TOM LYONS explains why the Cork hurlers are good for the soul
THE GAA might be bad for the heart at times but, my God, it is good for the soul. Likewise, the Cork hurlers.
Friday evening, Clon footballers were beaten by a late goal in the Division 1 senior football league final and my U16 team beaten again. Saturday, the Cork ladies were hammered by the Dubs in Parnell Park. It was a weekend that certainly wasn’t shaping too well and the spirits dropping fast.
It was onto Croke Park on Saturday evening. Was there any place on earth a Cork GAA supporter would have preferred to be than Jones’ Road in Dublin, from 5pm to 7pm on Saturday?
The routine is to visit the in-laws for a few days in Monaghan, avoiding all the Cork traffic to and from Dublin on match day. Ninety minutes from Castleblayney to Croke Park, no heavy traffic on the M1, and the same on the way back. Then home at our leisure the following day. The only downside is that you miss the Cork craic in Dublin beforehand, but Croke Park is what it’s all about.
Supporting her cousins Damien Cahalane at Croke Park was Maggie Davis from Castlehaven, with her grandfather Finbarr Santry, Castlehaven.
What a cauldron it was on Saturday. We couldn’t believe the number of Cork fans in the stadium – there must have been at least 55,000 in the full capacity. Where do they get all the tickets? Where will they get them for the final?
On the way to the stadium, we saw a great mixture of red and light blue, Cork and Dublin supporters who should have been bitter enemies, mixing so freely. Likewise, inside the stadium. Pockets of light blue surrounded by bright red everywhere. Even Hill 16 had been invaded by the Cork fans, alongside the blue.
We had great seats in the Lower Hogan, halfway line, right next to the Cork subs. Just in front of them were the rest of the Cork players, in red tee-shirts, from the extended Cork panel, all young and fit-looking, the future supporting the present Cork team. The atmosphere was electric, the noise incredible as both teams warmed up, Cork right in front of us. We gazed in awe at the size of the Dublin players, some giants of men and wondered how the slight, lean Cork players could handle them. John Hetherton, number 21 on his back, was in from the start – how would Eoin Downey do on him?
How would Cork react to the four-week break, buzzing or dead flat? Were Dublin as dangerous as they looked against Limerick, or were Limerick just spent after the dramatic, energy-sapping Munster final? Game on, Dublin first score, hearts in our mouths already. Oh, us of little faith. This was to be the day these Cork hurlers showed why they are league and Munster champions. The goals started to flow.
Newcestown was represented at Croke Park - Podge Moloney (left), back from Queensland to support the Rebels, with his brother Brian Moloney .
Brian Hayes, two green flags, combining beautifully with Alan Connolly and Patrick Horgan, as Connolly also found the net twice. All our Christmases had come together as Cork’s power hurling swept Dublin aside. 4-13 scored in one half. Incredible. A lead of ten at half time. Every player wearing a red shirt on fire and if that indicated very poor opposition, let it be said that Dublin played some good hurling too but were just being swamped.
Cork’s inconsistency has been a bugbear this season, rarely putting two good halves together. Could this be a repeat and would Dublin stage a comeback? We soon had the answer as Tim O’Mahony took this contest by the scruff of the neck at midfield. His two goals, plus a third from Connolly to complete his hat-trick, saw the Rebels giving their most complete performance of the season. It was almost too one-sided to be enjoyable, but we did anyway.
The biggest cheer of the day, apart from the glorious seven goals in this 7-26 to 2-21 rout, was for Patrick Horgan as he walked to the sideline after being subbed late in the game. Sure, he’s not the player he used to be but his touches are sublime and his creativity top notch. He is a Cork icon and we can only imagine the cheer in two weeks’ time when he raises the Liam McCarthy Cup in the Hogan Stand.
Jack O'Sullivan and his mom Catherine, from Allihies, enjoyed a day to remember in Croke Park.
Cork did so many things so well on the day such as breaking the high ball, bringing it to ground as the experts all said the Dubs would dominate the airways. They didn’t. The harassing, blocking and hooking by the backs was amazing, the hunger to win the dirty ball exemplary. The quality of the ball into the inside forward line made it a dream day for Cork’s lethal full forward trio. And what of Dalton’s booming points, his first from 90 metres just in front of us, inspiring stuff. Eoin Downey didn’t yield an inch at full back, Sean O’Donoghue is putting himself in line for an All-Star, and Mark Coleman, too, has returned to his very best. Again, the subs all played their part with Kingston, Lehane and O’Connor all getting on the score sheet and O’Flynn brilliantly creating Connolly’s third goal.
Of course, it wasn’t the perfect performance, we want to keep that for the final. There’s still a question mark over puckouts by Patrick Collins, and Dublin did score 2-21. Not too long ago that would have been enough to win most matches. Dublin poached two goals, nearly had four and some work still needs to be done on defence. But, in truth, it was hard to find any fault with this Cork display.
Maura Hurley from Dunmanway cheered Cork on to victory!
It was a happy, buzzing Cork crowd that exited Croke Park on Saturday night, talk already turning to the final and the search for tickets, as we prepare to face Tipperary for the third time this season, but that’s a story for another day.
Suffice to say we were proudly flying the Cork colours on the way home on Monday, eagerly looking forward to two weeks of the build-up to the final. Surely, a 20-year famine will finally come to an end on July 20th, and we have no doubt that Cork fans would completely fill Croke Park on their own that day if such were possible. Roll on the final, Rebels abú.
