No strangers to final day importance, Cork embark on most crucial journey in quite some time

Cork have never gone relaxed into the final weekend of league fare. They’ve always been stood at some cliff edge or another.

Sat, 21 Mar, 2026 - 06:35

Eoghan Cormican

Ian Maguire has finished his turkey burger and is leaning against the kitchen sink upstairs in Páirc Uí Rinn.

A member of the catering team is wiping and cleaning around us, indifferent to the football conversation playing out in her workspace.

The conversation has finished with the Kildare win not long put on the board. The conversation has moved onto the Division 2 promotion race. The Division 2 promotion race has turned the bend for home.

“We're no strangers to the last game being ultra-important,” says the Cork captain.

Do Cork have to get promoted to continue 2026 momentum?

Maguire is, of course, correct in his statement.

Cork have never gone relaxed into the final weekend of league fare. They’ve always been stood at some cliff edge or another.

In 2019, they travelled much of the same road they’ll cover this weekend on their way to Armagh for a Round 7 game that was non-negotiable for its must-win status.

And while the visitors did the necessary, a complete lack of favours elsewhere confirmed the county’s ignominious drop to the third tier.

The last day of the 2021 League saw Cork host Westmeath in a Division 2 relegation play-off. The last day of the 2022 edition involved a trip to Tullamore to avoid the same fate.

Even this weekend 12 months ago, the spectre of relegation was an unwelcome, if familiar companion on the bus to Breffni Park.

So yeah, there's a strong same-but-different feel to this Sunday.

We surely don't need to state the outstanding difference. Even the catering staffer is probably aware that for the first time in forever, the Cork footballers are challenging at the correct end of the table.

“Over the last couple of years, the last game has been huge for Cork football for Sam Maguire reasons, Tailteann Cup reasons, and then from a player’s perspective of wanting to take momentum into the championship,” Maguire continues.

“From an overall Cork football perspective, the opportunity of promotion is obviously brilliant. It's something that we set out at the start of the year that we wanted.

“This Sunday, from a fan's perspective, it's promotion. From the players' perspective, we just want to go up and get a win against Tyrone. It would be huge for us, obviously.

“We've put ourselves in a great position but the narrative is not how you start the League, it's how you finish. We've echoed that in other years and it is no different this year.”

Maguire will be on the bus to Omagh. He was not on the bus to Derry. Cork suffered for his absence. Self-inflicted absence, the 31-year-old would be the first to point out.

Above in Celtic Park, Cork lost six consecutive long restarts approaching half-time. They ceded control of the game, in the process.

Into the second half and into the wind, they lost 11 of the 14 kickouts Micheál Aodh Martin punted long. Derry mined 0-9 from those 11 Cork kickouts.

Maguire returned last Saturday. He held off Liam Kelly to collect the opening kickout of Kildare’s Cian Burke. The play finished with a Steven Sherlock two-pointer. Cork were on their way.

The repercussions of the red card he picked up for an off-the-ball incident with Meath’s Adam O’Neill weighed heavy on the captain.

Having jeopardised their unbeaten status by leaving Cork with 14 men for the last quarter of an hour against Meath, his subsequent unavailability meant that still-in-tact unbeaten run was not in a position to put its strongest shoe forward against Derry.

Instructed to stay at home and instead line out for the Barrs in their League opener against Knocknagree, the Cork captain was not even present to lend an experienced word in the immediate and deflating Derry aftermath.

“I hold my hand up for accountability. You'd be extremely frustrated, but I put myself in that situation. You're very disappointed to miss the Derry game and then, added to that, you prevent yourself from helping the team to get a result.

“Jeez yeah, that was a very tough week, and it was actually my first time in the appeal system, so a bit of learning in that as well because it gets drawn out over four days.

“The Derry performance, we're obviously very disappointed with, and when you can't help the team, it was a tough situation. But the focus I took was the approach we’ve been taking this year, where we’re not looking too much into the wins and not looking too much into the losses, keeping it very short-term, and that probably leaned into my own personal situation when I had the suspension.

“The attitude was, ‘right I am suspended for that game, be as best you can in training for the lads the week of the game and then bring your own performance when you've the suspension served’.”

Leaving aside the Division 3 success of 2020, such was the collection of teams they conquered, the spring almost concluded is the first time since 2015 that Cork have recorded five League wins in the one sitting.

“Consistency is something that's been brought up again and again about Cork football for the last couple of years. That's something we've gone after. We've played some good football at different times, but also plenty of learnings too. Different to other years, we're winning and learning.”

The catering staffer, having disappeared a while back, pops her head in the kitchen door to ask are either of us for the bus below as it is departing.

“I am,” replies Maguire.

Cork were better for having him back on it. Now onto the most important Cork bus journey in quite some time.