Liam Sheedy: With Cork v Tipp on Leeside, we had to cool the romanticism and play the game

Momentum the big prize in the Páirc, not a place in Cork-Tipp folklore.

CLOSE QUARTERS: Jason Forde of Tipperary tries to evade Cork's Niall O' Leary of Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Picture: Diarmuid Greene/Sportsfile

It’s very easy, as a Tippman, to get drawn into the lore of Cork v Tipp. We were reared on it. We feasted on stories of glorious feats at breakfast, dinner and tea. We hurled these matches a thousand times in our fields and clubs and backyards.

I’ve always felt it’s important a hurler knows their heritage, can connect with what it means. The hand of history can push you on. It can energise a group, stir a sense of responsibility to the jersey. But there are times too when the past can be lugged with you like heavy baggage. When Cork v Tipp was on in Cork, I thought it was best to cool the romanticism, to make this a game rather than an outing in the colosseum.