Fans thank team who did them proud

On a dank, grey evening, when even the rain couldn’t fall with any gusto, hundreds of diehard Cork fans slipped on their beloved red jerseys again and headed for the city centre to cheer on the boys for one last time this year.

Less than 24 hours earlier in Croke Park, the hurling team’s All-Ireland crusade had come crashing down as the Liam McCarthy cup was presented to a jubilant Clare side.

Red FM’s Dave Mac was the MC at the Cork homecoming and did his best to raise the spirits of the crowd by giving one last blast of ‘Do the Jimmy Barry-Murphy’, the song of the summer for fans who, weekend after weekend, loyally travelled to support the boys.

Cork fan Jack Stafford gets a good view of proceedings

Colette and Audrey O’Sullivan, sisters from White’s Cross, said there was nowhere else they’d rather be. “They came out for us all summer and so we had to come out tonight for them,” said Colette.

Audrey Horgan, sister of Cork hurler Patrick Horgan, echoed that: “The team absolutely deserve our support after all they’ve done for us this summer.”

The supporters wore red bandanas, red windcheaters, red novelty hats and children of all sizes were held aloft on their fathers’ and grandfathers’ shoulders.

One such grandfather was Denis Cosgrave from Farranree. “Win or lose, I’d always turn up to welcome the team home and I’ll be here tomorrow for the girls too,” he said emphatically.

Crowds on Parnell Place welcome the Cork hurlers home

Lord Mayor Catherine Clancy welcomed the team “who gave us a summer of sunshine as they razzled- dazzled us”. And Bishop of Cork and Ross John Buckley spoke of how a sick man he met in West Cork earlier that day had told him how the team “had brightened his summer even though he had been very unwell”.

But the final word of the evening had to go to the man who got the loudest cheer of the night, team manager Jimmy Barry- Murphy.

Thanking his “outstanding team” and the “massive Cork support”, there was silence as he told the crowd: “We are so disappointed that we don’t have Liam McCarthy here for ye tonight.”

A final rendition of ‘The Banks’ was blasted out from the sound system as the team left the stage and fans turned to head off home.

All dreaming, perhaps, that next year there would be no mention of disappointment, only jubilation and victory with Liam McCarthy once again in Cork.