Jimmy Barry-Murphy: Cork footballers can be a dangerous team this summer

Jimmy Barry-Murphy believes the Cork footballers can be dangerous opponents for the remainder of the championship this year.

The Rebels have had a bit of downtime after losing to Kerry after extra time in the Munster SFC semi-final three weeks ago on a scoreline of 3-21 to 1-25. 

The Leesiders will play the Kingdom again, this time in the All-Ireland group stage in the second game as well as the Leinster runners-up, Louth or Meath, in the opening match and then Roscommon in the final group game.

“John Cleary has done a good job,” the Cork GAA legend told BBC’s The GAA Social podcast.

“It's very difficult in Cork at the moment. The hurling is on such a high. The interest in Cork hurling has always been the bigger picture anyway.

“I thought our performance against Kerry was really good. We should have won the match. A bit unlucky, the sending off was harsh, but that happens. I think we were very good on the day.

“I think it showed that certainly Kerry are not that far ahead of us. We saw the story with Meath beating Dublin. Things are changing a bit, I think. Cork have potential, definitely. I think that we could be a dangerous team for the remainder of the championship.” 

Barry-Murphy believes the disparity in support between the Cork footballers and hurlers at the moment is down to one thing.

“We all like to back a winner,” he says.

“When Cork played Kerry in Páirc Uí Chaoimh a couple of weeks back, 14,000 people were there. If you could have got 30,000 Cork people into Ennis the following day for the hurling game, they would have been there.

"Those Cork people are like everybody else, they sniff success. Hurling has always had a special place in Cork anyway, over a hundred years with Christy Ring and famous names like that. It's just harder for the footballers to generate the warmth and support. They need to really earn it.

“I was talking to Larry Tompkins actually a couple of months ago about that. We had a great chat. Larry mentioned about the support of both teams and he agreed with me that it's success. He said, 'If Cork get to the football final, don't worry, tickets will be as scarce as hens' teeth'. 

"That's what Cork people are like, like everybody else, they are selfish and they like to support the winner. I suppose years of being beaten by Kerry don't help."