Quirke’s relief overrides euphoria

CORK’S pursuit of All-Ireland glory has frequently had a miserable outcome in recent seasons but rewriting that script last Sunday afternoon did not provoke wild euphoria.

Instead the overriding emotion for goalkeeper Alan Quirke was a palpable sense of relief and he considered his good fortune at having realised a dream that has eluded so many Cork players over the past two decades.

“We’re just very relieved,” he admitted. “A lot of great players have put a lot of work into this, not just these players. People like Conor Mac and Sean O’Brien, who just missed out by one season. Ciaran O’Sullivan, Colin Corkery and all these guys were trying for a long time as well.