The Christy O’Connor column
BEFORE Mary I played their Fitzgibbon Cup semi-final against LIT last Friday, Jamie Wall rolled his wheelchair down the hill in Dangan, made his way along the gravel path as far as the halfway line before wheeling across the pitch.
After surveying the warm-up and having the final say to his players, Wall then liaised with his backroom team throughout the match, collectively choreographing the required changes and switches during a game which Mary I won by five points.
At the final whistle, a number of LIT players made it their business to congratulate Wall. When his own players had completed their warm-down, they gathered around Wall in a circle, with the manager already calmly preparing them for the following day’s final, which Mary I won by 11 points.
In so many ways, the Fitzgibbon weekend was as much a triumph of Wall’s admirable spirit as Mary I’s fantastic success but it was clear from his body-language that Wall didn’t want his story to overshadow the achievement of his players. Everything about him all weekend was a study in grace and class. Wall was cool, calm, collected, measured, as respectful and gracious in victory as he could have been.
When Eoin Quirke spoke in his acceptance speech about him being an inspiration on and off the pitch, Wall just gave Quirke a modest thumbs up. Wall doesn’t need words to explain what he means to his players, of the respect in which he is held, both by hurlers, and the hurling and wider sporting communities. The warmth between Wall and his players was fully evident after Saturday’s game but the embrace by Richie English spoke a thousand sentences for everybody.
Only Wall himself knows what’s going on in his head but his whole philosophy appears to be largely governed by trust and courage; trust in what he believes in, and the courage to see it through.
As a manager, ‘trust’ is Wall’s most commonly used word; to always have trust in each other. Every single game Mary I played this season, they used the same style of play; a two-man full-forward line with another forward at the top of the triangle.
LIT clearly anticipated it with how they deployed Jamie Shanahan in the sweeper role. It would have been obvious to IT Carlow as well but none of that mattered; Wall’s players were so comfortable with their own system that they had absolute trust in it. Equaling the highest scoring record (set by UCD in 1979) in a Fitzgibbon Cup final was emphatic confirmation.
When Wall spoke so well during his presentation at the GAA’s Annual Coaching Conference in January, he laid himself bare as a coach; of the harsh lessons he had already learned, that he needed to learn, of how he was attempting to put those lessons to good use, of his absolute thirst and desire to gather more knowledge to make himself a better coach. Wall said that one of the things he was looking forward to most about that day at the Conference was filling his copy with notes during Paul Kinnerk’s presentation.
Many of the coaches in the room for Wall’s presentation were probably drawn by the human element of his story. Yet most would have left with a huge regard for Wall as a coach rather than just Wall the person, and the adversity he has overcome.
That desire to learn and improve defines most of the best coaches and managers but Wall clearly has a firm grasp on the whole management package. The Mary I players rave about his man-management skills. No matter what number you are on the panel, Wall might pick up the phone to check in. Sometimes that could be every day.
In his role with the UL Freshers over the last couple of years, Anthony Daly has got to know Wall. He was always taken aback by his individual knowledge on players, of how deeply he thinks on the game. Daly is in no doubt as to what Wall would bring to Cork as a future coach or manager.
Taking over the reigning Fitzgibbon Cup champions and being charged with the task of successfully defending their first ever title was a huge challenge. Managing a group with so many big and experienced names heightened that challenge even more but the Mary I players are inspired by Wall the person and coach as much as they are by his story and the difficulties he has been faced with.
The players describe Wall as very emotional. They will often see tears in his eyes but that’s as much about wanting the best for them than the regret of not having the opportunity they all have. He is ultra cool when he speaks but Wall can raise the roof too if the players need to be shaken up with a dressing down. People and players are drawn to Wall because of his courage and grace, his humility and warmth. His players clearly play for him but Wall’s strength inspires everyone, everywhere. DJ Carey said as much last Saturday.
Wall firmly believes he will walk again. He often said that to the Mary I players but that resoluteness and mental strength has always been hardwired into his mentality. When a group of Mary I students produced an emotional documentary in 2015 about Wall’s recovery, he spoke at one stage about losing the 2010 All-Ireland minor football final, and the 2013 Fitzgibbon Cup final.
“I can look back on those games now and say I tried, I worked hard, I did as well as I could,” said Wall. “It didn’t work out but I didn’t come away from those games thinking, ‘What if I had done this? I tried everything. Once I can do that, I can be at peace with myself. And be at peace with whatever the result is.”
At the start and end of that documentary, Wall spoke the words which have become the cornerstone of his whole philosophy now. ‘Never give up. Never let up.’
Wall never has. And he never will.
