Cork youngsters will get chances in 2026 but wholesale changes not needed
Cork's William Buckley in action against Tipperary's Joe Caesar in the oneills.com Munster U20HC in 2023. Picture: Inpho/Ken Sutton
One is always wary of being too sweeping in the wake of a defeat.
In 2003, just prior to starting college, I was working in a pub in Bandon. The night of the 2003 All-Ireland hurling final was fairly quiet in there and it was just me and a few punters watching the highlights of Cork’s defeat to Kilkenny on The Sunday Game.
Naturally, talk turned to the following year and two customers were adamant that the last had seen of Cork goalkeeper Dónal Óg Cusack, especially after the way that Martin Comerford’s shot had bounced beyond him for Kikenny’s goal.
That was a summer that had seen much controversy over the composition of the sliothars used but, as relayed in Christy O’Connor’s superb book , Cusack spent much of that winter reliving the goal.
Early in 2004, however, Cork manager Dónal O’Grady told the Cloyne custodian that he had watched and re-watched it and had concluded that Cusack was not at fault. Confidence restored, he played a key part as Cork won the next two All-Irelands despite making few changes in personnel and he was an All-Star in 2006 – far from being dispensed with, as the pub patrons might have done, he remained Cork’s first-choice keeper until 2012, when injury prematurely ended his inter-county career.
On Sunday morning, or even at ten past four as the teams filed in for half-time with Cork leading Tipperary by six points, few would have worried about the need for change for 2026. One disastrous half later, however, and everything is up for discussion.
Whatever about opinions players’ merits or abilities, one thing that cannot be debated is the calendar – Patrick Horgan will turn 38 during next year’s Munster championship, Séamus Harnedy will be 36 just before the All-Ireland final and Damien Cahalane and Conor Lehane will be almost 34 by the end of the season.
After reaching the All-Ireland final in 2013 and losing to Clare after a replay, Cork won the Munster title in 2014 – a first in eight years – but then were well-beaten in the All-Ireland semi-final by…Tipperary.
That night on The Sunday Game, Dónal Óg Cusack produced a list of Cork’s failings at all levels, including the lack of minor and U21 success. Such a dossier would have been just as accurate had Cork won that day but it’s unlikely that it would have been given attention with a second straight All-Ireland final on the horizon.
Thankfully, the landscape is different this time around and there are two sets of All-Ireland U20 winners among those who could make an impact next year.
While one might think that all of the medallists from the successful 2020 and 2021 seasons at U20 have been assessed, it’s worth bearing in mind that Cormac O’Brien, captain in the latter campaign, made himself undroppable during the league this year and would have figured more in the championship but for injury.
Pádraig Power, a key member of the attack in both years, started 2025 brilliantly and could have been a difference-maker in the summer had he not suffered a cruciate ligament problem early in the league.
A sizeable number of that had also been on Noel Furlong’s minor-winning side of 2021, such as Diarmuid Healy, who progressed so rapidly that he became a member of the senior starting 15 this year. He has paved the way while St Finbarr’s William Buckley was added to the extended squad during the year and one would imagine that Jack Leahy of Dungourney will feature in attack at some stage, too.
Darragh O’Sullivan (Ballinhassig) and Sarsfields’ Cathal McCarthy were unfortunate that injuries prevented them from getting game-time during the league, but that should chance in 2026.
Couple the greenhorns with a core squad that will surely be keen to atone for Sunday’s second half and one can see why writing Cork off would be foolish.
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