Sean og ohailpin autobiography of a yogi

SEÁN Óg Ó hAilpín may be known to all GAA fans as the player who won five Munster hurling titles, three All Irelands, three All Stars and a Munster football title, but few know the ‘real’ Seán Óg – the main reason for writing his autobiography.

Few know that as an 11-year-old he moved from the Western suburbs of Sydney, Australia to Cork.

Fewer know about an injury to his knee, suffered in a car crash, might have ended his career, but even fewer know his real name, John Halfpenny.

“It’s pronounced Hape-enny, the ‘f’ is silent” Seán Óg admits. “When I was seven, my dad decided to change my name.

Seeing as he was John too, he decided on the Seán Óg part.

Sean og ohailpin autobiography of a yogi

Then the closest translation for Halfpenny was Ó hAilpín, so it became what I am today.”

Changing name at seven, followed by a move to Cork at 11, Seán Óg did not have anything easy from a young age.

“Growing up in Sydney was like being in heaven.

I walked around in flip flops and T-shirts all the time. Up the road we ha