Is it time Cork looked outside for direction?

Nothing sparks a bout of self- examination like a 10-point defeat in an All-Ireland semi-final.

Cork took the field last Sunday for their encounter with Tipperary as slight favourites, but were hardly competitive after the opening quarter. Their manager, Jimmy Barry-Murphy, admitted the men in red were flattered by a two-point deficit at half-time; the final winning margin was a fair reflection of Tipperary’s superiority.

Later that evening, on The Sunday Game, former Cork keeper Dónal Óg Cusack questioned the coaching structures in Cork and the plans for a centre of excellence within the county, referring also to Cork’s lack of underage success over the past decade and a half.