Plan was to get in front and stay there

Players' reaction: It was bound to create a sense of deja vu, that Cork would only be revisiting that moment of glory, and that this particular All-Ireland victory was more about inner satisfaction than raw celebration.

When you know you're the best team in the land not even back-to-back titles can draw a tear from grown men.

Then Seán Óg Ó hAilpín leans his back against a wall in the Cork dressingroom, and the moment takes on new meaning. Suddenly it's the moment of perfection, the final step perhaps towards greatness, and even if he doesn't have a tear in his eye the Cork captain is thoroughly stirred with emotion.

"Ever since I started off in Na Piarsaigh," he begins, "and going to the North Monastery, I was told that Croke Park, the steps of the Hogan Stand, that's what you aspire to. I bought into that growing up on the northside of Cork, and I wanted to live that dream. And today it came true for me.

"It's an honour not just for myself, but also to be associated with the guys inside these concrete walls. They're an amazing bunch of lads."

All-Ireland winning captain, the last honour Ó hAilpíneeded to satisfy his unquenchable thirst to be the best. He now has six All-Ireland medals to his name across the three grades of hurling. Not just a great man any more, a giant.

"Well it's not about me," he is quick to add. "We all have a part, but it's about the 30 lads and the back-up team inside there. They all make it possible. So I'm just honoured to lead them up to Croke Park. And I don't know if we'll ever get the chance to win back-to-back titles again. So today kind of represents the pinnacle of this current team. Three All-Ireland finals on the trot, won two. Next year is going to be 20 times harder."

Cork had decided the best way to beat Galway was to beat them early, and beat them again every time they sensed a victory. Still he credits them for the battle.

"No All-Ireland final is ever easy, and I can tell you that wasn't easy. Galway had us at the pin of our collars when they got their goal in the second half. But every time they hit us with something we were able to hit back, and keep that bit of breathing space, which was important. They never got the back-to-back scores that would really threaten us.

"I think fellas realised during the year we weren't clicking together as a team. But that was ideal coming into an All-Ireland final. There was a lot of pressure on Galway after their performance in the semi-final, but we sat down and talked about going about our business. We did that today, by putting pressure on Galway early and keeping our composure. So that was the difference in the end."

Cork have become only the second team in 17 years to win back-to-back titles. Not that John Allen was ever too fussed about that. He was eased into the manager's job at the start of the season having served his time in the shadows, and now this.

"I never expected in a million years I'd be manager of the Cork senior hurling team on a day like this," says Allen, and you have to believe him. "For me as a sportsman, it's my proudest moment ever.

"We were certainly under the cosh at various stages, but I don't think we ever looked like losing. Even when they got the goal we never allowed Galway get in front. And I'd said that for a young team like Galway getting in front would be huge for their confidence. And you could see by the schemozzling in the centre of the field just before the start they were really intent on not letting us settle, and not giving us an inch.

"And today was our best 70 minutes of the year. We were in the game the whole time, ahead the whole time, and I was very pleased that the fight was there in the players today."

Tactically Allen also got it all so right - testing the Galway backs with the high ball they hadn't expected, while his faith in Brian Corcoran and Ronan Curran proved even more fruitful: "We were aware their forwards were a lethal combination, but their backs were certainly good as well. And we played a lot more longer ball because of that. We felt the more often the ball was inside in their danger area the better for us."

Ben O'Connor is asked how it compares to other days with both club and county, and says it just proves what Cork are truly capable of. "We had some criticism last year, and came out with that in the back of our heads, that we had to win this to prove ourselves. I think experience did count too, that we were that little bit cuter on the day, and maybe saved our engine a bit."

So the only thing better than this is three in a row?

"Sure the double is not something done very often, so we'll enjoy the next few weeks first. We've the club championship to get through then, and I suppose then we'll talk about next year. But I'd say we'd be willing to put in the effort again all right."

Last word goes to defender John Gardiner. "We'd said we'd play a little differently and just hit a lot more ball into Brian Corcoran. We felt he'd been starved earlier on in the year. And he was fantastic from the start. Their goal could have been a turning point but we just stuck at it, and our fitness definitely held up for the last 10 minutes."