Latest news with #MickMackeyCup
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Patrick Collins: 'The fact that it actually went to penalties is a bit surreal in itself'
Patrick Collins played a pivotal role for Cork in Saturday night's historic Munster final victory. The number one custodian was the centre of attention when it came to deciding the destination of the Mick Mackey Cup. With the Cork fans united in a sea of red behind him, it was his save from Tom Morrissey - Limerick's fourth penalty taker - that gave the new champions the edge. Diarmaid Byrnes and Aaron Gillane had scored but with Barry Murphy and Declan Hannon sending their efforts wide, Cork won the shootout 3-2. 'No, I never thought it would go to penalties, not at all. Far from it,' said the Ballinhassig club man. 'After training, a few of us would do a few penalties. Just, yeah, after every few sessions, but it's not something we kind of focus on, thinking that it might happen down the line. It's not something you practice too much for, penalties. 'I suppose when we got to penalties, just kind of hoping for the best and getting a bit of luck, and thankfully we did at the end. The fact that it actually went to penalties is a bit surreal in itself. You just try your best and it came out right in the end. 'I think we won the toss, yeah. I suppose the fact you're going down to the Cork crowd and you heard the cheer going down, I suppose it gave you a bit of belief, a bit of hope as well. But no, it was unreal. I'm thankful to be able to do that in front of the fans, so it's class. 'I never thought the game was gone from us at any stage. If you're thinking that, you're gone out of the moment. The game doesn't be long going if you're thinking like that. But no, whatever happens, good or bad, you're in the next moment, and you move on.' Puck-out strategy has been under so much scrutiny. So how did he think he fared? 'Yeah, look, I don't know the stats on the puck-outs, but just from thinking about what happened throughout the game, I think we got a bit of joy off of them. They won a few as well. But overall, if we work hard and get on the breaks, our puck outs did well, yeah.' The performance was a big improvement compared to the substantial 16-point defeat the previous day. 'When we came up three weeks ago, we learned a lesson that if you're a percent off at all against this Limerick team, they're going to punish you, and they did that night. We just wanted to put in a performance, that's what we wanted to do today, to put in a performance and try and do the right things, and thankfully it paid off. 'You've to try to get a good start, if you can at all, and try to go toe-to-toe with them, because if you give them a bit of a lead, it's kind of hard, especially in their home ground. But no, from the off, we wanted to get a good start, and I think we did that.' Taking the front door route to an All-Ireland semi-final is one of the rewards. 'Look, it's huge. I suppose a four-week break gives lads with a few injuries a few weeks to get them right, and get back in for competition and training. That's something we live off is the competition we have in training, and the competition that we have with the lads. We've 38 unbelievable solid lads, and each lad is pushing for their place, and it's going to be no different the next four weeks.'
Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Joyce 'lost for words' after Cork fought with everything to clench Munster SHC title
Ciarán Joyce's right hand was bloodied without the bandages but as the Mick Mackey Cup was being passed around him in the stand also named after the Limerick great the beaming smile on his face told no story of pain. It was in such stark contrast to the despondency he wore coming off the same Gaelic Grounds field 20 days earlier after Cork were trimmed by 16 points. The turnaround, he said, was built on realising they simply hadn't turned up for that clash with Limerick. 'The last three weeks in training was phenomenal. It was a real kick up the ass, to be honest with you. I'm lost for words. It's some feeling. In their own backyard as well, it adds to it. You can see how starved for success the Cork crowd are too. '(There were) no harsh words but our work-rate was questioned in that game and any time your work-rate is questioned, it does get to you because you put so much into it. 'You could see today that we fought tooth and nail for every ball and it's an unreal feeling when everyone in the 15 is fighting like that.' Centre-back Joyce pointed to last year's All-Ireland final defeat to Clare after extra-time as a valuable if tough lesson as they were involved in another decider that couldn't be determined after normal time. 'There's savage character in this group. Last year when we got to extra-time in the All-Ireland final, we learned a lot from that. We stuck to our gameplan and we didn't in the final last year.' Four weeks has tripped up Munster champions before such as Limerick against Cork last year and Cork themselves in 2018. It's new territory for many of their players but Joyce senses it will benefit the county on this occasion. 'We'll celebrate. Four weeks is something we're not used to but we've a lot of injuries, so I think it will suit us and we'll see now who we'll be playing in the semi-final.'
RTÉ News
9 hours ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Cork's Saturday-night fight all right for Pat Ryan as thoughts turn from Munster glory to Croke Park
Freed from Desire has curiously become an anthem of choice for two of Limerick's Munster rivals. Clare celebrated to the strains of Gala's 1997 dance banger when they beat Kilkenny in last year's semi-final and the Cork fans belted it out on the pitch at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday night, as the public announcer pleaded for the Rebels stand-in captain Shane Barrett to come and collect the Mick Mackey Cup. In the end, regular skipper Rob Downey, who came off the bench - despite a knee injury - to help contain the sizeable threat of Gearóid Hegarty, fought his way through the delirious hordes to do so. Glory days, after all, to win a first Munster in seven years. But Cork manager Pat Ryan seemed to have Elton John's classic 'Saturday night's alright for fighting' in mind when asked how his team had managed to turn a 16-point round-robin loss into a historic penalty-shootout provincial title victory. "It was an honour for us to come up here and fight," he said. "We didn't fight the last time we came up here and the lads worked really hard, we fought really, really hard. It was vital that we represented the jersey properly and we did. "From the throw-in, we were engaged. You have to put really, really good teams under pressure and you take your chances, whether you win or not. "We were missing a couple of fellas, a couple of bodies came on and sometimes that actually freshens up the team. "I suppose the key thing was that the guys stayed composed and responded when Limerick had the goal to go ahead [Shane O'Brien's in the 46th minute]. "It took penalties to separate us and we're just delighted to get the trophy." "The referees are all doing their best" There was almost a fight at half-time as well, the two management teams squaring up as they both sought to engage referee Thomas Walsh, presumably both feeling hard done by in terms of frees awarded. To be fair to 'Tyler', he had been equally stingy - just three each, and only one of Limerick's was scoreable. What had Ryan been so keen to express? "Just to say he was doing a great job! "We're all fighting tooth and nail for the calls. The game is so fast. Thomas is a fantastic referee. We're fighting for calls. John Kiely's fighting for calls. That's just the nature of it. "The referees are all doing their best. In fairness, there were a couple of calls that we went against but I heard John shouting for plenty of scores that didn't go his way. That's just the game. "Credit to the officials. James Owens came on then [when Walsh got cramp in extra-time], which is tough for him, but he did a good job as well." Cork's last experience of extra-time had ended in All-Ireland heartache against Clare but last night they overcame the early concession of two points to keep it tight until Darragh Fitzgibbon's last-gasp, equalising 65. "We were definitely calmer, to be honest with you," reflected Ryan. "The last day against Clare, there were three or four fellas with cramps and injuries and you were saying, 'Will we bring them off or will we stick with it?' That made life a bit easier. [Substitutes] Robbie O'Flynn, Tommy O'Connell (0-01), Shane Kingston (0-03), I thought they were really, really good. Having the ability to bring on Niall [O'Leary] and Rob [Downey, both deemed not fit enough to start] was huge." Declan Dalton (hamstring) and Ger Millerick (broken finger) were absent today but Ryan is confident they can return with the four-week gap to the semi-final. The penalty shootout in full: Had Cork spent time practising penalties as a group before what was the first provncial or All-Ireland shootout? They only missed one to Limerick's three in a 3-2 victory. "None," insisted Ryan. "All the lads are practising a lot [individually], I think. We had really, really good confidence in them. [Full-back] Eoin Downey probably practised more penalties than anyone. He's really talented. "But, look, that's [goalkeeper Collins] Patrick's job and Patrick did a job for us." From All-Ireland favourites after winning the league, to written off after that hammering, hopes will be rising on Leeside again that the record wait for Liam MacCarthy will extend no longer than 20 years. Thought feet inside the camp will remain firmly on the ground. "If we played that game ten times over, it would probably be a different result every time," observed man of the match Fitzgibbon after a match that was level a staggering 15 times. His manager is well aware of the distance that remains to the ultimate goal, with a semi-final against old rivals Tipperary, the Joe McDonagh runners-up, or the beaten Leinster finalists to come on 5 July. And who knows, maybe even a third match against opposition who were seconds away - too many in Kiely's opinion - from winning seven Munsters in a row. "We won by penalties against a brilliant Limerick team," said Ryan. "This is just one thing. We move on to the All-Ireland series, the semi-finals. "It's probably going to take a bit of managing now. That's your four weeks off to manage properly and probably get a bit of advice from fellas that have done it before. That's something that we haven't accounted for before. Limerick have plenty of experience of how they deal with that. "We know we're a really good team. We saw what we were like when we were not at it three weeks ago. That's all to play for. We're really looking forward to going to the Leinster final tomorrow."
Extra.ie
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Extra.ie
'Epic' Munster final lauded as 'one of the best games ever played'
An epic back-and-forth between Cork and Limerick has been lauded as 'one of the best games ever played.' Cork ended Limerick's bid for a record seventh Munster senior hurling title in a row on a night of drama at the TUS Gaelic Grounds. For the first time in the history of the championship, a provincial final was decided on penalties after extra-time couldn't separate the two teams short-listed for this year's All-Ireland. Cork's Tim O'Mahony celebrates with fans In the end, Cork won the shoot-out 3-2 with Alan Connolly firing the last penalty to ensure his team lifted the Mick Mackey Cup and won the province for the first time since 2018. — máire cáit (@mairecait_) June 7, 2025 It represents a remarkable turnaround for a team beaten by Limerick by 16 points in the group stage of the province only three weeks ago. After that resounding defeat, the odds for the All-Ireland were flipped with Limerick being installed as favourites for the Liam MacCarthy Cup and for a seventh Munster title in success – which would have been unprecedented. But they will now have to lick their wounds and prepare for an All-Ireland quarter-final after finally being deposed in Munster. Cork meanwhile, march on to an All-Ireland semi-final. 'We let a lot of people down three weeks ago,' admitted Alan Connolly who pointed to the sea of red and white below him as he spoke after the trophy presentation, praising the huge Cork support: 'They'll follow us to the end.' As to whether he was feeling the pressure as he stepped up as the fourth Cork penalty taker, he played down the stakes. 'We just said, whatever happens, happens. We're after getting this far.' And when Declan Hannon missed after him, his strike proved to be the clinching one. Cork midfielder Darragh Fitzgibbon was another who showed he had ice in his veins. At the very end of extra time, he needed to convert a 65 to force penalties after an Aaron Gillane-inspired Limerick had come from a point down with just a couple of minutes to go to lead by one. But Fitzgibbon was equal to the task, having taken over deadball duties from Patrick Horgan. And while he took the first Cork penalty and saw it saved, he tried to make sense of it all afterwards. 'It had everything really,' he said, speaking to RTE Sport. 'Two very good teams going at it. I'd say if we played that game 10 times over, it would be a different result every time. We're just really happy and grateful and delighted to be on the right side of it.' It was a hugely intense and physical affair where the players put their bodies on the line from start to finish. Referee Thomas Walsh allowed plenty go and while the Cork management were upset at half-time over various calls and approached him – which prompted Limerick to do the same – the action stayed fast and furious until the end of regulation time and beyond. It was so frenetic that even the referee had to be replaced after going down with cramp with James Owens deputising in extra time. 'I don't think people realise how fast it is at home and how high it is of a level,' added Fitzgibbon. 'That's credit to Limerick as well, they've brought the game to another level. They've raised everyone else's preparation and training to try and get to their level. And they've raised our training and preparation to get to their level. 'You can have nothing but respect for them and I'm sure they'll knuckle down and they'll be back.' The Munster hurling final is like one of those UNESCO sites ……….. protect at all costs, untouchable.#MunsterFinal — Brian Flannery (@BrianJAFlannery) June 7, 2025 Does a tremendous final like this really have to be decided by penalties? Imagine the anticipation, the craic, and the buzz if we were looking forward to a replay! This is the price of the condensed season. Congrats to #Cork & #Limerick on providing a superb #MunsterFinal 👏👏🔥 — Des Cahill (@sportsdes) June 7, 2025 He insisted they won't lose the run of themselves after this. 'You just can't get too up or too down. The talk after the league final was a bit crazy. But us, in our camp, we didn't get too up or too down. The talk after we lost a few weeks ago was a bit negative but we didn't let it affect us. 'We know after today's result the talk will probably get crazy again. But look, we know that we need to knuckle down. We've got two huge games to get to where we want to get to. And we'll prepare accordingly.'
The 42
15 hours ago
- Sport
- The 42
'We were embarrassed here the last time. For us to get over the line is huge'
CORK BOSS PAT Ryan says Munster senior hurling success is 'huge' for the Rebels, having ended Limerick's remarkable dominance in the province. Cork edged a dramatic decider which went to a penalties at the Gaelic Grounds, and lifted the Mick Mackey Cup for the first time since 2018. Limerick were chasing seven in a row, but Cork reign supreme after a 3-2 penalty shootout followed a game deadlocked 1-30 to 2-27 after extra time. It marks a stunning turnaround from the 3-26 to 1-16 round-robin reversal at the same venue last month, which remained central to Ryan's thoughts as a Munster winning manager. 'Look, our fellas really dug in,' he told RTÉ afterwards. Advertisement 'It took an awful lot of effort over the last three weeks. We were embarrassed when we came up here the last time. Had to get over Waterford, that was a tough game, but we trained really, really well the last few weeks. We picked up a few injuries, sometimes when you freshen up the team and freshen up the panel… 'I knew the lads were going to fight on their backs today. This is a brilliant Limerick team, they were going for seven Munsters in a row, it'll never be done again. Look, we're just delighted to get a win.' Cork manager Pat Ryan gives his reaction after watching his side land the Munster title in Limerick.#rtegaa 📺@rte2 & @rteplayer 📻 Saturday Sport on @rteradio1 📱Updates: — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 7, 2025 Ryan repeatedly praised Limerick in his TV interview as he reflected on a titanic battle, along with the challenge of nullifying Limerick's strengths while getting his own game plan across. 'Limerick are a brilliant team, they're going to win ball. The last day, they won ball uncontested. Today, we won ball contested. You just try to put pressure on all over the field, that's what every team is trying to do. You're going to win some ball, you're going to lose some ball, but our fellas stuck at it today. 'That's not saying that Limerick didn't. They stuck at it really well as well. For us to get over the line is huge.' 'People say, 'Oh go man mark Cian Lynch or…' you're not going to be able to stop them, like,' he continued. 'You're trying to win battles everywhere. Limerick are trying to do the same to us. 'The last day, we didn't get stuck into them. We left them with too much space around the place. I thought Cian Lynch was excellent in the first, but Ciaran really, really stuck at it for the whole game.' Shane Kingston celebrates a score. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO Ryan also hailed impact substitutes Shane Kingston and Conor Lehane, who combined for 0-5 and two penalties in the shootout. 'They showed great commitment to the group. They weren't starting, some coming back from injuries, that puts you back behind in the pecking order. They never complained, they never waned, and they trained really, really hard. We had no fear bringing them on here today.' Asked what this means, Ryan concluded: 'Huge. It just gives you more confidence going forward. Obviously there's an All-Ireland series, we're in the semi-finals. There's brilliant teams left but we know that we can battle with anyone.'
