I got a call from my old buddy, Niall Gilligan, on Tuesday morning. We were chatting about meeting Fr Harry Bohan for a quiet drink at some stage. 

The last time Cork and Clare faced each other in championship with the Banner having won silverware the previous year was the 1999 Munster final.

Last Friday there was a press evening for the Cork hurlers ahead of Sunday’s Munster SHC semi-final.

Nearly a decade ago, before controversies and strikes blighted the hurling landscape in Cork, the bond between the county’s hurlers and their loyal fans was forged by the emotional All-Ireland success of 1999 — with the legendary Jimmy Barry-Murphy at the helm. In a new book, the Irish Examiner’s Michael Moynihan reflects on an emotional journey.