A long-serving Rebel, dedicated to the cause

THE date was mid-July 2002 and the venue was Semple Stadium, a spiritual home for so many Cork hurling teams over the decades. But not this time.

That day, the team which had failed to Waterford in the Munster semi-final and struggled over Limerick in the qualifier, simply capitulated against Galway. It was embarrassing for everyone involved and a personal blow to their respected coach Bertie Óg Murphy.

But it was also a defining event in the way that it precipitated the groundbreaking player strike later in the year. Ultimately, this created the environment for the serious challenge for honours the following year, victory in 2004 and a third straight appearance in the decider next Sunday.

One of the key players of that campaign was Joe Deane. Mild-mannered and easygoing, his dedication to the cause highlighted the depth of feeling within the squad over a lot of issues relating to player welfare.

Nowadays, he is justifiably regarded as one of the game's outstanding players, a player with an impeccable record for sportsmanship, the ideal role model.

Other than the practical benefits achieved, Deane agrees that the real prize was "unity". And this has characterised everything that has been done since, in terms of the way the team plays, how it is prepared and how everything is organised behind the scenes.

"We made a stance then, that whatever we were going to do we would do it together,'' he explains.

"And if there was one person who didn't want to go on strike, or didn't want to go into meetings with the county board, we wouldn't do it.''

He also feels that it won them the respect of the followers, something that would have been in short supply after a performance against Galway almost devoid of spirit.

"Without their support during that time it would have been difficult. They appreciated that we needed to change things around to get back to the top to them. We were very grateful for that support. Now you have more people following Cork than ever before.''

Deane remembers back to 1996, the year he made his championship debut and Cork lost to Limerick. Not only did they lose their unbeaten record at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, but they suffered a 16-point defeat. But the 2002 game with Galway marked the lowest point in his career.

"We seemed to give up the fight early in the second half. There was no bit of fight, no bit of spirit,'' he said.

Playing Galway in the final represents a "completely different" type of challenge to that confronted over the last two years. Cork and Kilkenny had got to know each other so well that they knew what to expect. With Galway there have been plenty of meetings in the League and challenge games over the last few years, he points out, but in terms of the championship, he sees them as "a kind of an unknown quantity".

"We don't really know what to expect. I'm sure it will be the same for Galway.''

He's not surprised to see the Westerners in the final, having always had a high regard for them. He remembers how they "beat Munster off the field" in last season's Interprovincial final in Pearse Stadium and believes they have been unlucky on a few occasions in recent times. Their qualification for the final can be attributed to them getting more games.

"The only way to improve is by playing big championship games on a regular basis. That is why we have progressed over a couple of years. We got good runs.''

Deane stresses the importance of Brian Corcoran, all the more so since the departure of Setanta Ó hAilpín to Australia "left a huge void".

"Losing him was a big disappointment. He brought an extra dimension to our play in his physique, his ability to win the ball and take on defences. It was a huge lift to get Brian back. A lot of us grew up watching him play and has been an idol for us. Apart from being a genuinely nice fellow, he has so much experience and he's a fantastic player.''

Additionally, the successful management takeover by John Allen has been significant in maintaining continuity and helping the team getting back to another final. Whatever about the demand on players, he feels that the workload for the management is probably twice as great. Allen heads a very motivated team and they are "lucky" everyone pulls in the same direction.

"Obviously it was difficult for John taking over from Donal O'Grady, but in another sense it was easy in that he inherited a team which won an All-Ireland and is experienced. We're all delighted for John.

Everybody gets on well with him,'' he added.

In terms of their respective semi-finals, Deane agrees that Cork need to improve significantly. Their game with Clare was "very tight and tense" as well as being very physical, the Galway-Kilkenny game more free-flowing. It's very hard to predict what way the final will turn out.

One thing he is reasonably sure about is that the Cork defence will not concede goals as easily as Kilkenny did the last day. "Our full-back line has been very good for a number of years and hopefully it will be the same story on Sunday.''

Equally, he doesn't envisage Galway making similar mistakes to those that cost them two goals.

With two medals in his collection and personal friendships forged with some of the Galway players on overseas trips, he appreciates what it would mean to them to win. But he's not in a generous mood.

"You'd be delighted for those guys to win an All-Ireland medal,'' he says.

"Hopefully it won't be the next day and they will get their chance in the future!''