Cork are certainly a coming force in Munster

Cork have a lot of options all over the pitch, they’re well capable of making the step up

TALK of three-in-a-row was rampant on Leeside after the Cork hurlers retained the All-Ireland title in 2005.

It reached fever pitch following qualification for a fourth consecutive final 12 months later, with Newtownshandrum’s Pat Mulcahy hoping to lead the team to glory at the expense of Kilkenny in the decider.

No Cork supporter needs reminding that the Noresiders spoiled the party, denying Mulcahy the distinction of collecting the Liam MacCarthy trophy – an honour enjoyed by his Newtown clubmate Ben O’Connor and Na Piarsaigh’s Seán Óg Ó hAilpín in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

To say Kilkenny and Cork experienced starkly contrasting fortunes in the ensuing years would be putting it mildly.

Whereas the Cats, under Brian Cody’s stewardship, went on to win seven more All-Irelands between 2007 and 2015, the Rebels have been unable to add to their tally of 30 titles in the meantime, making it the longest barren spell in the county’s proud and illustrious history.

The closest they came to halting the famine was in 2013 when Jimmy Barry-Murphy steered the team to a final that was lost to Clare after a replay.

With Kieran Kingston at the helm, Cork advanced to another final in 2021, but the hammering and humiliation endured at Limerick’s hands in the showpiece three years ago suggested their chances of making a long-awaited return to the top in the near future were extremely remote.

What happened in the 2022 championship helped to ease the mood of pessimism surrounding Cork’s prospects, notwithstanding their failure to seriously test Limerick in their opening assignment in Munster.

Their season ended when they lost a quarter-final tie they should have won against a Galway side that later pushed Limerick to the limit at the semi-final stage.

There was further encouragement to be drawn from developments in 2023, considering Cork came within a whisker of dumping Limerick out of the championship in their last game in the round-robin series in Munster.

After a pulsating seventy minutes, the All-Ireland holders were very relieved to emerge victorious by the minimum, 3-25 to 1-30.

Hard-pressed to get the better of Waterford in Round 1 before losing to Clare and sharing the spoils with Tipperary, it meant Limerick’s aura of invincibility had been diminished to a certain extent.

That they were put to the pin of their collar to turn the tables on Clare in the Munster final seemed to confirm John Kiely’s marvels were no longer way ahead of the chasing pack, although the manner in which they clicked into top gear to smoothly dispatch Galway and Kilkenny in turn and complete an All-Ireland four-timer ensures they are the ante-post favourites to go all the way again this year.

Aside from running Limerick so close, Cork were entitled to take a lot of positives from last year’s championship, bearing in mind they had beaten Waterford, drawn with Tipperary and lost by just a point to Clare earlier.

Given that Limerick were lucky to shade the issue against Waterford and had succumbed to Clare, that the Banner had

been thrashed by Tipperary, and that Tipp finished six points adrift of a Waterford side that had lost their previous three outings, it could be argued Cork performed with greater consistency than any of the other teams in the Munster championship last year.

That they were more than a little unfortunate not to qualify for the All-Ireland series is beyond dispute, making it easy to appreciate why expectation levels are reasonably high as they face into this year’s provincial campaign.

To develop the panel was the priority for Cork manager Pat Ryan during the league, and the competition has served its purpose, with the result there’s no shortage of players in contention for a place on the team to tackle Waterford in an away championship fixture next Sunday.

Guaranteed to make the starting fifteen are the inspirational Ciarán Joyce and Rob Downey – Cork’s most effective defender in the league overall- in the halfback line where Mark Coleman would be another automatic choice if his preparations hadn’t been hampered by a recent injury.

The long-serving Damien Cahalane will probably get the nod at full-back ahead of rookie Eoin Roche, (who was quietly effective when trialled in the opening two league games against Clare and Kilkenny), as will team skipper Seán O’Donoghue at corner-back.

Short-listed to complete the defensive sextet fronting netminder Patrick Collins are Eoin Downey, Ger Millerick, Tim O’Mahony and Niall O’Leary.

The management will have equally hard calls to make in attack, even if their options are slightly reduced by the unavailability of Shane Kingston due to injury.

The vastly experienced Patrick Horgan and Seamus Harnedy will hardly be held in reserve, and the claims of another seasoned stalwart Conor Lehane won’t be easily overlooked either, while such as , Declan Dalton, Alan Connolly, Jack O’Connor, Robbie O’Flynn, Shane Barrett, Brian Hayes and Seán Twomey will also merit strong consideration for inclusion up front.

It’s expected Tommy O’Connell, who had an impressive league, and the established Darragh Fitzgibbon will comprise the midfield pairing.

Whatever decisions are made, the Cork bench is sure to have a formidable look about it, with Luke Meade and Brian Roche from the team that started again Limerick last year numbered among those unlikely to get the nod from the outset this time.

Waterford were relegated in the league, and they largely underperformed in last year’s championship as well.

Handicapped by injuries to a number of key players, there were mitigating reasons for their demotion in the league, while their displays in the championship games against Limerick and Tipp in 2023 showed they are capable of putting it up to any opposition when firing on all cylinders.

Even without the talented Austin Gleeson, who has put his inter-county career on hold this season, they have definite potential, and, make no mistake, Cork will have their work cut out to bring them down on their home patch in Walsh Park next Sunday.

Tipperary recovered from a disastrous season in 2022 to make significant progress under new manager Liam Cahill last year before bowing out narrowly to Galway in an All-Ireland quarter final.

Clare’s recent National League success, achieved in the absence of marquee midfielder Tony Kelly, can only be good for the confidence of a team that wasn’t far off the pace last year.

Their win over Limerick makes them the only team to lower the colours of the Shannonsiders in a championship encounter since the latter’s loss to Kilkenny in an All-Ireland semi-final in 2019.

The bottom line is the Munster championship resembles a minefield this year, and even all-conquering Limerick won’t find it easy to negotiate a safe passage through it.

As long as they remain in the All-Ireland race, they’ll be fancied to reach the summit for the sixth time in seven seasons, of course, but were Limerick to falter in their quest for five-in-arow, Cork, along with the three other teams in Munster and leading Leinster contenders Kilkenny and Galway, would be in with a decent chance of garnering the top prize.

Guaranteed to make the starting fifteen are the inspirational Ciarám Joyce and Rob Downey – Cork’s most effective defender in the league