‘If they lose, I won’t be hiding it’: Cork fan shows permanent support for Rebels

An avid Cork GAA supporter, Michael John Murphy has shown his support for the Rebels ahead of this weekend’s All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship with a new tattoo.

The Mayfield native, who runs the Cork Hurling Talk Facebook page, said that the idea for the tattoo was brought to his attention by a local tattoo artist, who is a member of the page.

Darragh Murphy, from Skint Tattoo Studio in Passage West, posted in the group about Cork-inspired flash tattoos that he was interested in doing ahead of the historic showdown on Sunday.

Among the flash tattoos was the winning declaration that Mayfield’s Mr Murphy received, which was offered by the artist for free due to the premature nature of the statement.

Mr Murphy said that he had already planned on getting a tattoo to mark what he hopes will be the Cork team’s milestone win.

“He posted an ad in the group for his flash sale, doing Cork tattoos, and had written on the end of it that if anyone was willing to get the tattoo I got done ahead of the All-Ireland, he would do it for free,” said Mr Murphy.

“I’d already planned on getting a tattoo if Cork won anyways, so I said I might as well.

“I got it done on Monday, it only took about 30-40 minutes — my wife and daughter were with me down there.

“I’m a season ticket Cork hurling supporter — I’ve been following it since I’m a child,” he said. 

“If they lose, I won’t be hiding it. It’ll stay as it is — [the artist] said he could change the five to a six or an eight if I wanted, but I said no.

“I find all the attention I’m getting for it mad, it’s crazy — to see how a tattoo can cause such a stir.

“I’d highly recommend Skint Tattoo Studio to anyone, they’re absolutely fantastic.”

Mr Murphy said that he and his family will be at Croke Park this weekend to cheer on the Rebels as they take on the Premier County, with his new tattoo on display for all to see.

“We’re going up Sunday, hitting the road at about 6am, with the traffic now everyone going in the one direction, we want to get up there early and settle down,” he said.

“We’re all looking forward to it now. We’re hoping for a win in any shape or form, I don’t care how it comes — just a win.

“I wouldn’t have any favourite player, I’d be a fan of them all –— they all bring something different and special to the squad, but like everyone, we’d love to see Hoggie get his medal.”

The All-Ireland final will get underway at Croke Park from 3.30pm on Sunday, with a Rebels’ Fanzone event taking place in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh to facilitate Cork fans who could not secure a ticket to the game.