páirc Uí Chaoimh went mad. Incredible scenes and Hoggie right in the centre – he was the cause of it. That moment in time captured everything about Hoggie and what he meant to Cork hurling.

Patrick Horgan celebrates scoring for Cork in the 2013 All-Ireland SHC final.

No, he never won the Celtic Cross he so richly deserved. Four finals, four defeats, we thought he had it in 2013 against Clare when he scored a late, late point that looked like the winner. Despair as Clare scored a miracle equaliser and then defeat in the replay.

Four Munster titles, the last being the greatest of all this season. Four All-Stars that would have been a dozen if Cork were more successful, and a single league title this season. You could say that the man was unlucky that his entire career – 18 inter-counties seasons – spanned Cork’s longest famine in the All-Ireland championship. But wasn’t it Hoggie’s efforts to win that elusive title year after barren year that caught the imagination of the public and brought the Rebel army flooding back to support the team in their thousands?

Opinions will differ as to whether he should have given it another shot in 2026 under new manager Ben O’Connor. Cork are so close and Hoggie has been on fire in the county championship.

But we said at the beginning that we were glad that he had decided to call it a day. Time was catching up with the Glen man at inter-county level, the speed and certainty of his game diminishing, his influence especially in general play was waning and even his immaculate free-taking was suffering. He was no longer certain of holding down a starting place even though he was still producing moments of hurling magic. He could have gone on for another season but did we want to see our hero beaten by mortal men who wouldn’t hold a candle to him in his prime?

He deserves to go out on top, as the leading scorer of all time, as the magician on the pitch who wore the mantle of Ringy and Deano with distinction. So, we are glad he decided enough is enough. He owes Cork nothing. He owes hurling nothing.

Hoggie was a hero to every young hurler in Cork – they love him. He was the inspiration they needed to play the game. He’s far from finished yet, with Glen Rovers, with hurling itself in other ways, maybe some day as Cork manager. His legacy is secure, one of the greatest Cork has ever produced and we were lucky to be there to see him all the way from that U21 day in 2009 right to the present.

We leave you with one memory that will forever stick in the mind when somebody mentions the name of Hoggie in conversation. This year’s All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin. We were lucky to have seats in the Hogan Stand, right next to the Cork subs and extended panel players. Cork forwards flying, goals galore and Horgan orchestrating it all, another sublime performance. The selectors decided to take him off near the end and as he walked off the pitch towards the subs bench near us, the Cork crowd – some say 60,000 that day – rose to their feet to cheer and applaud him off.

What a feeling, an emotional moment in hurling history. Maybe we knew in our heart that this season was really Hoggie’s swansong and that he had truly delivered his magic in the red shirt again. He sat quietly on a seat on the sideline in front of us. A legend, an icon, a real Cork hurler and he made us all feel so, so proud.

Hoggie, may you have many great days in the Glen jersey before you finally put away your hurley, if you ever do, and míle buíochas for the many great memories. A true rebel. The king is gone, long live the king.