Fact or myth? Cork always deliver in Croke Park

I’m slightly annoyed with all this talk of a handy All-Ireland there now to be won — absolutely ridiculous.

There is no such thing as a handy All-Ireland, never was, never will be, and to suggest otherwise is to insult the four teams still standing. Remember, all those who are gone are gone for a reason — they were knocked out by one of those still there. The system is there, it’s the same for everyone; not alone were Kilkenny, Tipperary and Galway beaten, they were beaten twice! Far from being a handy All-Ireland, I would say it’s going to be the hardest-won All-Ireland in a long, long time.

In discussing this game you must first go to the two managers, Jimmy Barry-Murphy and Anthony Daly. These two know each other well but not from the hurling field — Anthony was only a child when Jimmy played his last game for Cork. No, they know each other from a different field. Both of them are great doggie men, have almost as much of a passion for greyhounds as they have for hurling and in that role, would have come across each other many times in Curraheen, in Shelbourne Park, or at the coursing in Clonmel every year. From that, I’d say there’s great mutual respect.