Mark Keane ready to give his all for club and county
As he prepares for Ballygiblin’s AIB All-Ireland Club Junior Hurling Final against Mooncoin, Mark Keane is a very contented man.
He made some headlines in January when he decided to end his career in the Australian Football League with Collingwood and move back home to Ireland.
As difficult a decision as it was to make, he knows in his heart it was the right one.
For as long as he was in Australia he was always thinking about home, and the ambition to play Gaelic games with club and county was one that never left him.
“Yeah, I suppose I always wanted to come home and play for Cork in either hurling or football,” he admits.
“I just felt like it was the right time to come home. I went back over for five or six weeks for a pre-season. When I came home I just wasn’t ready to go back. Just in my own head, I’ve always went back without a bother but this time I just felt it wasn’t the same and wasn’t ready to go back and commit to it.
“When I was over there I was always invested in it. Whenever I was training, I trained to the best of my ability and stuff like that, but in the back of my mind GAA was always there. I’ve tried loads of time to ignore the GAA back here at home but unfortunately I couldn’t get it out of my head.”
Even while contracted to Collingwood, Keane always played football and hurling on his holidays back home in Ireland and famously scored a match-winning goal for the Cork senior footballers against Kerry in the 2020 Munster senior football semi-final.Mark Keane celebrates after scoring a dramatic last gasp goal for Cork.
The common presumption was that when he severed his ties with Collingwood he would join up with the Cork footballers again, but instead the accomplished dual player has opted for the county hurlers.
“I’ve a Munster medal and All-Ireland medal in hurling from U15 and U16 under John Meyler. I played hurling all the way up as well,” says Keane.
“Football was always kind of my love. I played minor and U20 football, would’ve played both if I could have. I just thought it was the right time to give hurling a go.
“It’s a dream for everyone really to play both codes, play Cork hurling and football. Since I’ve done the football, I just wanted to give hurling a go. I just feel like it’s the right time.”
He has been very impressive for Ballygiblin during their run to Saturday’s All-Ireland Final, but accepts making the step-up to the pace of senior inter-county hurling will be a challenge, especially as he never eveb picked up a hurley for the first 18 months he was in Australia.
“Yeah I wouldn’t be used to it (the pace of inter-county hurling). Playing junior hurling is obviously a few steps down from inter-county hurling. It’s something I’m trying to get used to at the moment but it’s definitely going in the right direction.
“I’ve been working closely with the selectors above in Cork senior hurling. They’ve been great and very supportive, trying to get the best out of me.”
He hopes to get some game-time with Cork during the Allianz Hurling League, but for now he’s fully focused on Saturday’s All-Ireland Final with Ballygiblin.
It’s his first time to play a match in Croke Park, and he never imagined he’d achieve that long-held ambition with his club rather than county.
“It’s unbelievable in fairness, it’s only a small country club outside of Mitchelstown,” says Keane of Ballygiblin.
“It can goes from the top down. I couldn’t speak highly of Brian Molan and Liam Doc (O’Doherty), our chairman and secretary, they’ve been unreal. They’re just great characters and you just want to play and win for them any day of the week.
“It’s everyone’s dream to be in Croke Park with your club. It’s definitely a dream to be there with your county but being there with your club is even better.”
