Munster hurling final: A rivalry and occasion to match any other
But what of its football equivalent?
Conor Counihan has been there as a player, he’s been there as a fan — unquestionably, and manager as well. And he’s the first to accept that Kerry and Cork in Killarney is something special, always has been.
“There are Cork people who wouldn’t go to a Munster final in Cork but they would in Killarney. You’ll get a bigger crowd in Killarney than in Cork and I’m not joking about that.”
The reason? “It’s the social occasion, fellas will turn up down there where they won’t in Cork. I’d be more rural-based (from Aghada) and there’s kind of a country setting to it down in Killarney.
“I don’t know what you’d describe the atmosphere as, but it’s very different to going to places like Dublin and Croke Park, there’s something far out about Killarney, the atmosphere – I don’t know how exactly to describe it really but it’s very, very different.
“Even the players, so tuned into the game itself, can’t fail to notice the atmosphere. You come into the town and it’s nearly like a country fair, people out on the street drinking pints, mixing together. Everything is grand until they go to the stadium and the ball is thrown in, then they’d probably ate one another!”
Still though, the ambiance is always convivial, porter by the gallon, banter by the bucket but no rancour, two sets of equally partisan supporters who get on well. “Generally speaking, they would yeah…” but with that, a barely perceptible little roll of the eyes – always that little edge too, without which no rivalry is worth a curse.
It’s not been a happy hunting ground for Cork, certainly not lately — 18 years since the Rebels’ last win in the championship in Killarney, a long time waiting in any rivalry.
“I’m glad to see you’re good at the counting,” he laughs, “but we’ll never be able to change that part of it now anyway. We felt we were decidedly unlucky a few times there!. Hopefully now our luck will turn.”
They’re both going in a bit raw to this game, Kerry with huge wins over Tipperary and Waterford, Cork slamming Limerick before blasting past Clare in the semi-final. Not a lot of positives to be taken from that Clare win, reckoned Conor.
“We were six or seven points up but for some strange reason we took our eye off the ball. We didn’t (push on), we need to learn from it. If you do something like that against Kerry you’ll suffer big-time.”
The problem with the Munster football championship down the years, as opposed to the hurling, was the dominance of the big two, Kerry (74) and Cork (37) dominating the roll of honour. Over the last few years it looked like they were about to be challenged but those results this year knocked those hopes, leading to discussion about a growing gap between the best and the rest.
“I don’t know what it is, is there a gap appearing all of a sudden? I’m not sure. Every county goes through cycles, no county is going to be around consistently all the time. Training has become very intense now. It can be difficult in smaller counties where you don’t have the population and the numbers.”
For now, however, it’s Kerry and Cork again, it’s Killarney again. As pointed out by Conor, it’s an occasion, a day steeped in history, with all the colour, the humour but above all, the cut-throat rivalry. Savour it while it lasts.
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