Cork have set a camogie standard that their opponents cannot reach

We were all devasted to see Cork lose to Clare in extra time, and given it only further lengthened the drought for Liam MacCarthy – it was that bit more difficult to take.

The result is neither here nor there. The bottom line is that the support the players received this year rose to incredible heights for one reason – we believed.

This was a team that showed they could bounce back from two group stage defeats and win. And nearly went all the way.

They were so close to reaching the outrageous expectations the Cork public put on those players that don Rebel red and play our game of hurling.

Given the reaction to the defeat was one of pride and empathy, it shows how hard they fought. They went on and on until the bitter end. They fought for every single ball.

But there were two other teams that wore that red jersey and did the very same thing in the game with the small ball.

They too, fought for every single ball.

As far as All-Ireland final weekends go – you couldn’t have asked for much more. Two finals. Two wins. Two titles.

Across from the press box in the Cusack stand, you could see nothing but a sea of red that stretched from one end of the pitch to the other.

There’s no doubt the support of thousands of Cork fans played its role in lifting both the Senior and Intermediate teams in their respective finals. The 16th player if you will.

And that’s what Cork’s camogie teams needed to get over the line in two incredibly tight finals.

EXPECTATIONS

They may not get the same weight, expectation, or attention that is placed on the hurlers’ shoulders, but they played like they do.

And they came out on top in both.

The last 10 minutes in both finals were tough to watch, given how close it was from slipping away. And yet you could see, between the backs and forwards, they gave everything to win every turnover, and block every shot.

Both finals were intense and gruelling physical battles – reminiscent of the one we witnessed three weeks earlier at the same ground.

The Cork public may not have put those outrageous expectations on our camogie teams, but they didn’t hesitate to put those expectations on themselves.

And they thrived.

“It could have went either way,” says senior manager Ger Manley. “I didn't think Galway got a goal chance – I don't think Amy Lee was under pressure.

“I thought in the first 10 or 15 minutes we had a bit of a look, if players took the right decisions we might have been in for a goal or two.

“But we have to give Galway their credit, they’re a super team. They lost a couple of players from last year and I suppose on the flipside we got players back. Last year Laura Hayes, Ashling Thompson, Cliona Healy and Orlaith Cahalane were injured, and we had all of them starting this year.

“If you flip that over I think it’s good for us. It’s a competitive squad, there’s some fierce talent in Cork, you saw it with the Intermediate team as well. And there’s more out there.” 

You could see in the celebrations of both teams how much it meant. Months of preparation, cold nights in the spring, and hard work off the pitch.

“We had two hard trainings after the semi-finals,” Manley explains. “It paid off. You could see it. Killing girls and killing fellas five nights a week is madness. We trained right. We did no running last week, we felt they had enough done. You could see it.

“Laura Treacy is phenomenal, you saw her at the end there. Pamela Mackey, Meabh [Murphy]. It really is that defensive core that you need to win these big games. We need the scores up front, no doubt, but it is the work rate behind, and the work the girls put in since I've been here.” The seniors in particular are not just All-Ireland champions. They’re pioneers of the game.

They’re doing what Kilkenny did in 2006 with hurling, and what Limerick did in 2018. They’re transforming the game of camogie.

And they’re doing so by setting a bar so outrageously high that their opponents cannot reach it. The focus has immediately switched to three-in-a-row. If they achieve that, it will be four, and then five. Such is the mentality in this team.

Cork will continue to win until their opponents can put a stop to it, the way Clare did to Limerick this year.

And when one team’s dominance comes to an end, it’s because the others have caught up.

When the others catch up, it’s time for someone else to find the new edge, the next level. As the game continues to improve and the standards continue to rise, so too will the numbers in attendance.

But it all starts from the bottom – with the young girls in the crowd that watched their heroes on the steps of the Hogan stand last Sunday.