Cork's unbeaten run against Offaly stretches back more than two decades

Unfortunately for Offaly, neither recent nor ancient history will be on their side as they seek to avoid a pointless Division 1A campaign when they come to SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday evening.

Defeats to Kilkenny, Tipperary, Waterford, Galway and Limerick mean that relegation is already assured for the Faithful County ahead of the last match on Leeside.

Had Johnny Kelly’s side still had a chance of avoiding the drop, a trickier game could have ensued for a Cork team looking to secure a place in a second successive final but the bookmakers have the hosts available as 1/20 shots. If you fancy an Offaly win, it can had at 11/1, which doesn’t seem overly generous.

There will obviously again be rotation from but, as they have shown throughout the league, such a practice does not weaken the team. While they are coming off a loss to Limerick at TUS Gaelic Grounds a fortnight ago, that eight-point defeat must also be put in the context of the Shannonsiders having 13 of their starters from last June’s Munster final while Cork had seven.

Since the 2024 league loss to Kilkenny, Cork are unbeaten in 11 games against Leinster opposition across league and championship. Two of the games on that list were wins over Offaly in Tullamore, in the league in 2024 and in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final a few months later, while the head-to-head sequence against the midlanders goes back even longer.

In total, there have been 13 games between the counties – eight league, five championship – since the last Offaly win, a 2-17 to 1-17 triumph in the league in Birr 2003. Twelve of the clashes in the interim have been Cork wins, with the 2006 draw at St Brendan’s Park the only exception.

From a position where Cork won the 1999 All-Ireland semi-final by three points only for Offaly to respond with a four-point victory a year later, the gap grew slowly at first.

Amid the increasing trend, there was the 2011 qualifier at Páirc Uí Chaoimh where Offaly came within a point of a major upset – but the last three encounters have seen Cork win by and aggregate of 54 points.

With a championship meeting a remote possibility this summer, it is likely to be at least 2028 before the counties clash again after Saturday.