'We ran out of time but history doesn’t lie': Cork Con know how hard it is to win back-to-back AIL titles

Cork Con lost 22-21 to Clontarf in Sunday's AIL Division 1A final. 

Shannon, two decades ago, were the last team ton win consecutive AIL titles. Pic: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

Cork Constitution’s dream of landing back-to-back Energia All Ireland League titles may have come up agonisingly short but the Temple Hill club are committed to the idea the feat has not become impossible to achieve.

Clontarf’s 22-21 Division 1A final victory at Aviva Stadium last Sunday ended Cork Con’s hopes of becoming the first team since Shannon in the mid-2000s to successfully retain the crown they had won 12 months earlier. It was also the third successive defeat of a defending champion in a league decider as the Dublin side regained the title they last enjoyed in 2022. The Castle Avenue club had lost the 2023 title to Terenure, who in turn had their reign ended by Constitution.

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