Christy O'Connor: Cork haven't won at Croke Park since 2014, time to change that stat against Mayo
Steven Sherlock is Cork's main man up top but they need the likes of Mark Cronin to fire as well against Mayo. Picture: Thomas Flinkow/Sportsfile
Shortly after Louth beat Armagh in dramatic circumstances in Inniskeen two weeks ago, Craig Lennon spoke to Siobhán Madigan on RTÉ Radio One Sport.
Lennon was still juiced up from adrenaline and delirium after Louth sacked Armagh with the last kick of the game, but he was still extremely focused and single-minded on where he felt Louth could go in this championship.
“Fear nobody, fear nothing,” said Lennon. “This championship is wide open.”
It absolutely is. Louth believe that anything is possible now – because results to date have already shown that it is. Even before a ball has been kicked ahead of this weekend’s All-Ireland quarter-finals, this has been the most open and exciting championship in the history of the competition. And, there are still seven games to go.
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In the past, it was always generally accepted that the championship only really began at the All-Ireland quarter-finals weekend. And even then, the pattern of what was likely to happen next was pretty predictable – especially when Dublin were at their peak in the last decade.
Now? Nobody has a clue as to what may happen next. Because very few thought that what has already happened in this championship could actually happen.
Two of the three favourites – Armagh and Donegal – are already out. The odds on Cork, Louth and Tyrone being three of the first four teams into the All-Ireland quarter-finals would have been astronomical at the start of the summer.
By the middle of June, there were no unbeaten teams left in the championship. Every team has shipped hard blows. Some haven’t recovered. But plenty have. Especially Cork.
The real satisfaction with Cork’s progress to Saturday’s All-Ireland quarter-final is that it’s not a surprise like it would have been in recent years if Cork had managed to beat the teams they have overcome this summer – Meath and Donegal.
The win against Donegal was a shock, especially when it came in Ballybofey. But it was less of a surprise when Cork have been doing something they hadn’t managed in an age – consistently winning games; Cork’s win rate in league and championship in 2026 is 83%.
That has clearly bred confidence but it has created more surety around the group because of how Cork have consistently backed up their solid form. In other years, one step forward was followed by two steps backwards, all of which was naturally bound to drain momentum and belief in the group.
Cork have taken a few backward steps this season, most notably in the Division 2 league final and the Munster final. But they have returned emboldened from those experiences. And stronger.
Cork football finally now appears to be in a place where the county is looking to start exceeding their own expectations, as opposed to just breaking even with them.
That has always been the biggest challenge for football within the county. Reaching Division 1 for the first time in a decade, along with arriving in another All-Ireland quarter-final, won’t dramatically change that standing in Cork. But it will increase the profile of the game in the county and help to keep building from the ground up.
Cork always seem to be at that point. The deadline on Cork’s five-year plan for football launched in 2019 expired two years ago. Full of broad and achievable aims of essentially making Cork a serious force at senior level, the targets were still ultra-ambitious in such a short timespan – even with the huge playing numbers in the county.
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Seeing the plan gather dust ever since only added to the perception of more inefficiency around promoting football in the county. The county board have just gone about that business in a far more understated manner in the meantime. No public targets or loud claims. Just different ideas.
Cork entered two teams in this year’s U17 Leinster Development League, with the first team beating Louth in the final in March. The benefits have been huge, with Cork having progressed to Sunday week’s All-Ireland minor final.
Cork played four games, beating Kerry in the group before losing the final to their neighbours by three points. And Kerry went on to convincingly win the All-Ireland.
The drop off of Cork schools at schools and colleges level, along with the dissolution of the Cork Vocational Schools team and the Munster and All-Ireland Junior championship – always reliable feeder teams in the past – has seen the county board become more proactive around ensuring players get exposed to as much football as they possibly can.
Cork have had an U23 development squad over the last three years, 10 of whom have played for the senior side in the last the last two years.
That’s still all part of their long-term investment process but the senior team have mirrored that long-haul approach, and how the steady graft and grind up the gradient has shaped their new appearance.
It's been a long road back for Cork, especially to Croke Park. Only Dublin and Kerry played there more often than Cork between 2004 and 2014, but Saturday is just Cork’s ninth appearance at the venue in 12 years. Cork haven’t won a match in Croke Park since beating Dublin in the 2014 league.
In the intervening years, Cork football has been trying to reclaim some lost part of itself but this group are admirably moulding and shaping a new identity of self-respect under John Cleary. Inch by inch. Block by block.
The next step now is to maintain that consistency and keep winning. Can Cork reach a first All-Ireland semi-final in 14 years? Why not?
In this championship, anything is possible.
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