CORK captain Darragh Fitzgibbon has seen the bad and the good when it comes to All-Ireland semi-finals.

BY JOHNNY CAROLAN

The Charleville man broke on to the county team in 2017 and the Rebels won the Munster championship in his first two seasons. However, both campaigns ended with last-four defeats to fellow Munster counties – Waterford and Limerick respectively – and in the decade from 2008-18, were part of a run of six semi-final losses with the 2013 win over Dublin the only exception.

Since then, though, Cork have beaten Kilkenny (2021), Limerick (2024) and Dublin (2025) at the penultimate stage and they are hoping that Saturday’s clash with Galway at Croke Park (3.30pm) will take them to a third straight final – something not achieved by the county since the four appearances on the trot from 2003-06 inclusive.

Leaving aside 2023, when Cork failed to emerge from the Munster SHC round-robin, the only year where they made the knockouts but couldn’t get to the semis was in 2022 – that year ended with a quarter-final defeat to Galway in Thurles.

Despite the concession of two sloppy goals and shooting 16 wides, Cork still only lost by a point, 2-19 to 1-21, as Kieran Kingston’s tenure as manager came to an end.

It brought to five Galway’s winning run in the championship against Cork, a stretch that now dates back to 2009. It’s one that rankles with Fitzgibbon, even if he has no qualms about the outcome.

Damien Cahalane.

‘We always have a saying in the playing group, whoever wins the match over the 70 minutes is always going to be the better team, so you can have no complaints,’ he says.

‘I remember that day as well, a lot of players probably felt like we let Kieran Kingston down as well, because we just didn't perform at all.

‘We were probably lucky, I think we only lost by a point or two in the end, but Galway were probably much better than us that day.

‘I don't think Cork have beaten Galway in a championship since 2008 as well, it’s been a long time so Galway have the tradition on their side and momentum on their side over the last couple of games that we've met.’

Galway go into Saturday’s clash on the back of strong showings as they won the Leinster SHC – the three previous occasions where they have claimed the provincial title, they have gone on to reach the All-Ireland final.

While Cork lost the Munster decider to Limerick by a point, they got back on track as Offaly were swept aside in the All-Ireland quarter-final.

Having missed the Limerick defeat due to appendicitis, there was a silver lining of sorts for Fitzgibbon as the 26-point helped him to get minutes into the legs.

‘Yeah, I suppose that probably was a positive to it.

‘Obviously, I had a plan either way, if we won or if we lost. If we lost, I just wanted to have the opportunity to get back for a quarter-final and hopefully get through, which is kind of what happened.

‘So yeah, I suppose probably a little bit of a pro on a personal level from losing the Munster final.’

Fitzgibbon will lead the team on Sunday, captain in Croke Park for the first time. While the returns from injury of Tommy O’Connell and Tim O’Mahony give manager Ben O’Connor and his selectors some nice headaches, there is likely to be little doubt about the selection of Damien Cahalane in the full-back line.

The St Finbarr’s/Castlehaven man was called upon following Ciarán Joyce’s cruciate ligament injury in the round-robin win over Limerick and Fitzgibbon feels it is a testament to his diligence and preparation that he has fared so well since then.

‘Down in Cork and in the playing group, we appreciate him more than anybody,’ he says.

‘He's an incredible athlete. I think he's 34 now but he's getting stronger and he's getting faster every year that he comes back. The one thing I've always admired about him, even since I came in when I was younger, is his mental preparation and his mental resilience.

‘It doesn't matter what anybody is saying about him or how a game may be going for him. It might be going good or it might be going bad, but he'll always back himself and he always has a few things that he knows work for him.

‘To be honest, I think the lads that are a little bit younger than him have learned a lot from him in terms of it doesn't really matter whether a game is going bad or good, he's got his things that he follows.

‘He came in probably in a high-pressure environment when Ciarán went off against Limerick the first day and he hadn't had much game time. I think he only played one league game against Limerick and hadn't that many minutes under his belt.

‘But it showed how well he prepares himself and how well he holds himself mentally that he just fitted in after five minutes and played an outstanding game that day. He's one of the guys that has taken his chance when one of the other boys went down.’