Throw Back Thursday: Remembering the 2013 All-Ireland final against Clare

NINE years ago this week, Cork were beaten 5-16 to 3-16 by Clare in a replay of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling final.

It was a stinging defeat, especially because the Rebels were seconds away from winning the drawn game, but the loss was a reassertion of the south as a powerhouse in hurling.

The final was Cork’s first since 2005 and the 2008-09 strike, which bitterly split opinions across the county.

In 2011, Galway beat Cork by twelve points in the third round of the qualifiers. 

The following year, Tipperary won the Munster semi-final by one point at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Cork did make amends by reaching the All-Ireland semi-finals, but they never threatened Galway, who outscored the Rebels by five points.

Cork’s route to Croke Park began with a straight forward 0-23 to 0-15 victory over Clare in the Munster semi-final. 

Limerick won the provincial cup and Cork went into the qualifiers, where they were drawn against reigning All-Ireland champions Kilkenny.

The build-up to the game was dominated by Patrick Horgan, who had been sent off after striking Paudie O'Brien in the Munster final. 

The GAA rescinded the red card and the talismanic forward was cleared to play.

Jimmy Barry Murphy’s team were given slim odds to beat Brian Cody’s men, who had contested the last seven All-Ireland finals.

Patrick Horgan dominated the game by scoring 0-11, eight from frees. 

The Gaelic Grounds was silenced as Cork kept getting the ball and putting it over the bar. Conor Lehane and Patrick Cronin got 0-2 apiece. 

Jamie Coughlan, Luke O'Farrell, Séamus Harnedy, and Stephen Moylan all got one score. 

The Rebels won 0-19 to 0-14 and they were through to the semi-finals, where they faced a high flying Dublin team.

The Dubs had just beaten Kilkenny and Galway to the Leinster title, their first provincial success since 1961. 

They team were building towards an All-Ireland, and Cork knocked them off their stride by outscoring them 1-24 to 1-19.

The Rebels had won their first All-Ireland semi-final since 2006 and the entire county began to dream again. 

This was at a time when the city was reeling from the recession and almost every second unit on St Patrick's Street was empty. 

After five years of endless debate about unemployment rates and bailouts, the people now had a reason to feel good again.

A giant red and white flag was erected by the South Link Road Roundabout. Red FM played songs about Jimmy Barry Murphy all week. 

Cork was gripped by hurling fever, something not felt since 2006.

The first game was thrown in on Saturday September 8th and the Banner were up 0-12 to 0-10 at half time. 

Cork fought back with goals from Conor Lehane and Anthony Nash, and this levelled things up in the final minutes of the game. 

Patrick Cronin thought he won the final with a score from open play in injury time, but Domhnall O'Donovan cancelled this out in the last second.

Three weeks later the two teams met again at Croke Park, on a Saturday because the Ladies Football final was scheduled for the Sunday. 

It was the first senior final to be played under flood lights and the GAA HQ was a sea of red and yellow.

Clare stormed out of the dressing rooms and John Conlon put over the opening score of the game in the second minute. 

What changed everything was goals from Shane O’Donnell in the 6th, 14th, and 19th minute at the Hill 16 end. 

It was goalkeeper Anthony Nash who made sure Cork stayed in the final. In the 16th minute he powered in a free from 20 meters out that beat twelve Clare players on the line. This brought Cork back to within three points of Clare.

The Banner ended up with a four point lead at half-time, with Cork having tallied 1-11 in the opening 35 minutes. 

The Rebels were level by the 52nd minute, with the score 1-16 to 3-10. Clare got breathing room through Conor McGrath, who put the sliotar into the top left corner of the goal. 

Darach Honan knocked in the Banner’s fifth of the game In injury time and that sent Liam McCarthy to the south west.

The hurt in the Cork dressing room led to the Rebels winning the Munster title in 2014. 

The Rebels blitzed Waterford in the quarter final and they got revenge against Clare in the next round. 

When Limerick came to Páirc Uí Chaoimh for the final, two goals were the difference and Cork won their first Munster title in eight years.

It was a journey that ended in defeat for Cork, but it reignited the county’s love affair with the game after a brutal period of strikes and on the pitch losses.