The 19 year drought - Cork have a chance to end it once and for all
Cork's Joe Deane, Brian Corcoran and Niall McCarthy after the defeat to Kilkenny in the All-Ireland SHC final in 2006. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
It’s what every hurling fan dreams of winning.
To us, the Liam MacCarthy Cup will mean as much as Spain’s Euro 2024 title.
It’s been 19 years since Cork last won it all. 19 long and gruelling years, riddled with hope and despair, rejuvenation and exhaustion.
But that could all change on July 21.
Cork are on the verge of putting an end to this miserable run. It’s an opportunity to make up for 19 years of hurt.
A COVID interrupted season meant we returned to the classical knockout format with the back door, which Cork made great use of in defeating Clare to make the All-Ireland quarter finals.
Dublin were first up in Thurles, and Kieran Kingston’s side got by, setting up a semi-final with Kilkenny.
Cork made a statement – but Brian Cody’s men would not give up. They fought back from six points down to take it to extra time. It looked like Cork were going to bottle it once again.
A youthful team, with the young stars in Mark Coleman, Darragh Fitzgibbon, Niall O’Leary and Jack O’Connor – but it was the latter who stepped up, smashing home a goal in extra time that would help Cork through to the final with a five-point victory.
This was it, Limerick would be stopped. They wouldn’t make it two in a row.
From the start, it didn’t go to plan. Gearoid Hegarty’s early goal was a blow – but Shane Kingston produced a sublime response two minutes later. Game on. Or so we thought.
The Treaty’s second green flag left Cork five down at the first quarter, and it only got worse from there.
They pummelled a disjointed Cork side who had no response – winning 3-32 to 1-22, a humiliating defeat for the Rebels and one would we would much rather forget.
As devastating as that 2021 final was, 2013 was worse. It hurt so much more, because the Rebels gave absolutely everything to take the crown.
Anthony Nash, Conor Lehane, Patrick Horgan and Pa Cronin all at their best – Cork had one hand on the trophy. But Domhnall O'Donovan’s late equaliser forced a replay, and the Rebels had to go again.
Hopeful of getting the job done this time around, Shane O’Donnell’s first half hat-trick was a stab in the heart, despite Cork coming from eight points down to draw level in the latter half.
The eight-goal thriller left Rebel hearts broken, as Clare found an answer to everything that Jimmy Barry-Murphy’s side produced, bringing it home to win their first title since 1997.
Gunning for three in a row, Cork weren’t hitting the highs of the previous two seasons under John Allen and Dónal O’Grady. Despite that, they were winning when it mattered, and all seemed to be on track.
Waterford gave the Rebels a good run in the semi-final, and were poised to make the 2006 final, a first final appearance since 1963.
But a stellar display from substitute Cathal Naughton paired with the Rebels’ resilience got John Allen’s team over the line, where they would meet Kilkenny in the final for the third time in four years.
The Cats wanted their crown back, more than Cork did. Partnering that with the fact that the Leesiders struggled to reach the levels of the previous season, they were outworked and well-beaten by Kilkenny, despite the mere three-point difference between the teams.
Brian Cody’s team made it look easy, keeping Cork at arm’s length – and that marked the beginning of a run that would put them firmly in the debate as, if not the greatest, one of the best teams of all time.
The last time Cork tasted All-Ireland glory with the small ball.
Galway stunned Kilkenny to make the decider in Croke Park, while the Rebels’ thunderous finish saw them edge out Clare by the minimum.
A team stacked with so many Cork legends for a variety of different reasons – Dónal Óg Cusack, Diarmuid O’Sullivan, Ben O’Connor, Joe Deane, John Gardiner, Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Timmy McCarthy, and not forgetting one of the greatest to ever do it in Brian Corcoran, there was no doubt Cork could strike back to back for the first time since 1977.
The Rebels’ early onslaught was capped off by an extraordinary point from the extraordinary; Brian Corcoran.
The Tribesmen held on, but a second half flurry joined by the defensive prowess of Gardiner and captain Seán Óg ensured the Rebels got it done.
Those players who head out into Croke Park wearing Rebel red this Sunday have the chance to do it all over again – by not only bringing the Liam MacCarthy Cup back to the people’s capital, but by making up for the heartbreak in 2013.
2024 could be the year.
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