Tadhg Coakley: Tradition, continuity, and belief in Cork Con's past, present, and future

Cork Con won for the first time in this year’s Energia All Ireland League, beating Dublin University

Cathal O’Flaherty, Cork Constitution, and Ronan Murphy, Dublin University battle for the ball at a lineout during the AIL Division 1A game at Temple Hill. Pictures: Jim Coughlan

I’m at the grounds of Cork Constitution Football Club in Temple Hill. The Con team and their opponents, Dublin University (Trinity College), take to the field. Con are in blue, Trinity are in white. It’s a great day for a rugby match, the morning fog has lifted. Sunlight is casting the shadow of the old stand across the shining grass of the pitch.

There is a minute’s silence before the game to mark the passing of Frank O’Connor, one of Con’s most popular members, just a week ago, today. Everything falls still, heads are bowed. Sea birds wheel in the distance, white on blue.