WE’RE at the business end of the championship. And Cork are in the mix.

John Cleary’s men take on Mayo on Saturday afternoon as the counties get an interesting weekend of quarter-final action underway. This game in Croke Park (4pm) will be the first in a double-header with Kerry versus Tyrone to follow afterwards. On Sunday, Louth face Roscommon, while Dublin take on Galway.

The quick gut reaction is that all the games are broadly 50/50 contests apart from Kerry being hot favourites to win and, at this stage, also claim ultimate glory at the end of July.

Cork and Mayo have met intermittently in recent years, with the last clash seeing Cork run out winners 1-14 to 1-11 in a Group 1 round-robin collision in 2023. That win set Cork up for a home preliminary quarter-final against Roscommon, which they won to reach the last eight. However, that was as far as Cork would go as they came up short in a dour game against Derry.

That was my last trip to Croke Park to watch Cork as a football supporter – I did travel for the hurling final against Clare in 2024 but not last year as Jerry was only a couple of weeks old!

Coincidentally, my last outing in Croke Park in a Cork jersey as a player was also against Saturday’s opponents in 2014. I came on as a late substitute in that contest as Mayo claimed a one-point win, and we did not get back to HQ in 2015. After that, I decided to concentrate on gaining success with Carbery Rangers. While not an easy decision, it was ultimately the right one.

Mayo had done likewise against Cork in 2011 when an injury-hit Cork relinquished our All-Ireland crown in disappointing fashion against an up-and-coming Mayo team, so the Connacht men will be looking to make it three in a row against Cork in Croke Park. Before that, Cork had the upper hand with wins in the final in 1989, semi-finals in 1993 and 1999 and a quarter-final win in 2002.

Again, I did attend the 1999 semi-final as a young supporter after attending the famous rain-soaked win against Kerry in the Munster final. The 5am start and six-hour bus trip both ways must have put me off though because I watched the final at home as Cork were beaten by Meath in their quest to bring home another famous double to round out the decade.

Cork remain in the hunt for another double as things stand in 2026, however the presence of Kerry in the last eight means the odds of getting our hands on Sam Maguire are long. In fact, outside Galway, the rest of us are being given little chance of getting anywhere near the Kingdom.

Incredibly, at least according to a quick Google search, before that 1989 encounter which I remember watching repeatedly on video afterwards, Cork and Mayo hadn’t met since the year of the Easter Rising in 1916. Mayo won that one, although Cork have the edge overall, eight to five. We will end the history lesson there because we are all far more concerned with the present day and the chance for Cork to claim a place in the final four of the All-Ireland for the first time since 2012.

After the superb win against Donegal – their subsequent defeat to Dublin does nothing to detract from that achievement as it was Cork who slowed their rolling train – I texted a member of the backroom team to offer my congratulations. After he responded to say thanks and assure me that the result was parked, I ventured that a win in Croke Park was next for the team to accomplish. That suggestion was met with definitive agreement.

Cork have not won a single championship football match in Croke Park since beating Galway in a qualifier game in 2013. That win was followed by a loss to Dublin in the quarter-finals and the defeat to Derry at the same stage ten years later was preceded by that aforementioned 2014 defeat to Mayo and a handful of defeats to the Dubs in both league and championship football.

Long story short, we have not spent enough time in Croke Park in recent years and our ventures to the capital have been less than successful when we have got there. We can add the Division 2 league final defeat to Meath earlier this year to that mix. There is no question that winning on Saturday will lay a longstanding bogey to rest for the current squad.

So what are the chances on Saturday? Very decent, if you ask me. The bookies have Mayo as marginal favourites, however Cork have had a weekend rest whereas Mayo had to dig deep in the second half to reel in Meath.

That game in itself is a good barometer for how tight we can expect this game to be on Saturday, with both teams having trailed the Royals by ten points at home in the opening half before reeling them in to win by three. Cork scored 30 points with Steven Sherlock doing most of the damage, while Mayo kicked 0-23 and had a more even spread of scores.

Jordan Flynn claimed five from midfield, dangerous inside duo Ryan O’Donoghue and young superstar Kobie MacDonald kicked four each with Tommy Conroy adding three from the bench.

This is a much-changed Mayo team from the great nearly men of recent times, with familiar names such as Clarke, Higgins, Keegan and Seamus O’Shea retired, Alan Dillon sitting in the Dáil, Andy Moran and Colm Boyle patrolling the sideline, and the O’Connors and Aidan O’Shea mostly used as substitutes if they play at all.

It is a sporting tragedy that the group didn’t claim an All-Ireland, but they had their chances. Now time has moved on and a new group is seeking to lay the mother of all Irish sporting ghosts to rest. ‘Mayo for Sam’ has become a taunt and a prayer in equal measure. The current team looks less equipped than their predecessors to end the famine, and a rested Cork should be looking to end their quest early on Saturday evening.

The return of Colm O’Callaghan for Sean Walsh may be the only likely change from the start for Saturday as the heroes of Ballybofey have earned the right to go again.

The biggest decisions for John Cleary and Co are probably in defence. I anticipate Daniel O’Mahony will tag Ryan O’Donoghue and possibly Maurice Shanley will be tasked with picking up MacDonald. Ian Maguire or O’Callaghan versus Flynn is another key battle, and Diarmuid O’Connor came off the bench early against Meath so he may be in line for a recall.

Steven Sherlock is in red hot form up front for Cork, but he cannot be expected to carry the scoring burden on his own in Croke Park, either on Saturday or for any games thereafter. Sherlock is a superb kicker but Cork will need more from Mark Cronin, Chris Óg Jones, Sean McDonnell and Dara Sheedy to provide support to Sherlock. They are all good players and capable of assisting on the scoreboard and I think Jones and Sheedy in particular can enjoy the open spaces of Jones’ Road. Brian Hurley and Conor Corbett are waiting in the wings to provide added ammunition.

Cork’s defence was excellent in the second half against Meath and for the full game against Donegal so they have the capacity to limit Mayo to under 20 points. It sounds crazy, but that is very decent in football today.

If Cork can combine that defensive solidity with a better spread of scorers up front, I think we will be on the right track for victory.

We have waited too long for a win in Croke Park and we owe Mayo back for 2011 and 2014. History is of no concern to the group that are travelling to represent Cork on Saturday, they are looking to make their own.

I’m backing us to go one step further, at least. Cork by two. Up the Rebels.