ONE week before Cork booked their place in the All-Ireland minor football final, the Cork seniors turned in a heroic display to ambush Donegal in Ballybofey.

Cork football has made great strides this season at all levels.

Let’s not forget Ray Keane’s U20 team beating Kerry in the Munster round-robin series, earning Cork’s first competitive win over their rivals at any grade since 2023. The Rebels may have fallen agonisingly short in the U20 provincial decider but the seed has been planted for Cork football to thrive in future years.

‘It’s a great boost for everybody,’ Keith Ricken agreed following his minor side’s comfortable victory over Derry.

‘The amount of work that goes into Cork football and the commitment to it is second to none. I’ll always be very proud of that and to be asked to be involved in it.

‘I’m humbled to work alongside guys that give their heart and soul to it. For all the different teams at senior, U20s, minors and U16s. For our guys particularly, the commitment to Cork football is unquestionable.

‘It’s nice for the seniors to get a result against Donegal. It’s nice for us to get to an All-Ireland final. It’s nice for the U20s to beat Kerry this year. These are all good things.

‘If we don’t win the All-Ireland or Cork seniors don’t win the All-Ireland, we are getting an awful lot out of it anyway. The commitment and days like this make it all enjoyable.

‘There are a lot of good genuine Cork people that love their football. This win, like the seniors against Donegal, is for the fans. We’ll get a kick out of it and the lads will get a kick out of playing but the fans will float home. They have been with Cork football through thick and thin. For that alone, it’s nice to give them days like this.’

There is a great togetherness with Ricken’s U17 group and 31 names have seen championship football in this year’s panel.

Clonakilty’s Fionn O’Donovan became the 31st player to enter the fray while O’Donovan Rossa’s Kevin O’Donovan came on and struck 0-2 in Parnell Park. These are days to be remembered for this group and they have one more to go against Tyrone.

‘Fionn O’Donovan hadn’t featured in any game but came on and looked like a fella that was there all the time. We lost Aaron (O’Sullivan) at half time. That’s our fourth back lost in the last couple of weeks. We’ll hope to have a few back soon. That could unsettle a team but everybody was able to go into different positions. In that backline, everyone moves everywhere. Everyone played at full-back at one stage and centre-back too. They stood up and said they’ll do this and that. They knew their roles,’ the Cork boss explained.

‘Our half-forward line went out of the game in the first half. By their standards, they know that. In the second half, it wasn’t about playing well. It was about grafting. They wore down the opposition. When it really mattered most, they kicked great scores. They do work and fight for each other. They are a united bunch and I’m very proud of that.’