CORK’S first victory in Killarney since 1995, an All-Ireland club final classic, the start of the national football leagues this weekend and Hall of Famer Graham Canty – there is shortage of material this week.

Starting in Fitzgerald Stadium, Cork claimed a come-from-behind 0-16 to 0-15 win against Kerry on their home ground for the first time in over three decades.

Granted, this is a McGrath Cup game, and no one in Cork will consider that hoodoo put to rest until we achieve the same in a championship contest, but it lends a little more meaning than usual to the pre-season tournament finale. Cork have had success in Kerry more recently, but those wins were always claimed in Tralee.

Back in 2014, we beat Kerry by ten points in a league game in Tralee before they turned the tables on us in the last Munster football final in the old Páirc Uí Chaoimh en route to a somewhat unexpected Kingdom All-Ireland success. Moral of the story? The McGrath Cup is a warm-up, the league is for sharpening iron, and championship is the ultimate barometer of success.

A number of people have commented that Kerry boss Jack O’Connor looked a tad annoyed after the final whistle, however apart from being mildly irritated about losing in Killarney, it will do nothing but help focus the minds for bigger contests ahead.

Those bigger games commence immediately for both sides with home games this Sunday, Cork hosting Cavan in a very important Division 2 opener, while Kerry welcome Roscommon to Killarney.

League medals carry only very moderate value in Kerry, however it must be noted that all five of Jack O’Connor’s All-Ireland wins have come on the back of league successes. The superstitious supporters may well cast a keener eye than usual on their league exploits.

For Cork, though, the league presents the best chance of success for the season, given that the Rebels will likely have to repeat last Saturday’s win in Killarney against a rather more focused Kerry team in a few short months’ time to attain Munster silverware.

Having speculated last week about the players most likely to take the No. 11 jersey for Cork, it was one of the outside bets who started there in Killarney. Sean McDonnell took the opportunity with both hands and was among Cork’s best performers on the day, albeit he failed to convert three goal chances which were largely of his own making.

McDonnell will be looking to build on a promising debut campaign last year and did enough to be trusted to start there against Cavan this Sunday also. Patrick Doyle had a decent outing in goal for the first half and Micheál Aodh Martin did little wrong either, so there is a judgement call to be made there by management straight away. Given that we know all about Martin at this stage, giving game time to Doyle and Darragh Newman in upcoming games could be worthwhile.

Daniel O’Mahony was another who impressed against Kerry and has fast made himself the anchor of the Cork defence, and Sean Brady will likely be another given the chance to build on a good debut season last year. Maurice Shanley, Tommy Walsh, Jacob O’Driscoll and Sean Meehan are all candidates for the No. 4 jersey, and Shanley may get the nod for the opener. Brian O’Driscoll made the No. 5 jersey his own last year but will need to be smarter with his shot selection than he was in a wasteful first half last Saturday. The former Tadhg MacCarthaigh footballer has enough credit in the bank to be forgiven and will start again.

The picture is less clear beside him as Rory Maguire, Luke Fahy, Matty Taylor and possibly Tommy Walsh again will all come into the frame. Walsh looks to be building up his fitness after a disrupted 2025 so will probably be held in reserve, as management may well look to the experience of Maguire and Taylor for such an important fixture.

Colm O’Callaghan was another who continued his good form from last year and is now established as a key player for Cork in the engine room. His usual partner and restored captain Ian Maguire got married very recently, so Sean Walsh may deputise again.

Up front, the wing positions beside McDonnell are up for grabs with Ruairi Deane, Conor Cahalane, Paul Walsh, David Buckley and possibly Dara Sheedy under consideration. Buckley may be carrying an injury which would explain his limited game-time to date, so again don’t be surprised if Cleary and Co go with the tried and trusted of Deane and Paul Walsh.

Inside, Mark Cronin, Chris Óg Jones and Brian Hurley were nailed-on starters last year, however Steven Sherlock is back now to apply pressure on each of them, despite a less than auspicious showing on Saturday. Cronin was also guilty of butchering a gilt-edged goal chance, something that was a recurring problem for Cork in recent seasons. McDonnell, at least, bagged two points and forced a save with his self-engineered opportunities, whereas Cronin failed to steady himself and blazed wide when Conor Cahalane had an open goal if he had used him.

Jones was a threat again all through, and similar to Brian O’Driscoll, Cronin has enough credit stored to get the nod also. That leaves a straight decision between Hurley and Sherlock, and Hurley’s stronger second-half showing may sway it in his favour. Sherlock will be expecting substantial gametime after his year out of the panel, and hopefully others like Buckley and Tommy Walsh will see plenty of action in the coming weeks too.

It’s a big game for this Cork team, and hopefully they can back up what was one of their best performances last year in winning the reverse fixture.

The flip side of that, of course, was the one-point defeat to Sunday’s visitors the last time they made the trip south two years ago. It’s a must-win game for Cork if they want to challenge for promotion and they are very much capable of doing so. A win and a positive performance would be a nice way to start, Cork by three.

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I don’t have an ocean of room left to wax lyrical about an outstanding All-Ireland club football final, other than to say it was a fitting end to a glorious first season of Gaelic Football 2.0.

Those of us who have long held the belief that inside Gaelic football, for all its flaws, there was a game as good as any dying to break out, are feeling vindicated. This game, the season in total, and the club championships in particular have given renewed joy to big ball enthusiasts all over the country. Heck, we might even have won over some of the hurling aficionados at this stage.

Dingle versus St. Brigids was another epic encounter, and the Kerry club have been involved in three certifiable classics in a row now, coming back from the dead in each game. I’ve been critical of Kerry stacking the odds in their own favour at the lower grades, but there can be no quibbles with this one.

The Geaneys, Tom O’Sullivan, Mark O’Connor and company deserved their victory, having thrilled their supporters and neutrals alike on their journey. Indeed, O’Connor’s AFL Geelong team-mates who travelled all the way from Australia to support must have been enthralled by what they saw. The inter-county season has a lot to live up to!

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Last week I tipped my cap to Aidan Walsh on his recent success with An Ghaeltacht, and this week it’s the turn of Graham Canty for a shout-out.

Graham was our captain in 2010 for Cork’s All-Ireland success and it’s safe to say he was a unanimous choice for the job when the selection of captaincy was separated from the county-winning team.

The Bantry legend was presented with the West Cork Sports Hall of Fame award over the road from here in the Celtic Ross Hotel on Saturday night, and it is well deserved.

Graham has been rightly lauded for his contributions to club, county, province and country countless times before, so I’ll keep this brief. Graham was the best all-round player that I played with, and the best captain I was lucky to play under.

He’s one of Cork’s all-time best players, and a very good person to boot. They don’t come more solid than Graham.

Congratulations to Graham and all the award winners on the night.