Parallels with ’99 as class of 2024 close in on glory

BY JOHNNY CAROLAN

CONSIDER these words: ‘We were young and there was a carefree element to it. There had been a bit of success at underage and fellas had become used to savouring that. We had an unbelievable backroom team – multiple All-Ireland winners and legends of the game – so they almost soaked up the pressure for us.

‘They never once mentioned the gap, I distinctly remember that. It was one game at a time and just believe in your own ability. That makes you feel so good, you get such confidence and belief that you’re there on merit.

‘The only pressure that came was match pressure, playing for Cork. Obviously, being in the All-Ireland final brought pressure but the gap was never mentioned and didn’t seep into our dressing room.’

Have we delved into the future and found quotes from a current member of the Cork team? No, the above was uttered by Seánie McGrath, one of the stars of the successful 1999 side, who will be honoured as the silver jubilee team at Croke Park on Sunday.

The parallels between a quarter of a century ago and now, a long wait and a young team, some with U21/U20 success, are not exact – for one thing, the drought they ended was merely nine years, compared to 19 now – but they certainly add to the feeling of destiny, inasmuch as an event with so many protagonists can be said to be guided by fate.

Certainly, there have been more than a few moments on the way to Sunday’s final that make one think that fortune is on Cork’s side. While the ‘carefree element’ that McGrath mentions may not have been foremost in the players’ minds ahead of a make-or-break clash with Limerick at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh in May, they made the most of the chance, backing themselves to go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams ever and winning it thanks to Patrick Horgan’s late penalty after Shane Kingston had run at the Shannonsiders’ defence.

Losing to Waterford and Clare prior to that, they were lucky that Tipperary had snatched a draw against the Déise. Then, before taking on Tipp in their final match, there was a possibility that that would all be academic as Waterford battled back to level against Clare before a disputed late 65 – albeit the correct decision – gave the home side the win in Ennis.

The breaks were needed too last Sunday week in Croke Park in the semi-final against Limerick – for instance, after Patrick Collins’ save to deny Gearóid Hegarty a late goal, Aaron Gillane failed to make contact with the rebound and instead Cork worked the ball out to Declan Dalton, who landed a huge point.

What might have been a four-point lead reduced to one instead became a five-point advantage but Limerick, like the champions they are, battled back, point by point. Their shooting efficiency was not at its usual high levels, though, and they couldn’t get closer than two. Cork held out – and it should be noted that nobody could beat Limerick without a few welcome bounces of the ball.

Now, the task is to show that the semi-final wasn’t Cork’s final – against a team they have only beaten once in the last five matches.

Making sure they can meet the challenge is Pat Ryan, who of course was part of the 1999 panel and so misses out on the jubilee celebrations as a result. How can he protect the team from the pressure of avoiding 19 years becoming 20?

‘I don’t think you do protect them,’ he said, ‘I think you just have to embrace it, to be honest with you. That’s the way I’m looking at it. As I said to the lads, there’s no pressure here. This is where you want it to be.

‘We’ve had lots of fellas who have gone under the knife, gone to England for hamstring injuries and knee injuries and all that type of it. That’s where pressure is, that’s where you get down a bit.

‘It’s a brilliant two weeks. We’ll be back in Mallow in November in the pissing rain again and that will be more hard than these two weeks.’