'You have something that belongs to us' – shots fired by Cork's Lord Mayor ahead of All-Ireland final

The Liam MacCarthy Cup: 'One can only imagine that he has found it quite distressing not being back on Leeside in over 16 years. File picture: Paul Mohan / Sportsfile

Shots have been fired ahead of this weekend’s All-Ireland hurling final between Cork and Limerick.

The Lord Mayor of Cork has written to the Mayor of Limerick, asking him to bring the Liam MacCarthy Cup to Croke Park for collection on Sunday for its rightful return home to Leeside.

The tongue-in-cheek letter was issued from Lord Mayor Colm Kelleher’s office to Mayor of Limerick Cllr Daniel Butler’s office by email today. A response is awaited.

In his letter, Mr Kelleher said: “I believe that you have something that belongs to us.

“He is about 16 inches high, silver and goes by the name of Liam.

Sadly Liam was lost to us back in 2006 and after many years of searching we almost found him again in 2013.

“Down the years since 2006, there has been sightings of him in Kilkenny, Galway, Tipperary and Clare for some reason.

“And now I believe, Limerick.

“Liam is native of Cork, whose family hail from Ballygarvan.

“One can only imagine that he has found it quite distressing not being back on Leeside in over 16 years.

As I’m sure you are aware and understand, there is no place like home and there is certainly no place like Cork.

“As Mayor of Limerick can I ask you to arrange to bring Liam to Croke Park on Sunday for collection.

“I will arrange for him to be picked up around 5.30pm and rightfully returned to Leaside. 

“Many thanks for looking after him. It won’t be forgotten.” 

Mr Kelleher said he hoped his Limerick counterpart would see the funny side as the atmosphere builds ahead of Sunday’s final.

“It’s a bit of healthy rivalry between the Treaty county and the Rebel county,” he said.

The Lord Mayor also revealed that while he hopes to be in Croke Park for the match, he still hasn't got a ticket.

“I’m still searching for a ticket – like the rest of the county,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cork Chamber has called on the business community to show their support for the hurlers by flying Cork flags.

‘Flag-off’ challenge

It follows a friendly ‘flag-off’ challenge set by Limerick Chamber.

Cork Business Association, the Irish Hotels Federation (Cork), the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (Cork), and the Restaurants Association of Ireland (Cork) have echoed the calls to turn Cork into a sea of red and white.

“Cork never backs down from a challenge and neither do we here at Cork Chamber,” Chamber chief executive Conor Healy said.

“I’m confident that with the help of our members and the business community in Cork we'll be as successful in this challenge as the Cork hurlers will be on August 22.” 

Businesses should take photos of their displays and post them on social media using the #LimerickvCork hashtag and also tagging @CorkChamber and @LimerickChamber.