Burke and Cork looking forward

John O'Sullivan asks the Cork captain can Tipp's dominance be broken again

It's a two-cornered spat. If it continues in the same vein for much longer it could court an investigation from the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. Tomorrow, at Croke Park, Tipperary and Cork will square up to one another for the fourth consecutive year in the All-Ireland senior camogie final, a dominance that threatens to strangle the sport.

It's not their fault, merely an acknowledgement of how the counties shrugged off old values and mores, replacing them with a new, vibrant style that has outdistanced their pursuers. Former Tipperary coach Michael Cleary was cited as the catalyst, dragging his charges away from the more ground-based traditions of the past and offering them the freedom of the skies.

The results have been startling as the Premier county chase their sixth title in seven years, a statistic illuminated further by the fact they won their first ever All-Ireland title in 1999. Cork interrupted their Munster neighbours' gallop in 2002 and prior to that enjoyed back-to-back success in 1997 and 1998. There have been no interlopers on the roll of honour since 1996.

Tomorrow, Elaine Burke will lead her Cork team on to the Croke Park sward hoping the team can celebrate 100 years of camogie in the county by dethroning the champions.

She will draw on the victory of the Cork hurling team under the baton of Seán Óg Ó hAilpín as a source of inspiration, but when the whistle goes it won't count for anything.

There have been too many disappointments in the past. A succession of Cork teams have found themselves in the same position, resolute and bristling with determination, only to leave chastened by defeat. The affable 24-year-old trainee solicitor smiles as she considers another tussle with opponents who have cast a long shadow over Cork ambitions, dating back to 2000 - she was 19 - when she joined the panel.

"Motivation won't be a problem; that is something I can be pretty sure of given the context of recent matches against Tipperary. It gets frustrating because they have been such a successful team and you know how they do it, but being able to counter that is very difficult.

"They're a superb team and it's up to us to find a way to knock them from their perch. A focus has been lacking in the last couple of years, but it is very much in evidence now.

"We'll make a few tactical adjustments but I can't reveal too many secrets. We'll be concentrating on our own performance."

Burke, though, is willing to offer an inkling of what Tipperary can expect.

"We'll look to be more aggressive, placing a greater emphasis on attack, and try and force them to try and counter that. We will hope that our defence starts at our full-forward line. Their full-forward line is definitely the strongest area of their team.

"We'll be looking to limit both the supply and quality of ball that goes into them. It's not a big secret, but doing it will be quite another thing."

A product of the Valley Rovers club in Innishannon, Burke had little choice as the youngest of six children but to join in the back-garden sports.

"I come from a GAA family. I have three brothers and two older sisters. The boys played hurling and the girls camogie. Given that I am the youngest of the six, I suppose I had no choice, especially when I was used as a goalkeeper in (family) games. I had to join in or be hit by a wayward sliotar."

A Cumann na mBunscol title while in fourth class on a team coached by an elder sister cultivated her love of the sport. It's an enduring passion, honours arriving in the form of selection for the county panel, an All-Ireland title in 2002 and this season being awarded the captaincy (Valley Rovers as county champions have the prerogative to name the captain).

Burke laughs: "It's not through my greatness. It's not a huge burden apart from media obligations. You're just a Joe Soap having to earn your place on the team. It's not like here's your jersey at the start of the year. I have been left on the bench for games this season.

"Personally you do feel a little more pressure (as captain) on yourself to perform. You try and put that extra bit in. There are always a few words said, but it is not always up to me.

"There are people on the team who are longer-serving and they command respect. If needs be I will say a few words. I don't know what (type of) captain I am. Hopefully, by tomorrow evening a winning one."

To relax, Burke has been known to take to the fairways of Bandon Golf Club in the company of her father.

"I find that I can unwind playing golf, even if it's playing in competitions. There's less pressure because you're not responsible for anyone else but yourself."

The dominance of tomorrow's protagonists threatens to stifle the interest in inter-county camogie as few sports fans outside of the counties in question enjoy the hegemony. When asked what two changes she'd like to see to improve the sport, Burke responded: "I think I might get rid of the handpass goal, allowing players to drop the hurley and handpass the ball into the net. It detracts from the skill value of the sport.

"I'd also try and make the sport stronger over the country. In camogie there are realistically three or four (contenders for the All-Ireland senior title). I think something has to be done. Otherwise, the weaker counties are going to fade away. Regional co-ordinators will go some way to redressing the imbalance."

Those concerns are for another day. Cork, who lost to Tipperary in the Munster championship final, are trying to bring closure to their particular losing sequence. Ironically, they find themselves in a position similar to that of the Galway hurlers prior to last Sunday's All-Ireland hurling final.

Ó hAilpín and his Cork team-mates prevailed on that occasion. Far from increasing the pressure on the county camogie players, it represents a benchmark of achievement.

"A high standard is demanded and expected in Cork no matter what sport," says Burke. "We haven't been producing it over the last few years, not from the want of trying, but because it hasn't been going our way. It'd be great to turn a corner tomorrow and write a new chapter for Cork camogie." Not quite Billy Idol but a rebel yell of sorts.