Relaxed Counihan believes provincial defeat may aid Cork

It’s rare the media finds Conor Counihan in anything but a good mood and Monday evening’s press evening ahead of their All-Ireland quarter-final was another of those occasions.

Having been described as a good man but not a good manager by Joe Brolly, he was asked what he made of the comment: “And you want me to say what a nice fella Joe is and we’ll cut it at that!”

The line is delivered with a chuckle just as his reply to a question about whether Dublin’s absence of a sweeper will suit Cork: “If I say that it did, they might stick one in!”