In the 41st minute of their All-Ireland hurling semi-final thrashing of Dublin, Cork's Brian Hayes picked up the sliotar near the sideline, 45 metres out. He looked up and played a pass that bounced at the edge of the D. Veteran forward Patrick Horgan was first to the ball, then turned his marker David Lucey - at 19, a full adult younger - who was left vainly chasing the 37-year-old before he handpassed to Tim O’Mahony to put the fifth nail in the Dubs’ coffin.
Hurling’s all-time record points scorer is not even the oldest on the inter-county scene – his closest challenger, TJ Reid of Kilkenny, has six months on him and turns 38 in November.
Horgan’s team-mate Seamus Harnedy, who made his debut five years later in 2013, celebrated his 35th birthday on Thursday while one of their opponents in Sunday’s All-Ireland final, Tipperary’s record appearance-maker Noel McGrath, will be the same age in December. Waterford’s Tony Browne was 40 when he retired in 2014 while in recent years his Déise team-mate Michael 'Brick’ Walsh (36) and Westmeath’s Derek McNicholas (37) set the standard.
It’s not quite Christy Ring levels, the Cork legend wore 'the blood and bandage' until he was 43, but their longevity as outfield players stands out in the modern era of GPS-tracked running stats. In 2023, Stephen Cluxton became the oldest player to win an All-Ireland SFC, his eighth, aged 42, but there’s a bit less running in goals. Though Nickie Quaid’s five-month recovery from an ACL at 35 to play for Limerick this season was still staggering.
The man who has played the most hurling championship games, Reid with 94, is still the most accurate free-taker in the game. Horgan isn’t too far behind him and also scored a couple of points from play against Dublin. Harnedy was averaging 2.6 per game before missing the semi-final through injury. McGrath, who also suffered from testicular cancer at 24, is still so good that he gets a point even when the ball goes wide.
In March, shortly before breaking Eddie Keher’s hurling league scoring record, Horgan suggested that all this age talk was getting old.
"It’s a hard one because you get reminded of your age all the time," he said. "Age shouldn’t be a thing. When you actually break it down into what do you need to do, to play at the level we’re playing, I think I’m able.
"You probably hear from a lot of players that have moved on, they say you get a feeling at some stage: ‘I can’t do this, I can’t do that, I don’t really have the appetite to go and do the extras before training or afterwards’. But for me nothing like that has happened yet. I love it. I feel like I’m competing really well, same as anyone else down at training."
"The feeling never gets old, it’s as good as ever," McGrath told The Sunday Game after pipping Kilkenny to reach his eighth All-Ireland final (including one replay).
The three-time winner played the final 20 minutes, an impact role he also fulfilled in the quarter-final victory over Galway, and he is listed to start on the bench again this weekend.
"Everybody wants to play. There are 38 lads on our panel that want to play and I’m no different. But you do what you’re asked to do. If Liam wants me for 70 minutes or he wants me for 10 minutes, I’ll be ready.
"I’m 34 years of age. To be out here in Croke Park is unbelievable. I’m loving every minute of it. I’ll stay doing it as long as I’m wanted, as long as I’m able and as long as I’m enjoying it. I don’t know how you couldn’t enjoy days like today."
Tipperary's Noel McGrath joins The Sunday Game panel in the aftermath of his side's dramatic All-Ireland SHC semi-final victory over Kilkenny. pic.twitter.com/KPWZ3kR06j
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Brendan Cummins was 38 when he called time on his 20-year Tipperary career in 2013, having won the second of his two All-Ireland medals alongside a then 19-year-old McGrath playing his second campaign.
He feels there are a combination of factors involved in holding down an inter-county jersey for so long.
"These fellas are clearly being managed properly by Liam Cahill and Pat Ryan but they also have that fire burning inside them that says 'I am not going to let go of this until I win another All-Ireland’. And it is inspiring their counties," the five-time All-Star goalkeeper told the RTÉ GAA podcast.
"Everyone wants to play forever, but are you allowed the space to rest? Can you keep the diet going? The amount of training that goes on... it is so difficult. I was lucky at home because people were able to look after the kids.
"The family life at home allows them to do it and it's great to see them with their kids out after the game. Thanks to their families for giving them time to do it.
"That for me is the absolute key but then of course the drive is in them, and they're blessed that they have minded their bodies that they are still able to do it. They keep themselves really well and there's a pride in the way you try to keep yourself."
Jackie Tyrrell won nine All-Ireland medals with Kilkenny, calling it a day at 34 in 2016. He was an unused sub for that year’s final and is particularly impressed by how central the old guard remain to their teams.
"What the guys are doing is phenomenal," he said. "It's so hard to play at the top top level. To stay going into your 30s, the mental resilience of picking up injuries and knocks, not having as much time to rest and recover.
"But it's not like they're hanging in. These guys are in pivotal roles. Noel McGrath could win the game when he comes on. Seamus Harnedy is so important. Hoggy is on the frees and still one of their main men. We [Kilkenny] will be in such trouble when TJ goes, hopefully it won't be next year.
"Brendan is right. It's your support network. When I played, I had no kids. You can't lie on the couch on a Saturday to recover because you're wrecked after training, [if] you have to get up and mind kids. When they wake at 3 or 4 in the morning and your missus has to carry that burden, that's tough for them.
"To be still at that elite level is a testament to them and how they look after themselves, and the S&C [strength and conditioning] and teams that look after these guys. We are very privileged to be witnessing this."
"If you are 35 or 37 and still playing inter-county, you are a robust player"
But what does a player in their mid to late 30s have to do differently to cope with the demands of the inter-county game?
Paul Conneely has been the team physio for the Meath and Carlow senior footballers, and was lead physio for Team Ireland at the Tokyo Paralympic Games.
"The big thing is that they need to recover better and they take a little bit longer to recover from games and training," he told RTÉ Sport. "It’s all about getting them in early into pre-season and building them up a little bit slower, knowing that there is a bit of muscle memory there. Managing their load throughout the league, but by the last few games, they should be doing everything that everyone is doing.
"Pre-season will often be a little more creative for those players. Injury history is very important. A 35-year-old player with a history of ACL reconstruction and degenerative changes in the knee, there’s a strong chance, that you’re going to say ‘More bike work or a rowing machine rather than hard running’, to take the pressure off the joints.
"But if you are 35 or 37 and still playing inter-county, you are a robust player. They might have had a few more hamstring tears but there’s a strong chance those lads didn’t have a history of big injuries.
"Secondly, their gym programme will be different and have more of a mobility or rehab focus than a bulking focus. Patrick Horgan has had 18 seasons so he won’t have to do as much heavy lifting as a 20-year-old in his second year on the panel, because he will have that in the bank. He was always a corner-forward. A lot of his gym-based training will be about speed. You don’t have to develop him any more, just make sure he’s going onto the pitch with fresh legs.
"Often players try to lose a bit of weight as they get older, to stay more mobile and have less pressure on the joints. TJ Reid looks to have bucked that trend. At full-forward, he's not required to move as much, therefore he can afford a little bit of extra good weight. He’s not breaking out to the wings. He’s horsing lads out of the way and he still has a serious leap.
"You will find that the older lads in squads prioritise recovery. They have been around the block so many times and they know if they don’t do it they are fecked. And they do it really well. Because they are not young lads, they often live slightly quieter lives. They might finish work, then they’re in the pool or doing a bit of stretching. Then they go home and eat well. Often you will use them as an example to younger lads in the squad: ‘This is one of the reasons why they are still playing, 18 years down the road’.
"As the season rolls on, you go into league and it’s all about managing load, often based off GPS stats. The whole team’s training volume will be down but theirs will probably even be a little bit less. But they still have to train, so by the end of the league, coming into championship, they are fully in with the sessions.
"They have to be able for that, and if they’re not, unless they are a gifted, generational talent, they are probably not going to be able to hold down a place."
Three-time All-Star half-forward Harnedy sat out the semi-final with a hamstring injury but has been named on the bench for tomorrow, and presumably wouldn’t be taking up one of the 26 places if he wasn’t in contention to play. Does it take much longer to recover from a muscle injury at 35? Or is the science catching up with the greater intensity of the modern inter-county game?
"Not twice as long," said Conneely. "It doesn’t slow that much. In general, maybe an extra four or five days. But that could be the difference between making the All-Ireland final or not.
"I don't think sports science has cancelled increased demands just yet. Some injuries are increasing year on year, for example, ACL ruptures. The severity of hamstring injuries is also increasing, but the overall amount of them is decreasing. There are still a lot of joint injuries, but more and more, SSMED [Sports science and medicine] staff are exploring non-operative options where appropriate.
"As SSMED teams get bigger, there is an increased opportunity for individual approaches for players carrying an injury or an older athlete. Managers and selectors are getting more clued in to the idea that one size doesn't fit all. The SSMED staff can do all they want, but if the manager wants to ignore the science and over-train the player, then the player will do what he says. The relationship between the physio and manager is crucial."
Lorcan McLoughlin played with Horgan and Harnedy on the Cork team beaten in the 2013 final replay by Clare. Injuries played a part in his early inter-county retirement just five years later, and though he is still playing football and hurling with Kanturk, he is actually only eight months older than Harnedy.
"I'll be stiff for the week after training but fair play to them," he said. "It's unbelievable.
"There was this perception that you hit 30 and that's it, your days are numbered, but it’s brilliant to see the likes of John Conlon from Clare [36], TJ Reid, Patrick Horgan, Seamus Harnedy. Those lads are proving that they've an awful lot to give yet."
Just how much Horgan, Harnedy and McGrath have left in the tank could be crucial to their teams' chances tomorrow.
Watch the All-Ireland Hurling Championship final, Cork v Tipperary, on Sunday from 2.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
