'A pretty face on a pitbull' - Seán Óg Ó hAilpín reveals Kilkenny player was toughest he ever faced

Cork former hurling great Seán Óg Ó hAilpín didn't mince words when describing the toughest opponent he ever faced on the pitch.

Speaking on Off the Ball's The Hurling Pod Live (alongside Kilkenny People contributor Paul Murphy), Seán Óg briefly said for many years, it might have been DJ Carey, but when it came down to it, the honour went to none other than Henry Shefflin.

"Henry Shefflin was a pretty face on a pitbull," he said, prompting laughs from the audience. The teak-tough Corkman described Henry as 'vicious, and an unbelievable competitor'. He had nothing but the height of praise for the former Kilkenny sharpshooter, with whom he had many great tussles over the years.

"I would have said DJ Carey...but..."

"A pretty face on a pitbull."

"Fuck me....he was vicious."

"You're like a langer then..."@OfficialCorkGAA's Seán Óg Ó hAilpín describes the toughest hurler he ever had to mark.

The Hurling Pod Live with @BGEGAA pic.twitter.com/b1PYuqwnSQ

— Off The Ball (@offtheball) June 20, 2024
"He loved to engage physically on an opponent. Many nightmares I've had of Shefflin getting the ball and his arm, he's ramming it past your chest, as if he's going past, running into space - but he's really giving you a message. He's ghosting by in play, mastery," he said.

Seán Óg praised the longevity of his career and his big match temperament, before acknowleding the effect of Kilkenny's dominance in that era.

"When it was a rivalry for about two years between us and Kilkenny - because after that it didn't become a rivalry, they just hammered us out of sight - I'd honestly say it's because the likes of the Kilkenny players and Henry Shefflin that made you go back that winter to train harder, be better," he said.

"You had just tunnel vision, fixated. Because if you didn't they would f***in eat you without salt."