IT’S rare that a Cork football team is applauded onto the team bus after a championship game, but this group of Rebels has earned that level of appreciation.

For those who have endured the lean years in a red jersey, Saturday’s rousing victory over Donegal in Ballybofey was particularly satisfying.

Ruairí Deane, Brian Hurley and Ian Maguire have each spent well over a decade on the Cork panel, while Brian O’Driscoll and Micheál Aodh Martin were also involved with the county ten years ago. They have experienced the highs and lows of inter-county football and know better than most what days like this mean.

For Bantry Blues’ Deane, his role within the squad may have changed, but his influence remains significant. His surging run late on created the opening for what proved to be Steven Sherlock’s match-winning two-pointer, a moment that underlined his continued value to the team.

‘It’s nice. We soldiered long and hard together. Whatever impact we can have – Hurley, myself or any of the boys – we’re all united,’ Deane told The Southern Star after the final whistle.

‘Whatever that role is for us, we’ve bought into it. We are a collective group. You look at Dara Sheedy or Darragh Clifford, they are only coming into the panel compared to myself, Hurley, Micheál, Mags and those guys. We are all one. Youth and experience. We blend it together and see what we can do.

‘Hopefully, this is the start of the journey.’

The Cork fans that made the long journey to Ballybofey gave the team a lift to complete a statement win.

‘Looking around during the game, it’s hard to believe there were this many Cork people here, but it’s lovely to see them on the pitch after such a win,’ Deane added.

Manager John Cleary was equally pleased to see the travelling support rewarded for their efforts.

‘I know a lot of them personally and I could see them there. People from Castletownbere, from West Cork, wherever they came from,’ Cleary said.

‘I mentioned it inside in the dressing-room to the lads: wasn’t it so good to give them a great day out?

‘Cork football supporters haven’t had a lot to shout about at times and they have had some tough defeats. For the diehards and the people who have followed us the length and breadth of the country, it was great to give them a day like this.’

For Cork goalkeeper Patrick Doyle, the victory represented a stark contrast to his previous experience in Ballybofey. His Allianz Football League debut came at the venue in 2024 when Cork suffered a heavy 1-20 to 2-6 defeat.

This time, the story was very different.

‘I’ll never forget that day. It was my first day out. It’s worlds apart now,’ the Knocknagree netminder said.

‘It’s great to have such a serious Cork football following there. They’re very passionate.

‘They follow us to the ends of the earth. Look at them all here following us up to Donegal. We’re delighted that, whatever about the result, we gave them a performance.

‘I was talking to some people and they left at 5am or 5.30am in the morning. My own auntie and my two cousins came back from Dingle, of all places. They travelled from the Gaeltacht to come up here.

‘We do appreciate the support and they really got behind us.’

The scenes after the final whistle reflected the growing bond between the players and supporters. Fans spilled onto the pitch to celebrate a result that secured Cork’s place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals and continued what has already been a memorable season.

Clyda Rovers attacker Conor Corbett kicked a crucial score during the closing stages, and admitted the team would love to see support grow in the same way it has for the county’s hurlers.

‘You see the momentum building with the hurlers and the crowds that are following them,’ Corbett said.

‘It would be great to get all our fans back to Croke Park in between hurling and football. If we can get a good wave of momentum going, it’s great.

‘You want to be playing the best teams in the country at the end of the day and that’s what it’s about.

‘It makes days like today extra special.’