Eoin Downey not dwelling on Cork's All-Ireland final defeat

Michael Bolton

For Eoin Downey and Cork, the 2025 season could not have ended in a more painful fashion.

League and Munster champions, with momentum behind them, Cork was heading into the All-Ireland final against Tipperary.

For the opening 35 minutes, it looked like Liam MacCarthy was coming back to Cork for the first time in 20 years.

However, a second-half collapse, which included a red card for Downey, Cork lost by 15 points in a day to forget.

While it may be easier to forget and move on, the 22-year-old found it important to talk about the defeat.

"You kind of have to talk about it because look, what happened, happened.

"There are things to learn from it. So, we have spoken about it, but now we haven't gone into too much depth yet, which we probably will, but it won't just be one day focused on that; that's not the way we are.

"We'll take points from it, we'll take points from other games, and we'll bring them all together and use them to benefit us.

"As much as we will talk about it, it's time to move on, too, at the same time. There are bigger and better things to come, please God, and there are obviously more challenges in front of us that we have to face.

"There's no point in dwelling on the past as much as we do have to look over it; there's no point in staying on it."

This was the second straight defeat in a final for Cork, following their 2024 defeat to Clare in extra time.

For a lot of teams, defeats like this can be damaging, but the Glen Rovers man is not dwelling on previous defeats and is keen to look forward.

In a new era for Cork, with Ben O'Connor taking over from Pat Ryan,

"I suppose it was a bit different to the All-Ireland final against Clare.

"It [the Clare loss] was just a bit of a cruel way to go down. I would say it was a lot harder to take; it was a lot harder to swallow.

"Those things obviously will stay with you for the rest of your life, and whatever happened, happened. You can't be dwelling on those things.

It's just not good for your mind; it's not good for your health.

"As much as it did really take a toll on me, it's just time to move on and use those things as positives."

For now, the focus for Downey is on the Fitzgibbon Cup with UCC. Their next game is next Thursday, January 22nd, against Garda College in Templemore.

University of Limerick and Mary Immaculate have been the dominant sides over the last seven years.

In a busy time for inter-county players, with the Allianz League on the horizon, Downey enjoys the busy schedule.

"I'm really looking forward to playing the Fitzgibbon in general. I wouldn't say it stresses me out; I'm just looking forward to it.

"It's brilliant to get to know other players from different counties. You can learn a lot from them, not just myself and not just the Cork fellas, but all the Tipp' lads and Kilkenny lads and Waterford and so on would bring in different styles and different little tips and tricks and skills. You can learn a lot of things from them."