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Irish Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Cian Lynch: ‘Hurling is so instinctive, it's an art form, it's an expression'
Cian Lynch still carries the scars of battle, stitches across his left eye and several grazes down his legs. But compared to the hurt of losing Saturday's epic Munster final to Cork , those scuffs don't cut quite as deep. The manner of the defeat, after a penalty shoot-out, is something that has animated many hurling fans over the last five days. Lynch was not even aware there would be a penalty shoot-out until after extra-time and while he praises Cork for getting over the line, the Limerick captain would prefer to see provincial finals decided by a replay. READ MORE 'I suppose it's not for me to make a point or make a comment on what's the right thing to do but you'd love to have another crack at it. Any team would,' says Lynch. 'But for us, it's just about accepting that that's in the past now. We unfortunately didn't win and Cork did. 'It's great credit to Cork. They got the victory in penalties. The game could have gone either way. 'Look, it's something to obviously review. Hurling is so instinctive, it's an art form, it's an expression. Why do people play it? It's because it's a 15-man game, it's a chance to have a man on the shoulder to support. 'But when it comes to penalties, other than the five guys and the goalie, I suppose you're helpless standing on the sideline watching. It's tough for guys, but it is what it is.' Limerick's Cian Lynch dejected after the game. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Lynch did not take a penalty last Saturday night at the Gaelic Grounds but had nothing but respect for those who were prepared to stand over a sliotar in those pressure-cooker moments. 'If you were asked to take one, I'm sure 100 per cent you'd do anything you can to help the team but I wouldn't be someone that's known to stand over a free or a penalty, to be honest with you,' he says. 'But the five guys, obviously our guys, the same as Cork obviously and Nickie [Quaid], to step up, that takes some courage. 'After playing 70 to 90 minutes of hurling, to have it based on standing over a penalty, that is tough. That is some responsibility, but great credit to the guys, great credit to Nickie and so on. Just the way it is.' Galway defender Fintan Burke watched Saturday night's drama unfold and is also of the belief that a replay would be a fairer way to produce a winner. 'If you win great and if you lose it's the worst thing in the world,' says Burke. 'I'd be of the opinion of a replay. That's just personal, I don't think penalties are a fair reflection on where a team is at, as in you could have five great penalty takers and maybe the other team only has three, and it's not really reflecting on hurling throughout the team. So personally I'd be going for a replay, but that's just again personal preference. 'People just think you're standing up hitting a shot, but you've to put so much energy in and it's probably a lot more mentally you're exhausted and you have to walk the 60 yards then on your own and there's a lot going through your mind.'
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Sarah Leahy determined to bring glory days back to Cork
Cork captain Sarah Leahy says she is determined to bring the glory days back to Cork ahead of the All-Ireland Ladies Championship. Having won 11 All-Ireland titles, Cork's last success came in 2016 as part of a team that won six in a row, with their most recent final appearance in 2020. Advertisement Cork dominated the sport by winning 11 out of 12 titles from 2005 to 2016. However, with no final appearances since 2020 and the team playing Division Two football this season, times have clearly changed. Having grown up watching Cork challenge for and win All-Ireland titles, Leahy says she now wants to create her own memories in the Cork jersey—memories the next generation can be proud of. "We all grew up with the role models we have in Cork winning the All-Ireland, so I think the dream for us is to get back there again. "Any team that you meet now is going to be a big challenge and very competitive. Advertisement "We have history playing both Kerry and Mayo. We are going to focus on ourselves—we know they are going to be difficult games." This season, Cork earned promotion from Division Two at the first attempt but fell short in the final against Galway at Croke Park. In the Munster Championship, defeats to Kerry and Waterford—either side of a win over Tipperary—meant they missed out on a place in the provincial final. However, this Cork side has shown it can bounce back from setbacks, having reached the All-Ireland semi-final last season despite being relegated earlier in the year. Another clash against rivals Kerry now awaits, along with Mayo, in Group Two. For Leahy, the league final defeat could be a valuable learning moment for the younger players in the squad. "We are very ambitious, and we have had those additional weeks to train and iron out a few issues. Ideally, we will be successful this year. "Especially for younger and new players on the panel, I think it was an invaluable experience in Croke Park. I think that will be really beneficial for us going forward, especially in the All-Ireland."
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Joe Canning: Cork appear to be playing a long game, but such a strategy is not without risk
There might be two sides to the game at the Gaelic Grounds last Sunday. Nobody doubts what we saw from Limerick : massive aggression and intensity, some brilliant hurling, a huge desire to win. All the hurt from their two defeats to Cork last year, especially the All-Ireland semi-final, was channelled into that performance. But I'm not sure we can take Cork's performance at face value. I think Cork were playing a long game. Look at it from their point view. It's hard to imagine they can win the All-Ireland without beating Limerick at some stage along the way. Emptying themselves in an attempt to beat them in a group game in the Gaelic Grounds wasn't going to achieve anything. Limerick were bound to be wound up after what happened last year and from that perspective it was a much bigger game for Limerick. Losing to Cork three times in a row in the championship was out of the question for them. Whatever about putting down a marker with Cork, they had something to prove to themselves too. READ MORE There's no way they expected to lose to Cork twice last year. They didn't even expect to lose once. The players and the management would have blamed themselves for that and they had a long winter to stew on it. All that pent-up frustration came out last Sunday in their 3-26 to 1-16 victory over Cork. [ Limerick show they haven't gone away by dismantling Cork ] It was obvious that Cork were not in the same frame of mind. They brought no aggression. They were cleaned out in the air. From what I understand, they won the toss and elected to play against the wind. Why would you hand Limerick that advantage straight from the start? The outcome of the game had a different value for Cork than it had for Limerick. If Cork were playing a long game, though, that is a risky business. If they don't beat Waterford at home on Sunday their season is over. After a game as physical as last Sunday, a week is a quick turnaround. There are bound to be sore bodies. Declan Dalton and Niall O'Leary went off injured against Limerick and it's hard to see them being fit to play. Darragh Fitzgibbon of Cork scores a goal against Tipperary at Páirc Ui Chaoimh in last month's hurling league division 1A final. Photograph: James Lawlor/INPHO Rob Downey went off at half-time, having obviously not being fit coming into the match. He also went off early in the second half against Clare and after 20 minutes against Tipperary. They need him to have a run of fitness and good form, but there must be a doubt about him lining up on Sunday. Waterford will see a chance here. Against Tipperary , their shooting was sloppy and they made too many handling errors, but they created plenty of chances. It's only a year since they beat Cork in Walsh Park in the championship, so they won't have any fear of them. They have no shortage of ball players and runners – and Páirc Uí Chaoimh suits teams like that. The other side of the coin is that it suits Cork. One of Waterford's problems against Tipp was that Tadhg de Búrca played too deep. He can't afford to sit off Darragh Fitzgibbon to that extent. If Waterford allow Cork to get into a rhythm with their running game from the middle third, then they'll be in trouble. I would also expect a massive reaction from Cork. Whatever Cork's motivations were last Sunday, they couldn't turn around to their supporters this week and tell them that game didn't really matter. They travelled to Limerick in their thousands; they expected a performance. The Cork players know that they would have been slated by their own supporters during the week. In my career we had an experience like that in 2016. Kilkenny beat us well in the Leinster final and we were hammered by everyone for our performance. In his newspaper column Ger Loughnane called us gutless, useless and Lord knows what else. He also compared our manager Micheál Donoghue to Fr Trendy. We were playing Clare next in the All-Ireland quarter-final a couple of weeks later and this stuff from Loughnane played right into our hands. Davy Fitzgerald was the Clare manager at the time, and I know he was going mad over it. If the roles were reversed he would have used Loughnane's words too. Cork shouldn't need that kind of motivation on Sunday. They would have targeted two home wins and a place in the Munster final at the start of the season and I don't believe last Sunday's performance has derailed them. Dublin's Chris Crummey tries to block a shot from Luke Hogan of Kilkenny at Nowlan Park last Sunday. Photograph: Leah Scholes/INPHO The other fascinating game of the weekend is in Parnell Park. Dublin and Galway are already assured of a place in the All-Ireland series, but both will be desperate to reach the Leinster final . No matter how many times the system has changed over the years, the shortest way to Croke Park for an All-Ireland semi-final is still the best way. In my time playing for Galway we had a really patchy record against Dublin in the championship. We never beat them in Dublin, either in Parnell Park or Croke Park. It's a bit of cliche to say that Parnell Park is a tough place to play, but it's true. In Micheál Donoghue's last game as Galway manager, first time around, Dublin beat us in Parnell Park in 2019 and knocked us out of the championship. I think Galway have improved gradually since the first match against Kilkenny. From the games against Offaly , Antrim and Wexford it's hard to quantify that improvement. Dublin, though, will be incredibly tough to beat. When they went 16 points down against Kilkenny they could easily have folded , but they cut the lead back to two points. If you were comparing that to Galway's performance in Nowlan Park a few weeks ago, you'd be inclined to make Dublin favourites. Surprise results have been a feature of the Leinster championship in recent years, but that hasn't been the case this season. In this game, there is no outcome that would surprise me.
