Curran remains the main man

THERE was a new-look Cork team on show in Semple Stadium yesterday with Cian O’Connor at corner-back, Kieran Murphy (Erin’s Own) and Pa Cronin of Bishopstown wing forwards while Kieran Murphy (Sars) was at full-forward trying to fill the considerable boots of the retired Brian Corcoran.

Some things just don’t change, however.

The Cork half-back line in Thurles was John Gardiner, Ronan Curran and Seán Óg Ó hAilpín — a trio set in stone. The outstanding member of the trio? Not for the first time, it was the man in the middle. “He’s in tremendous form,” extolled manager Gerald McCarthy of Ronan Curran. “Every game he plays he gets better and better. He was majestic there again today, certainly one of the really big performances. Man-of-the-match performance, in these eyes anyway.’’