Cork turn eyes to the county bounds

For all that their performances have been patchy, Cork have now grabbed four goals in consecutive games against lower-ranked opposition.

Mon, 27 Apr, 2026 - 06:40

Stephen Barry

Munster SFC semi-final: Tipperary 1-12 (1-2-8) Cork 4-18 (4-2-14)

Having taken one eye off their Munster semi-final, John Cleary hopes Cork will be a good sight better when they encounter Kerry in their first provincial decider since 2021.

Tipperary were on terms, at 1-7 apiece, as late as the 49th minute before the Rebels finally brought their greater depth, endurance, and physicality to bear by blitzing their hosts for 3-11 to 0-2 from there to the 67th minute. It ended in a double-scores victory which felt anything but.

“During the week, we had one eye on Killarney. Now we can have two eyes on it,” said Cleary.

“We felt coming in that fellas were talking about Killarney without getting this out of the way first. That can be a dangerous thing. That's maybe why we were a bit lax in the first half.

'We had one eye on Killarney. Now we can have two on it' - Cleary's shake-up sparks Rebels

“Fellas thought maybe playing a fourth division team that you were going to stroll through it. We knew in the backroom that wasn't the case. This was their All-Ireland. They were on top of their game. We were a bit flat and that evened it up very quickly.

“At half-time, we just had to say, ‘Lads, unless you bring it up to where they are, we're going to be in a dogfight coming down the home straight here’.

“But, fair play to them, they shook it up in the second half and we got over the line.” Cleary’s most valuable tool for sharpening his troops’ focus is the evidence of their bench impact before 1,755 fans in the Semple Stadium sunshine.

If they pulled up long before the finish line against Limerick, this was the opposite. All five substitutes chipped in.

Colm O’Callaghan was rested to nurse a knock, with Cleary describing him as “too valuable if we lost him”. The Éire Óg midfielder and Conor Corbett each bagged one goal and assisted another upon their introductions.

Brian Hurley scored three points before limping off in frustration. He will be assessed for a potential groin injury.

Their other half-time addition, Ruairí Deane, was perhaps most influential of the lot, pointing once and assisting a handful more. Last man in Seán Brady came up with a goal-saving block, which was transferred upfield for the fourth goal.

Meanwhile, under-20 star Dara Sheedy is rated as “touch and go” to play a part in the final.

For all that their performances have been patchy, Cork have now grabbed four goals in consecutive games against lower-ranked opposition. Chris Óg Jones accounted for the other two green flags in an up-and-down display befitting the occasion. Twice, the Uibh Laoire poacher was penalised for overcarrying.

It was a case of green flags for Cork, but green shoots for Tipp. Fresh out of U20 football, Joe Higgins claimed seven kick-out marks in a dominant midfield performance. Once Cork cranked their kick-out press into overdrive, it proved a game-changer.

Having failed to score for the first 17 minutes, the Rebels seized three kick-outs in the space of two minutes for a 0-3 return.

In the second half, Cork were tied at 1-7 apiece until Cian Smith’s double hop and a 50-metre advancement allowed Steven Sherlock to jink into space for their first orange flag.

With O’Callaghan just on and his teammates pushed up, the men in red won six successive kick-outs, got off six shots, and scored six points. That included a Hurley two-pointer bookended by a Luke Fahy brace.

In total, Cork stole 14 Tipp kick-outs and yielded 1-10 from those possessions. The hosts didn’t gain any score from opposition restarts.

“We wanted them to be brave and have a cut. Our intention wasn't to sit back and try and soak it up. Rightly or wrongly, that was the approach we took,” said Premier boss Niall Fitzgerald.

“There's evidence of green shoots on our end that we were able to compete with them for as long as we did. We definitely gave them something to think about.

“Ten of our starting team are 23 and under, so they're on the start of a journey. You could see the difference physically at times as the game went on. They smelt blood and when a Cork team smells blood, it's very hard to put the brakes on them.”

Seán O’Connor top-scored with 1-6, including 1-5 from play, and was centrally involved in almost every Tipp score. His 11th-minute goal capitalised on Micheál Freaney’s speculative sideline punt, which bounced over Maurice Shanley’s head. A Tipp passing blunder allowed Mark Cronin to tee up Jones for Cork’s lead goal 10 minutes later.

Freaney equalised with a two-pointer. While the sides were level four further times, Tipp didn’t get ahead again. Cork put the foot down with 0-8 and 2-2 bursts. They could’ve had further goals late on, but Sherlock hit the woodwork and O’Callaghan fisted wide.

It all served to snap the Leesiders’ longest gap between Munster finals in 91 years (1928-35), setting up the 69th Cork-Kerry provincial showpiece for May 10th at Fitzgerald Stadium.

“We had a luck of the draw this year,” said Cleary, “and, going forward, it looks like if we keep up in Division 1, that's the way it was going to be. But, look, it's work in progress.

“We'll have to look back on the first half. We know against the better teams, if we perform like that, they'll be out of sight.

“We've got to go to Killarney now, which is great. Really looking forward to it. It'll give a measure of where we are.

“We're going down into the home of the All-Ireland champions, and comprehensive champions last year.

“Cork-Kerry rivalry, down in Killarney, where else would we want to be?”

Scorers for Tipperary: S O’Connor (1-6, 1tp, 0-1 free); M Freaney (0-2, tp); E Craddock, C Smith (free), D Hogan, K Butler (0-1 each).

Scorers for Cork: C Óg Jones (2-2); S Sherlock (0-7, 1tp, 3 frees); C O’Callaghan, C Corbett (1-0 each); L Fahy, B Hurley (1tp) (0-3 each); B O’Driscoll, M Cronin, R Deane (0-1 each).

TIPPERARY: S Garland; E O’Connell, M Corcoran, J O’Neill; E Moloney, J Morris, C King; J Higgins, P Feehan; E Craddock, M Freaney, K Costello; C Smith, S O’Connor, D Hogan.

Subs: K Butler for Craddock (51), P Creedon for Smith (52), P O’Keeffe for Moloney (56), M Russell for Feehan (56), M Lowry for Morris (62).

CORK: MA Martin; M Shanley, D O’Mahony, S Meehan; B O’Driscoll, T Walsh, L Fahy; S Walsh, I Maguire; P Walsh, S McDonnell, C Cahalane; M Cronin, C Óg Jones, S Sherlock.

Subs: B Hurley for McDonnell (h-t), R Deane for Cahalane (h-t), C O’Callaghan for S Walsh (48), C Corbett for Hurley (56, inj), S Brady for Meehan (61).

Referee: F Kelly (Longford).

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