Provincial Championships may be underway, but it feels like some fans in Cork have gotten a bit carried away.
The Rebel County are looking to make up for last year’s disappointing display against Tipperary in the All-Ireland Hurling final, and they got their Munster campaign off to the best start as they comfortably beat Tipp in their own backyard at Semple Stadium.
Cork blitzed the All-Ireland Champions in the second half, and speaking afterwards, Ciarán Joyce said the team knew there was more to come from them after they went into the break tied at 13 points apiece.
Cork fans are already eyeing up the All-Ireland final. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
‘We knew there was definitely more in us,’ said Joyce about their half-time team talk. ‘Going in at half-time, 13-all, we felt we were yet to catch fire – in training the last couple of weeks, we’ve been going well.
‘We were just waiting for things to happen, really, in the first half. But, thankfully, for that 20 minutes in the second half, the ball was getting zipped around more, and we played better hurling.’
And that win, on top of a league campaign which saw them reach the final, has got fans of the Rebels excited to say the least about their county’s prospects this summer.
Cork supporters during the Munster GAA Senior Hurling Championship Round 1 match against Tipperary. Pic: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile
Eagled-eyed users on X have already noticed that two trains from Cork to Dublin have been sold out for Sunday, July 19, the day of the All-Ireland Hurling Final, the 8:25am and 10:25am trains from Kent Station to Heuston.
With the average 8-carriage service having a 422 passenger capacity, that means over 800 people have already planned their route to the All-Ireland final, well before any provincial Championships are done, let alone the All-Ireland Championship.
Cork, along with Munster rivals Limerick, are the heavy favourites to lift the Liam MacCarthy Trophy this summer. Could it be third time lucky for this group after two final losses in the last two years?
Cork fans are confident of a return back to the final Joe!
Trains booked already https://t.co/V2CEnZwjPk pic.twitter.com/8iVGLFLW4q
— Niall Tierney (@nialltierney25) April 21, 2026