‘You’re thinking, this guy is one of the all-time greats, and he’s handing me my jersey ...’

Nearly a decade ago, before controversies and strikes blighted the hurling landscape in Cork, the bond between the county’s hurlers and their loyal fans was forged by the emotional All-Ireland success of 1999 — with the legendary Jimmy Barry-Murphy at the helm. In a new book, the Irish Examiner’s Michael Moynihan reflects on an emotional journey.

CORK’s reward for their 1999 Munster final win (over Clare) was a date with All-Ireland champions Offaly. Barry-Murphy freely admits that he’d had so much to concentrate on in surviving the Munster championship that activity to the east hadn’t appeared on his radar. “We were looking forward to the Offaly game. The pressure was off the team and everything else was a bonus. I’d lost touch with Leinster hurling in all honesty because I was so focused on Cork and the Munster championship.”

Corner forward Seánie McGrath was on the same level as his coach when it came to the opposition.