Congratulations to Kilkenny for Sunday's All-Ireland Hurling victory. Defeat for Cork has a bitter taste, but as hard as it may be we must remind ourselves that there is no shame in being beaten by three points by this Kilkenny side. It's cold comfort though. Here in Cork we don't consider ourselves to be in the business of making up the numbers on Final day.
Congratulations too to DJ Carey on his fifth All-Ireland medal. Though he had a very quiet game by his standards, he captained his team to victory and in doing so rose above the shameful muck-slinging and gossip that he was subjected to in the run-up to the game. We in the People's Republic love a bit of banter and slagging, but we have absolutely no time for this kind of intrusion into a player's personal life. The Cork and Kilkenny teams let their hurling do the talking, and it's a pity that some others don't have the same instinct for when to keep their mouths shut.
Kilkenny now join Cork to form hurling's most elite group - counties with 28 All-Ireland titles. They should be aware that it's a group Cork don't intend on being part of for very long - already the talk is of a 29th in 2004. And on this year's evidence, with a little more work we've every chance of getting it.
We're all a bit subdued this week. This time a week ago we were all fired up for our county's participation in yet another All-Ireland Final. This week, we're left only with regret at what might have been. For many in Cork, it's the greatest event on the sporting calendar and for a few it's the only one that really matters. We've been there all too infrequently in recent years, but we're from Cork, so we still consider it our birthright.
Sunday hurt because despite everything we'd heard about how unbeatable Kilkenny are, and despite the ease with which they powered their way to the final, we really believed we could do it. We wouldn't be Cork if we didn't. And we came damn close. We painted Croker red and white, and roared our men on in unprecedented numbers, while the team themselves came back from the brink to take the lead midway through the second half and finally make a contest of it. We were so close we could taste it, but the victory was snatched away at that stomach-churning moment when the sliotar bounced towards the back of D'
