“Whatever it was, I wish we could have bottled it,” Liam Fennelly says.

Red Rum will always be associated with Aintree and the Grand National. A gelding bred to be a sprinter transformed the ailing race into the behemoth it is now and in the process became a celebrity that opened shops, starred on television shows and sold merchandise. Through it all, Derek Critchley, a key member of the Ginger McCain team, had a front row seat, writes Daragh Ó Conchúir

Kieran Kingston has stepped down as Cork senior hurling manager.

Conor Lehane knows from experience that Saracens will be facing a freak of nature if he plays in the Champions Cup semi-final in Dublin on Saturday.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

After lighting up hurling and football pitches across the country in his heyday, GAA legend Jimmy Barry Murphy used his magical touch to switch on the Christmas lights in Cork City last night.

A smart-parking initiative has been launched in Cork as hurling legend Jimmy Barry Murphy prepares, tonight, to light up the city for Christmas.

Waterford weren’t as sharp against Tipp as they were earlier in the spring. They’re training since last autumn. Fatigue can surreptitiously seep into a losing dressing room.

As Jimmy Barry Murphy and his management team prepare for Sunday week’s All-Ireland quarter-final clash with Galway, they will have plenty to ponder after a victory against the odds over Clare in Thurles on Saturday evening.

Jeff Reinebold features as an analyst on Sky’s NFL coverage. He is fond of a fickle character who inevitably helps the winning team from a vital juncture in the game. He calls him Mr Mo Mentum.

It was just his second start in two years. But banging over a point in his first play against Offaly settled Darach Honan and allow him revel in the the Cusack Park mid-summer atmosphere.

When the year ends in ‘5’, fate’s hand guides Cork fortunes in strange ways

Watching the Dubs heading down the home straight yesterday was like watching the Grand National when you had 20 quid on some nag at long odds and you were just wishing it to fall over the line.

Cork 1-25 Laois 0-24: Cork senior hurling manager Jimmy Barry Murphy expects Mark Ellis and Alan Cadogan to return for the Rebels Allianz League semi-final against Dublin on Sunday week.

He’s some man. Less than 20 minutes after the final whistle here, Jimmy Barry Murphy was showered, changed back into civilian clothes and out again strolling along the Pearse Stadium pitch.

Peter McNamara looks some of the likely talking points this weekend in the Allianz Hurling League.

Sylvester Hennessy crunches the numbers from the weekend’s big Allianz League games.

Kevin Hennessy can’t see Cork winning the All-Ireland title this year due to the seismic impact of last year’s All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Tipperary.

The level of public criticism of the Cork senior footballers was condemned by outgoing chairman Bob Ryan in his final address to convention.

They came from all corners of Ireland yesterday to bid a fond farewell to a giant of a man and of Irish sport – the ‘king of the road’ Mick Barry.

Mark Landers has been appointed to Jimmy Barry Murphy's coaching staff with the Cork senior hurlers.

Cork dual star Aidan Walsh has ended weeks of speculation and committed to playing only inter-county hurling next season.

“There’s no point having somebody foisted upon you by the county board.”

Farewell Donal Óg and thank you for your excellent articles over the past championship season. I hope you will continue where you left off next season even though at times I disagree with some of your thoughts.

Three days on and the soul-searching continues.

Cork captain Pa Cronin could still start this Sunday's All-Ireland Senior Hurling semi-final against Tipperary.

Cork manager Jimmy Barry Murphy has named an unchanged side for Sunday's Munster Hurling final clash with Limerick.

The message Jimmy Barry Murphy is sending out by naming Aidan Walsh and Damien Cahalane is an obvious one. During last year’s league, he had privately mentioned he had too many greyhounds.

A director of a Kerry bus firm was yesterday convicted in relation to an oil spill that was inadvertently a major factor in All-Ireland winners Clare’s first senior hurling win of the year over Cork.

Now that the greatest series, in living memory, of the All- Ireland hurling championship has just concluded, it would be reasonable to expect that the main protagonists would come in for unqualified praise. Not so, however.

Darren Sweetnam had a tinge of regret last Saturday as he contemplated a lost opportunity when Cork took to the field for the All-Ireland final.

Just five days after their epic All-Ireland SHC Final replay, a potential re-match between newly-crowned champions Clare and Jimmy Barry Murphy’s Cork was made possible when the draw for the 2014 Senior Hurling Championship was made in Croke Park this evening.

Dismal weather, dismal turnout, dodgy mike. None of the elements were there to make last night memorable for the ladies who deserved so much more for their stunning achievement in bringing home their third All- Ireland title in a row, their eighth win in nine years.

Cork’s win in the Ladies’ All-Ireland football final was all the more welcome in the wake of the result of the All-Ireland hurling final replay. Clare must be congratulated on winning their fourth all-Ireland senior hurling title, but there were no losers in either game.

Upwards of 30,000 people descended on Ennis tonight for the homecoming of the Clare Senior and Under 21 All-Ireland-winning teams.

1. Whipping Boys No More, by Declan Clancy & Ruairí Henchy

From scaling mountain peaks to iconic global landmarks — Cork and Clare hurling fans are going to great lengths and heights to show their true colours ahead of tomorrow’s All-Ireland showdown.

Size matters when it comes to supporting the Cork hurlers.

It’s the kind of head-start the Rebel Army’s been looking for as they seek a Clare scalp in Sunday’s All-Ireland hurling showdown.