Cosgrove confident Dubs won’t get carried away by hype

DUBLIN are better positioned to deal with the hype going into this All-Ireland knock-out game against Donegal than when the counties met nine years ago, believes Ray Cosgrove.

The 2002 All Star, who scored 3-5 over those two quarter-final games, is confident Gilroy has a better handle on the situation facing Dublin than Tommy Lyons had in that manic summer.

“Tommy got the bandwagon going into 2002 and the hype was crazy,” recalled Cosgrove. “It was a media frenzy. There was a huge billboard on O’Connell Street and there was a constant buzz about the place. Tommy was revving it up whereas Pat is a lot more subdued and Dublin as a result are better grounded. People are more used to Dublin getting so near yet so far whereas in 2002 it was our first Leinster win since 1995 when we won the All-Ireland.