Anthony Daly: That special electricity is back in the Páirc. Cork and Limerick will spark it

There is more mystique and interest around the Cork and Limerick rivalry because of how the Rebels have got on top of this relationship in recent years

Cork and Limerick can't help but produce epic games when they face off. The game feels even more appealing when it's being played at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

We only played one Munster final with Clare in the old Páirc Uí Chaoimh but it was so magical that we often still talk about it as one of our greatest days in a saffron and blue jersey. It wasn’t just because we beat Tipperary in the 1997 Munster final – it was as much about the incredible atmosphere and undercurrent of electricity that lit up the Páirc that day into a fireball of giddy excitement. It was pure magic.

When the stadium was redeveloped after the 2014 Munster final between Cork and Limerick, we all wondered if it would lose some of that atmosphere when they tore the old place down. It was a concern when they were building a new stadium on the same site but, in fairness to the planners and the architects, they did manage to preserve the old atmosphere.