Pat Horgan backs Cork to end All-Ireland drought with chilling Limerick warning
Cork legend Pat Horgan has declared the Rebels are good enough to finally bring Liam MacCarthy back to Leeside. The county’s all-time top scorer retired last year after 17 seasons in red - without ever getting his hands on the biggest prize of all.But Hoggy believes this Cork side have what it takes to finish the job. And ahead of Sunday’s Munster final showdown with old rivals Limerick, the Rebels icon insists Ben O'Connor’s side are right at the top of the tree.“I don’t know why you wouldn’t think Cork are good enough to win the All-Ireland,” said Horgan. “They are playing Limerick on Sunday and if you are asking me now, they are the two best teams in the country by a distance. That is not to say a surprise may not happen along the way but they are 100 per cent contenders, as they have been for a while. With the experience Cork have had over the years, they will be hungry and they will want to do it.”And ahead of Sunday’s Munster final showdown with Limerick, the county’s all-time leading scorer says his head and heart are pointing the same direction.“There is so little to choose between the teams,” said Horgan. “What are we talking about? The two best teams in the country by a distance. Picking a winner is hard. There won’t be much between them. We are talking about a point or two separating them. But my head is saying Cork.”The Rebels arrive into Sunday’s clash in flying form after winning all four Championship games this season. Compare that to the chaos of last year when Cork looked unstoppable one week and vulnerable the next. They hammered Tipperary by 15 points before suffering a brutal defeat to Limerick. Waterford and Dublin were subsequently hammered - the Dubs by 20 points in the All-Ireland semis. Then came another crushing loss to Tipp in the All-Ireland final.Horgan, however, has little interest in revisiting old scars. “We are at the Munster final stage now so I don’t see what relevance the Tipp defeat in the All-Ireland final has,” he said. “Cork have played at a really high standard for the last three or four years. We cannot address the Tipperary loss until the season is over.”Horgan admits there were mitigating circumstances behind some of Cork’s heavy defeats - particularly the round robin hammering by Limerick last summer. “There was a bit of sickness within the camp at the time as well as a couple of injuries,” he explained. “We were not at full strength which would be one of the reasons why that game got away from us.”The 38-year-old insists Cork’s current form is not dramatically different to where they were 12 months ago. Instead, he believes the Rebels are simply continuing a long upward curve that has already delivered three All-Ireland final appearances this decade.“If I look at last year compared to this year - are Cork playing better now? It is hard to know,” he admitted. “I think it is similar. They are playing really good hurling now. We played really well last year as well. We won a few trophies and this year we are in a Munster final.”* Centra’ leading Sharpshooter ambassador Patrick Horgan is encouraging young hurlers across the country to test their skills and take part in the 2026 Centra Sharpshooter competition.Click here to sign up to our sport newsletter, bringing you the top stories and biggest headlines from Ireland and beyond.
