Patrick Horgan: Moment of brilliance or a mistake is all that will separate Cork and Limerick

Cork had enough to overcome 14-man Limerick in the round-robin, but John Kiely's Limerick will be as hungry as ever to come down and lift silverware on Ben O'Connor and Cork's patch.

CALLING IT: Patrick Horgan at St. Vincent’s GAA club in Dublin at Centra’s launch of the 2026 Senior Hurling Championship. Pic: Ryan Byrne/Inpho

Munster final week looks different for former Cork hurler Patrick Horgan now. Just a year ago, he was part of the victorious outfit that lifted the Mick Mackey Cup after defeating Limerick. 

This week, he tells of a desire to be standing on one of the Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh terraces as the same two sides renew their rivalry once more, but that'll have to wait. The new punditry gig means he'll watch from the capital. 

"I was hoping to get to the terrace for a bit of a buzz, but I unfortunately won't be there. I'll hopefully be at the next one. I've been told the terrace is the place to be, so I need to experience that," Horgan said.

Twelve months on from that enthralling penalty shoot-out win at the Gaelic Grounds, there's still little if anything to separate these two Munster juggernauts. 

Cork - four from four thus far in the 2026 championship - had enough to overcome 14-man Limerick in the round-robin, but John Kiely's Limerick will be as hungry as ever to come down and lift silverware on Ben O'Connor and Cork's patch.

For Horgan, the difference between winning and losing will lie in a moment of magic or a simple mistake. 

"It'll be a moment, or a couple of moments in the game. It's going to be 70 minutes long, but it's going to be just one or two things that go either way," explained the Glen Rovers man.

"There's going to be a point or two in it, the same as what these teams have been [producing] for the last couple of years, very competitive. Maybe a mistake or something brilliant here or there at different stages of the game will get it done for someone."

With little need to ask what the heart is saying in terms of a verdict either way, Horgan's head is consulted. That verdict is Cork, even without the likes of long-term absentee Ciarán Joyce and, most notably, captain Darragh Fitzgibbon, who will not be risked in Sunday's decider after having surgery on his appendix last month.

"My head is saying Cork by a point or two, but it won't be simple. I just think they can do enough."

Shorn of figures such as Joyce and Fitzgibbon, as well as Robbie O'Flynn, the squad depth has been tested. So far, O'Connor's men have passed every test presented to them. 

Another awaits on Sunday, but Horgan isn't shy in noting the quality lost when Charleville's Fitzgibbon is not on the field.

"Yeah, they've had a strong panel for a long time now and this just gives them a chance to give someone an opportunity in the biggest games you can play in," said the four-time All-Star.

"That can only be good for the players coming in. Hopefully Fitzy [Darragh Fitzgibbon] will be back very soon because outside of him being Cork's best player, he's just a player that I would just watch for the day, any day, every day. 

"He's just a joy to watch." 

"It just gives someone else an opportunity and at the moment, to be fair to all these Cork boys getting the chances, they're putting their hands up. Even when players do start coming back, it'll bring them up the ranks in regards to, 'can we trust them in big games?' and the answer so far is yes because anyone that's got a chance has been really good."

Thousands clad in red and green will cover the aforementioned terraces and stands of Páirc Uí Chaoimh. 

The red contingent, as has been continuously acknowledged by this current crop of Cork hurlers, will play no small part in pushing them over the line if they are to retain their Munster SHC crown on Sunday evening. 

Horgan's view is no different. He knows the power the Páirc crowd hold. He's felt it, of course. That late, late win-or-go-home penalty conversion against Limerick's Nickie Quaid down at the Blackrock End in May 2024 sticks out as just one of a few of his major moments in red.

"Playing any game down there is brilliant, especially with the atmosphere that the Cork support brings, it's definitely like having an extra player on the field. 

"For the players there on Sunday, being able to have an opportunity to win in front of the supporters like that, it would cause great celebrations and hopefully that will be happening, but we'll have to see. It's not going to be easy."