Corcoran out to end barren run for Cork

They knew it wouldn't be easy, but nobody told Cork that it would be so tough. The era of sponsorship arrived and suddenly all of Cork's dreams and aspirations were sucked into a black hole and summer after summer was spent watching their conquerors bask in hurling's rediscovered popularity.

Apart from one victory, and that against Kerry all of three years ago in a preliminary round joust, Cork haven't won what they'd consider a real game in Munster in six years, all the way back to their provincial final win over Limerick in 1992. For a county who've won more All-Ireland titles and more Munster titles than any other, it's a statistic which drives a stake right through their hearts.

The 1990s, thus far, have provided Cork with the most barren of times, the crumbs of that one provincial success offering little enough comfort. Their pride has been wounded.

Yet, this week in Cork, the mood of doom and gloom is lifting, and expectations are increasing. There is new life in Cork hurling, and victory in the National Hurling League Final against Waterford two weeks ago has hinted at the possibility of a summer of playing rather than watching for their hurlers.

The comfort of an unchanged 15 for Sunday's Munster senior hurling championship quarterfinal with Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds has added to the feeling of well-being among the supporters.

In that league decider, no-one impressed as much as Brian Corcoran, a rock in the heart of the Cork defence. That day, he faced up to Ken McGrath, one of hurling's fastest rising stars, and emerged as most people's choice as man-of-the-match. Corcoran, though, has warned that the match with Limerick on Sunday will be "the acid test" of the team's worth.

"At the end of the day," insists Corcoran, "if we lose on Sunday, then our supporters will judge us, and the year, on that."

However, Corcoran, one of the pivotal members of the new-look Cork team that has evolved under manager Jimmy Barry-Murphy, sees significant merit in the way that they annexed the league title: "Obviously, for the younger players, the league showed them that they can play against the top teams. It showed them that they have nothing to fear from anybody."

Indeed, an indication of how serious Corcoran is taking the build-up to this big game is that his attentions for over a month have been devoted entirely to his hurling commitments. "I've just concentrated on hurling, but once Sunday is over, win or lose, then I'll return to the football panel too," says the dual player.

"I'm enjoying my hurling so far this season and I think the new league format has been successful," he continues. "And, thankfully, all my little injuries have cleared up as well."

It has been a good season for Cork, and for Corcoran, so far. It was obvious from the way they played their games that they took the league seriously, but then so did others too which gave their eventual victory even greater merit. "To show we've made real progress, however, we have got to follow up our league win by also winning on Sunday," says Corcoran. "We have got to beat another of the big teams in the championship, otherwise we'll hear people saying that others didn't really take the league as seriously. And I believe that winning the league has to give the team more confidence for this challenge."

Then there is also the matter of another match in the Gaelic Grounds, a venue which Corcoran professes "hasn't been the happiest hunting ground for us in the past few years." A county who have mixed arrogance with hurling ability to win more provincial titles than anyone else shouldn't fear a jinx, though. Instead, the confidence garnered from the league campaign should ensure that Cork enter the fray on Sunday in a better frame of mind than any time in the past fives years.