Hurling Final Diary
It’s 19 years since Cork got their hands on the Liam MacCarthy Cup, while it’s 11 years since Clare last lifted the trophy. Sportsfile
Question: Does Sunday qualify as a feast of famines? Cork’s 19 years in the wilderness certainly passes the litmus test, given it’s a Leeside record of All-Ireland absenteeism, whereas Clare’s 11-year drought is a mere hiccup in historical terms.
But that still makes this year a pretty novel affair – it’s a rare occurrence to have both SHC finalists chasing their first title in at least a decade. In the previous 50 All-Irelands (1974 to 2023) this has happened only four times, most recently in 2017 when Galway ended a trauma-filled 29 years by beating Waterford (who were then 58 years and counting minus Liam MacCarthy).
