Chief Superintendent: If Cork wins the All-Ireland, the city will be rocking

If Cork win the All-Ireland on Sunday, the city will be “rocking” for the homecoming, Leeside’s top garda has predicted.

Chief Superintendent Tom Myers, who is in charge of policing in the Cork City Garda division, told The Echo that there would be a busy week of preparations for the weekend and afterwards.

Cork will play Clare in the All-Ireland senior hurling final in Croke Park on Sunday, and while Mr Myers said planning was under way for next Monday’s homecoming.

“There could be, hopefully, an extraordinary number of people on the streets of Cork next Monday night, if things go well. Even if they don’t go well, there might be a nice crowd out there,” Mr Myers said. 

“I’m not exactly sure to put a figure on it, that’s for someone else to probably decide, but there’s a lot of planning goes into events, they just don’t happen.”

The chief superintendent said Cork City Council and the GAA would advise gardaí on likely figures for an All-Ireland homecoming, whether that would be with or without a win on Sunday.

“Certainly if they come back with the All-Ireland trophy, I’m sure that Cork City will be rocking on Monday night, hopefully, and when we wake up on Tuesday morning everyone is hunky-dory and everyone has had a great night,” he said.

“There’s always a percentage — small though that may be — that will bring some anti-social aspect to it, drink, drugs, assaults, but generally speaking it should be a great night, a family event, and, hopefully, they’ll come back with a trophy and we’ll take it from there.”

Mr Myers said that the Rebels’ Fanzone planned for SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday will also be a great addition to the celebration in the city and he said gardaí were looking forward to the event as much as the public. He added that he had yet to secure a ticket for the All-Ireland himself, but he did concede that he was following a definite line of inquiry.

Cork GAA and Cork City Council are also preparing for the Rebels’ Return, a live event at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Monday, July 22, to celebrate a brilliant year for Cork hurling.