Hurling chat still jumps around the Kingston kitchen table but these days only Shane gets up to leave on the evenings Cork are training.
Kieran Kingston ended his second term as Cork senior hurling manager in July, having returned to the position in late 2019. His first spell at the helm was between 2016-2017, and he was also involved as a selector in 2012-2013 and as a coach in 2014.
Shane made his senior debut with the Rebels in 2016. He is now one of Cork’s key players and continued to live at home during the period when his Dad was also manager of the Rebels.
“I don’t think from my perspective there was much benefit, to be honest,” smiles Shane. “No, he treated me the same as everybody else, really. Obviously, it’s a bit more awkward when you go home and I’m after being whipped off or not starting. Obviously, there’d be a bit of tension at home, but we tried to keep it separate as much as we could.”
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There certainly were occasions over the years when Shane might have had reason to be frustrated. But when he stood back to look at the rationale behind those calls, it was because the management were trying to get Cork over the line.
“When he was involved he was always looking to do what was best for the group, whether that was to drop me, drop someone else, take me off, take someone else off,” adds Shane.
More than most, Shane was able to contrast the number of hours a team manager puts in compared to a player. Indeed, given the effort required, he reckons being an intercounty manager now has essentially become a full-time role.
“I’d say anyone involved in a management most definitely puts in 50, 60, 70 hours a week,” he adds. “It’s ridiculous. And then if you’re trying to have a job on top of that, it’s crazy, to be honest.
“When you’re a player you just show up and you train and you leave and you do it again the next day. What seems an hour or an hour and a half gym session or training session for us is probably seven or eight hours of planning for somebody else. So it’s a full-time job, really.”
Pat Ryan has succeeded Kieran as Cork manager and Shane reckons the pang will only hit his Dad when the games resume next year.
“He loves hurling, he’s a hurling man so our relationship is probably based around hurling,” continues Shane.
“He was involved with Cork for eight of the last 10 years, so I suppose it’s hard to just flick a switch and not think about it or talk about it. He’s slowly getting used to not going training in the evening.
“This time of year, it’s preseason and it’s more of a hard slog. But in a couple of months when we’re playing out in Thurles or Páirc Uí Chaoimh, he’ll probably be missing it then.”
Liam MacCarthy has been missing around Leeside since 2005. That’s a long time in Cork. Too long. And Shane has little interest kicking that can down the road much longer. The aim in 2023 is simple.
“Obviously you’re not going to train for eight months to transition for 2024,” he remarks.
“Every year you go playing you want to win an All-Ireland so I’d be looking to the near future rather than the distant future.
“Look, your ambition every year is to go and win an All-Ireland. Any year you don’t, I wouldn’t say it’s a failure, but it’s an unsuccessful year. It’s been so long now since Cork won a hurling All-Ireland, I wouldn’t say there’s any pressure but even myself, I’m getting a bit older now. The window to win an All-Ireland is smaller than you think.”
But their cause looks set to be that bit more difficult with news that 2022 Cork captain Mark Coleman could miss the entire season as he needs to undergo knee surgery. The 2017 All Star is a central player for the Rebels.
*Shane Kingston was speaking at the unveiling of eir as a new sponsor of the GAA All-Ireland senior hurling championship.
