Have a Lamp off the League Tables

16th Mar 2015

 As Corkonians we probably don’t sing our own praises often enough for we are a humble people – especially here at PROC headquarters - but every now and then, when events conspire, we can allow ourselves off the leash to wallow in our own eternal greatness, our superior superiority and our justifiably God-like opinion of ourselves (although if you look at the misery of the news God has been slipping up a little of late on his Greatness so we might have the edge on Him too). It is one of those weeks.

With both our footballers and hurlers at the top of their respective Allianz leagues after a run of excellent results and Cork City FC humiliating Limerick 5-0 at Turners Cross last Friday night in the first home game of the season it is important as Corkonians that we occasionally take time out from working hard at being the best county in Ireland to actually congratulate ourselves at how well we are doing at it.  
 

The Football.

Vanity, self-congratulation and triumph have no home on Leeside but this week Rebels have full reason to strut around with their heads held high – the deluge of positive sporting results has visibly put a spring in the step of Corkonians since last weekend. So here goes: we are the best, well done us, woohoo!

“And the ladies football?”, we hear you ask. Yep, Cork are running rings around everyone as usual - we’re currently tied at the top of the league with Monaghan but, given the fixture list, are likely to overtake the Farnies soon.

The Oriel cailíní do not have the backbone that Eamon O’Shea’s steely Cork girls have shown over the last ten years so expect them to  open up a big lead soon like a classic darting Sonia O’Sullivan move in the last two hundred metres.
 

And De Hurlin'

The sinking of the Kilkenny senior hurlers to the floor of Division 1A was not the biggest embarrassment for that county this weekend. Their camogie team were badly beaten by the Rebels at the Mardyke in their first game of the season too. 

Limerick might be top of the table because of points difference (it’s hard to tell because the Camogie association’s website is a veritable shambles) but the Rebelettes will send them skydiving down the league table once they clash in a few weeks time.  

It’s also quite hard to find the league tables on gaa.ie but we don’t worry too much about seeing them (here are the screen grabs from League Sunday that flashed them up on screen for a few seconds).

It’s not hard for most Corkonians to imagine their county’s name at the top of these tables and roles of honour because we’ve seen it so many times before. We are not Laois or Offaly. Or God forbid one of those awful insignificant counties like London (‘who ar’ya?! Who ar’ya?!).  

One of Cork’s biggest detractors, Kerry’s Pat Spillane, managed to admit that Brian Cuthbert’s men are the surprise packet in this year’s league. There is rising panic in The Kingdom after the drubbing they got in Pairc Úi Rinn two weeks ago - so much so that Paul Galvin who was one of the best wrestlers Kerry has ever produced for a football team has been ordered out of retirement and back into the team despite being in his early fifties.

Rumours have it that the Bomber Liston and Maurice Fitzgerald are being asked to come out of retirement too such are the nerves across the county bounds. 

It’s another great week to be from Cork. We'll raise a pint of Murphy's to that.