HE’S not the type to say ‘I told you so’. But John Cleary would be entitled to think it.

When his initial three-year term as Cork football manager ended last season, the easy option was to step aside.

Instead, he doubled down on his belief in this group.

Convinced by the attitude of his players and backroom team, the Castlehaven man committed to another two years.

‘We feel that if we can get consistency, and avoid injuries like we’ve had in the last year or two, that on our day we can be a match for anyone,’ Cleary told this paper in December.

Seven months on, he has been proven right.

A more consistent Cork are piecing together the county’s best campaign in over a decade.

Ten wins from 13 games across league and championship. Division 1 promotion secured after a decade outside the top flight. A first Munster final appearance since 2021. There is consistency, at last. 

But the Ambush in Ballybofey tops the list.

This is Cleary’s finest hour as Cork football manager.

His Rebels were given little chance heading into the backyard of a Donegal team that had just hammered All-Ireland champions Kerry in Killarney and looked the form team in the country.

Ballybofey was sold out, too, with almost every seat occupied by a local supporter. Cork were also without the suspended Colm O’Callaghan, and the injured David Buckley who had impressed in the previous win against Meath.

As the Cork squad flew to Derry and then travelled on by bus into Donegal, a detour to Knock Shrine in search of divine intervention might not have seemed the worst idea.

Five points down at half-time in this All-Ireland SFC Round 2A clash, it looked as if the script had already been written.

A miracle of sorts was needed.

But it wasn’t holy water that sparked this glorious Cork comeback.

‘We had nothing to lose. We went for it and they were holding what they had,’ Cleary said after a second half that saw Cork outscore Donegal by six points to snatch a head-turning 0-17 to 1-13 victory.

That second-half performance will become the stuff of Cork football legend, made all the more intriguing because the match wasn’t shown live on television.

The patience of the first half created the platform for the Rebels to hunt in packs, break at pace and punish a stunned home team. 

Luke Fahy’s two-pointer. Tommy Walsh’s outrageous effort off the outside of his right boot after swatting aside any Donegal man brave enough to challenge him. Steven Sherlock purring. 

Heroes everywhere.

‘They had a plan for controlling the game and slowing the game,’ admitted Donegal boss Jim McGuinness.

‘The way they set up from an attacking view, they had a hell of a lot of bodies inside.

‘It was very difficult to get pressure on the arc. That left them controlling long, long phases of the game in the first half. That probably took a lot out of the legs as well.’

Cork’s game-plan worked. They outmaneuvered McGuinness and Donegal, and delivered when the pressure was on. 

‘There have been few more impressive results in my lifetime supporting and being involved with Cork football teams,’ John Hayes writes in his column this week.

‘John Cleary’s side are quietly putting together one of the most impressive – there’s that word again – seasons a Cork football team has ever produced.’

While heavyweights like Kerry, Donegal and Armagh scrap for survival this weekend, Cork will rest, recover and plan for the following weekend and the All-Ireland quarter-finals at Croke Park.

Cork want more from a season that has already delivered plenty.

‘We always feel that if we're playing to the peak of our powers we're a match for anyone in the country,’ Cleary told this paper ahead of the trip to Donegal.

The biggest difference this season is consistency.

For years, that was Cork's kryptonite. Too many false dawns. Too many promising results followed by a step backwards.

But this season is different. Six wins out of seven secured promotion from Division 2. Cork have now beaten, in back-to-back games, two of last year's All-Ireland semi-finalists, Meath and Donegal.

‘Don’t underestimate this group,’ Ruairí Deane stated as he chatted to The Southern Star on the pitch after this triumph.

They believed they would beat Donegal. They delivered.

Cork are now acting like one of the top counties should. When they lose games, they bounce back. A potentially-damaging league loss away to Derry was followed by wins against Kildare and Tyrone. A disappointing Munster final performance in Killarney has been followed by huge wins in the All-Ireland series against Meath and Donegal.

John Cleary felt this group were capable of bigger and better. It’s why he and his management team stayed on. And it means a lot – look at the beaming smile of the Cork manager on the front page of this section. Happiness, and the fans are on board, too.

The diehards that made the long trek to Donegal on Saturday got their reward. They are the I-was-there contingent. This was a special day, the latest memorable entry into a 2026 diary that has plenty of highlights already. 

That connection with the supporters is growing. The proof is in the attendance figures for games this season, like 8,526 at the recent All-Ireland SFC Round 1 win against Meath at Páirc Uí Rinn. 

Key calls are also helping, like playing more games at Páirc Uí Rinn, and also flying from Cork Airport to Derry and back on Saturday instead of a long bus journey. 

But the smartest decision of the lot was persuading John Cleary to go again. Now, it’s about pushing forward. 

He has now overseen consecutive championship wins against Jim McGuinness’s Donegal, following on from the 2024 success, but Cleary doesn’t need reminding how Cork’s season fizzled out two years ago. He will be determined history doesn’t repeat itself here. 

On the evidence of this season, Cork can move deeper into summer.

He did tell us this could happen. The sceptics are now believers too.