Dara Ó Cinnéide: Cork can’t be trusted when the flies come

It’s a measure of Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s standing in Kerry that the decision to relegate Colm Cooper to the bench today was met if not with indifference then with a rueful sense of acceptance.

There are, of course, mitigating circumstances as Cooper is still getting back to match fitness after the cruel injury that robbed him (and us) of a precious year in his illustrious career, but, more than anything, the decision is a testament to Fitzmaurice’s fierce, unyielding pragmatism.

By winning an All-Ireland from nowhere last year the Kerry manager has earned the right to leave the greatest player of his generation, beloved like no other in his native Kingdom, on the sideline.