Tipperary rule supreme with second-half demolition 

It can be claimed with a fair degree of certainty that the pre-match atmosphere to the All-Ireland Hurling Final of 1995 between Clare and Offaly was probably the best and the most intense ever.

On Sunday in Dublin, the supporters of Cork and Tipperary came very near to matching it. This was a unique occasion. The first time these two great rivals had met in the final. Who remembers the old Tipperary saying?

“The hay is saved and Cork are bet.” 

That was when Munster championship games were played in July. Now the All-Ireland series is over by the end of this month. Breaking with the tradition of All-Ireland finals in September doesn’t sit well, but what is done is done. There will be no change from what is now the split season between club and intercounty. As one famous Corkonian, who didn’t enjoy his time in Saipan all those years ago, might have said.

“It is over. Get on with it.” 

Cork last won the All-Ireland final in 2005. The following year, Kilkenny stopped them in their quest for three-in-a-row. They haven’t won since. Clare broke their hearts in both the original game and the 2013 replay. There have been further defeats to Limerick (2021) and again to Clare last year. Five defeats in twenty years and no win. Mayo footballers have been indicted for similar offences.

In the lead up to the final, the feeling was that if it came down to the last ten minutes, then the memory of previous losses could come back to haunt the Rebel County. That phenomenon struck a lot earlier. How is it hard to say? Just before the interval, when Jason Forde’s goal was disallowed and Cork came back down the field and Shane Barrett found the Tipperary net, that had the potential that a blow to the solar plexus can have. But the six-point turnaround against them didn’t seem to hurt the eventual winners one little bit.

From the stand, it is hard to know what way the wind is blowing in Croke Park. It had to favour Cork in the first half as Tipp hit a series of wides. All-Ireland finals tend to have heroes and villains.

Patrick Collins, the Cork goalkeeper, will have nightmares about his day in Croke Park. Admittedly, he was caught in two minds when he batted the ball down in the direction of the marauding John McGrath. Was the ball going to drop underneath the bar where he would have had to play it or should he have let it clear the bar. He had a split second to make up his mind. He got it wrong and John McGrath exacted full-punishment.

Minutes later, when the full-forward got a delicious nudge on Cork full-back, Eoin Downey, it gave him enough time to get possession. It was a bit like Seamus Darby’s foul on Kerry’s Tommy Doyle in the 1982 All-Ireland final. Imperceptible to the match referee but enough to put the defender off-balance.

Even then, McGrath seemed to have Cork full-backs hurley held firmly under his arm.

Down went the full-forward. A penalty and a second yellow for Downey.

As these events were unfolding Darragh McCarthy was preparing to take the penalty. In April, the Tipperary forward didn’t even get to play against Cork in the Munster championship when he was red-carded for striking Sean O’Donoghue before the ball was even thrown in. He also picked up two yellow cards against Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final. Moments which could have scarred many a young sportsman. He survived and his 1-13 in an All-Ireland final buried those earlier memories.

If McGrath’s first goal was down to a defensive error, then his second was sheer class, where he timed his run to perfection to deflect the ball past the unfortunate Collins. God be with the days when the full-back ruled over his domain with pride and a large degree of ruthlessness. Is it strange to suggest that the Cork defence were too nice on the day?

What the Cork defence were giving away on Sunday, their forwards struggled in that second half. Two points in 35 minutes in an All-Ireland final is nothing less than shocking. Admittedly, they were denied by the posts on at least three occasions where 1-2 was lost.

History has shown that when previous Cork teams (before 2005) get a run on an opponent, they turn the screw. Their second half performance on Sunday was anything but a Cork traditional performance. They let Tipperary dominate them in the second half and long before Sheehy scored his second goal in the last quarter, Cork supporters were gathering their personal belongings and preparing to leave the scene of the crime.

It was an emotional cup-winning speech from Ronan Maher, who would eventually be awarded The Sunday Game Man of the Match. The Thurles Sarsfield’s man alluded to former colleague, Dillon Quirke, who died suddenly while playing a club match for Clonoulty/Rossmore against Kilruane MacDonaghs in Thurles in October 2022. The Dillon Quirke Foundation logo was emblazoned on the front of the shirts of the winning team. It was a poignant moment for Maher and All Tipperary hurling folk. His well-chosen words caught the situation well.

Overall, 2025 was hardly one of the great championships. The final could well have been a microcosm of the entire season where, in the group stages, Tipperary lost to Cork (4-27 to 0-24) and drew with Limerick before advancing through the quarter-finals when beating Laois.

Kilkenny may look on this as an opportunity lost where they were unable to beat 14-man Tipperary, where Darragh McCarthy picked up two yellows to become one of those rare groups of players who were sent off twice in the one championship season. Galway look destined to fall back into a mire which took years for them to emerge from. Dublin beat Limerick but Cork quietly but firmly ushered the Dubs out of the championship. That easy game probably didn’t give Cork the preparation they needed with their rivals having two games and the Kilkenny one massive dress rehearsal for what was to come.

Not that Tipperary are concerned about now. The dust has settled. They are the All-Ireland senior hurling champions for 2025. All the more sweeter in that they beat Kilkenny and Cork to get there.