You’ll never walk alone

THOUSANDS thronged the South Mall in Cork last night to welcome home the defeated All-Ireland senior hurling finalists.

According to county board chairman Jim Forbes, the reception was “truly amazing”.

Team coach Donal O’Grady described it as “the biggest welcome a losing Cork team in any code has received during my lifetime.”

Team captain Alan Browne revealed that the team were very down on their journey back by train, but had been lifted enormously by the reception.

The Mall was a sea of red and white as the team arrived on a specially constructed platform following a parade on an open top bus from Ceannt Station. And particularly noticeable was the number of young children with their parents. A festive atmosphere prevailed and there was certainly no sense of despondency in the air considering the manner in which this particular All-Ireland final was snatched from their grasp.

Lord Mayor Colm Burke had his finger on the pulse when he said: “this Cork team have given us tremendous pleasure all through the season and I would deem them to be a great side. I know they have been subjected to a most excruciating experience, but I have no doubt that they will learn from this and bring home the McCarthy Cup next year.”

The deputy mayor of Cork County Council, Derry Canty, said: “we are extremely proud of this team. They were written off six months ago and nobody expected them to be in Croke Park contesting an All-Ireland final on Sunday. But Kilkenny knew they were there.”

The Bishop of Cork and Ross, Most Rev. Dr. John Buckley told the enthusiastic crowd: “This team have brought us a lot of joy and happiness over the past year and we will see a lot more of them over the coming years.”

Mr Forbes paid tribute to the players and their management team for the “tremendous effort” they put in all year. “We did not do the business on Sunday. We lost by a whisker. We do not have the McCarthy Cup here tonight, but I can guarantee you we will not come home empty-handed next year. There is going to be a lot heard of this Cork team in the future.”

The county board chairman, team captain Alan Browne and coach Donal O’Grady lavishly praised the Cork fans for the support they had given the side in this year’s campaign. “Wonderful is the only word I could use to describe our supporters,” said Mr Forbes.

“The best in the land and I can assure them we will come back stronger next year,” added Browne, while Donal O’Grady stated: “they were wonderful in Thurles against Clare. They were fantastic in all the subsequent games and they were totally unbelievable in Croke Park on Sunday. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude and we will repay them by bringing back the cup.”

O’Grady also praised his players and the backroom team for all the work they had put in to bring Cork to the All-Ireland final. “Of course we are very disappointed that we did not achieve our ambition of winning the McCarthy Cup and I really think that we thoroughly deserved to do so because we were the better of the two teams on the run of play.”

The team and selectors were introduced to the crowd by the PRO of the Cork County Board, John Motherway, and there was no doubt as to who is the new pin-up boy of Cork hurling. Setanta Ó hAilpín received a rapturous reception from his adoring fans. It was a Ronan Keating or Westlife type of adulation.

Before the team arrived the crowd was entertained by Billa O’Connell and Seán Ó Sé, along with the Abbey Céilí band and the Irish Weavers Ballad group.

Of course, the big silver symbol of hurling success was conspicuous by its absence but, judging from the comments made on stage, one can take for certain that Cork will reclaim their place in the sun as fast as is humanly possible.