Fogarty Forum: Cork and Tipp's dirty dozen

Cork and Tipperary have not always been the best of enemies.

In the 2006 Munster final, Tipperary manager Babs Keating threw Cork goalkeeper Donal Óg Cusack's supply of sliotars into the terrace. Pic: Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE

The tempestuous start to their Munster SHC meeting in April would suggest otherwise but the early build-up to Sunday’s All-Ireland final is pretty much sweetness and light.

Save for a WhatsApp message doing the rounds in Tipperary with a well-known hostelry in Blackrock that will purportedly be open to regulars only on Monday next for a victorious homecoming, the counties have been like aristocrats admiring each other’s gowns and wondering with each other why it’s taken them 28 years to duel at this stage.