In the aftermath of the Munster Final, we said that the appraisal of Cork’s recent record as provincial champions was for another day. That day has come. The same was said of the fact that across ninety minutes, there was no separating Cork and Limerick. However, events since that night of 7 June have made that particular discussion a moot one.
Once the high of beating Limerick on penalties began to dissipate – well, once it stopped occupying every waking moment – thoughts turned to who we would have to overcome to make it back to the Big Show on 20 July. When Kilkenny took care of Galway with relative ease in the Leinster decider, all known form pointed towards a fourth meeting with Tipperary in 2025. That idea provoked plenty of anxiety and when the Joe McDonagh finalists fell, as they tend to do, we all sat down and waited for the inevitability of Limerick and Tipperary joining Cork and Kilkenny in the final four.
Then, as we all know, something truly extraordinary happened. As I settled down on a couch in the heart of Kerry’s hurling country to watch the opening All-Ireland quarterfinal, the only difficulty I foresaw for the Big Green Machine was of a physical nature. Dublin gave Cork plenty of it at the same stage last season, but all form suggested more of the same with Limerick pulling away and winning with the classic ‘bit to spare.’
Much like Limerick, we were all just waiting for it to happen. Dublin’s response to Chris Crummey’s red card was heroic, but we all thought that the master tactician, Paul Kinnerk, would make the necessary tweaks to see Limerick through. Yes, it took them longer than we anticipated to take the lead, but once Adam English put them one ahead on the back of a butchered Dublin goal chance, that was meant to be that.
Obviously, somebody forgot to give the Metropolitans the script and their quickfire goals threw the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons. Aaron Gillane, the one man you would pick in such a situation, then got the chance to put things right. But he abandoned precision for power, perhaps taking his cue from John Hetherton’s ‘shot heard ’round the world’, and it was only then that the shock seemed inevitable.
It was an incredible event to watch, one of those games that takes over the conversation all over the country. Limerick beaten, the Dubs back in the final four for the first time since 2013. Limerick beaten. Limerick beaten.
It would remind you, to an extent, of Cork beating Kilkenny in Thurles in 2013, not for the shock value, but for the repercussions. Kilkenny were to the hurling world then what Limerick are now and once a behemoth like that exits the stage, everybody begins to believe that bit more. Clare is, of course, the All-Ireland champions but their race is run just like Tipp’s, the Cats’ only real rival back then, was in 2013.
One significant difference between then and now is that then, three of the remaining four protagonists made for wistfully romantic All-Ireland champions. Clare were Clare, Dublin were Dublin, and Limerick was what Limerick used to be. Cork wasn’t what Cork used to be, but we were very much the buzz killers in an open field. No matter what platitudes are sent our way, we will never be the darling of the neutrals. Rightly so.
This time, the Dubs are the only romantic story and the chances of the favourites’ defeat leading to the coronation of a fresh new face is one in four as opposed to three in four. This time it’s the dastardly aristocrats of Kilkenny, Tipperary and Cork who stand to benefit from the chaos that Dublin brought to proceedings.
Cork are now the favourites to win the All-Ireland. That’s fine, even if it blatantly ignores Kilkenny’s omnipresence at this stage of the championship since 2019 and that fact that in four of those six years it took the eventual All-Ireland champions to beat them. Tipperary has made tremendous progress this season and the glint in Liam Cahill’s eye as he attempted to manifest a smile onto Pat Ryan’s face told us a lot about where they’re at. And, in many ways, Dublin are right back where they were three weeks ago. Would they have it any other way?
Because all of the expectations are on Cork tomorrow. If Cork does not beat Dublin, it certainly won’t be because of hubris. As already mentioned, there’s last year’s game that could have quite easily slipped away from Cork, and, of course, there’s the fact that fourteen-man Dublin beat Limerick two weeks ago. Our first visit to the Gaelic Grounds this year also serves as a reminder of what can happen if you’re not mentally tuned in.
But beyond that, how could we be anything but humbled by this Great Hunger? The last three times Cork have come out of Munster as champions; we’ve fallen at the penultimate hurdle. Spectacularly in 2014, acceptably in 2017, tragically in 2018. While we’re at it, there was 2000 when Cork went in against Offaly as raging hot favourites and fell on their collective arse. 2008, 2010 and 2012 are other tales of what might have been meaning that we’re four for ten in All-Ireland semi-finals since Seán Óg Ó hAilpín climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand twenty years ago.
In Cork, we know where we are. Aside from the obvious mendacity that precipitates much of the outside noise about Cork, what people fail to understand is that what they see as hype is in fact just a deep craving, a profound longing for success. With that yearning comes a healthy dose of trepidation too, and that trepidation will temper the optimism going into tomorrow’s game.
There are only a select few who saw what Dublin did to Limerick coming. All of them were and are in the Dublin camp. They knew what they were and are capable of. Now we all know. We all know what Cork is capable of too.
It promises to be an enthralling spectacle in front of a sold out Croke Park. Like all games, semi-finals are for winning, and all that matters is winning, by any means necessary.
Corcaigh Abú.
John Coleman
The Little All-Ireland 