Editorial: Cork to face our oldest hurling rival
It’s almost time and it’s getting unbearable.
I’m not sure we can face losing another final. Yet we are where we wanted to be. We are in this year’s All-Ireland Hurling Final and we are strong favourites.
Our nemeses Limerick and Clare are out, along with historic foes Kilkenny. But now we must face our oldest hurling rival - Tipperary. We've already beaten Tipp well twice this year and last year in Thurles but there will be a different dynamic on Sunday as the last man to captain Cork to an All-Ireland hurling title tells us on page 8 of our special All Ireland feature this week.
He explains that Tipp have been unbeaten since Cork hammered them in the Munster round robin tie in April when young forward Darragh McCarthy's red card before throw-in meant the game felt over after only a few minutes. The score was 4-27 to 0-24 but Cork were pretty relaxed in that second half.
That win and the 10 point win in the league final means Cork are heavy favourites but this game is likely to be different. The pressure is on Cork and Tipp managed to beat Kilkenny in the semi-final after McCarthy was given another red card. They are also a team in form and a young team on an upward trajectory. They will want revenge and they have little to lose compared to Cork who have lost 5 finals in a row since our last win in 2005!
Whatever happens, this Cork team play a fantastic style and deserve the huge support they get. Corcaigh abú!
Hope for Cobh
Cobh Ramblers entered a new era this week with new investors taking over the club. I talked to one of the Co-Lead Investors llya Movshovich, who had very interesting things to say about the Cobh’s future under Digital Athlete Ventures (DAV). We certainly wish them all the best and hope that they prove more stable than the last owners who took over only last October!
Triumph in France
And a special mention to Cork cyclist Eddie Dunbar who crashed out of the Tour de France last week. He was fifth on stage 6 which Irish cyclist Ben Healy won. I tried to find out i there was any other Cork-born rider to ride the professional cycling’s biggest stage race but I couldn’t find any. Let me know if there was someone else!
Eddie is a fine rider and finally made his Tour de France debut this year after winning two stages of the Veulta a Éspana last year. He crashed on stage 7 and had to abandon due to his injuries on stage 8.Stage 8 saw history made when Birmingham-born Healy took the race lead after finishing third on the stage. He became only the fourth Irishman ever to take yellow. His father was born in England after his Irish family moved over. Healy’s paternal grandparents were born in Cork and Waterford so he has a strong Cork connection too!