Gaelic Games

Darragh Fitzgibbon pleased that Rebel legend Horgan has silenced his critics

Cork’s dashing midfielder tips his hat to the Rebels’ long-serving top scorer in advance of eagerly-awaited repeat showdown with champions Limerick

Patrick Horgan in action against Dublin. Cork's long-serving forward is chasing a couple of scoring records this weekend when the Rebels face Limerick in the All-Ireland semi-final. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho

Paul Keane
Fri Jul 5 2024 - 06:00

To think they were doubting Patrick Horgan and his capabilities only a few weeks ago.

Darragh Fitzgibbon doesn’t name names but remembers a few who had the temerity to suggest that, at 36, his Cork colleague was washed up.

That was after Cork’s opening round Munster SHC defeat to Waterford, a game in which Horgan didn’t score from play.

The Glen Rovers man has since sniped 5-50, leaving him on the cusp of smashing two significant scoring records this weekend.

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If he registers 0-12 or better against Limerick in Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final, he will overtake Lee Chin as the 2024 championship’s top scorer.

Kilkenny’s TJ Reid has a sniff too but is currently 14 points adrift of Horgan.

The second significant record that Horgan is chasing also involves Reid, with both players tied in the all-time championship scorer charts. Horgan has 29-612 (699 points) from 81 games, Reid 34-597 from 88 outings (also 699 points).

“He’s so meticulous in his work, in the way he looks after himself and the way he trains, he just lets people on the outside talk about whatever they’re going to talk about,” said Fitzgibbon of Horgan.

“There were people after the Waterford game saying that he was finished and he has answered those critics with the way he’s performing. I think it’s a lesson to everyone, the way fellas like TJ and Patrick both look after themselves, and to be performing at their level at 36 years of age is just a credit to them.”

Midfielder Fitzgibbon, the PwC GAA/GPA Hurler of the Month for May, reckons two-time MacCarthy Cup finalist Horgan would swap any of his scoring records for that coveted All-Ireland medal.

Darragh Fitrzgibbon: won the PwC GAA/GPA Hurler of the Month award for May for his impressive performances for Cork in the Munster championship. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho

“Absolutely, we all would,” said Fitzgibbon, who realises that getting beyond five-in-a-row chasing Limerick to secure their final place will take some doing.

“We know the challenge that’s coming and I think that’s one of the things that sets Limerick apart – how they tweak things and answer all the questions that are asked of them in any match. They’ve answered every question thrown at them over the last couple of years.”

Well, not quite every question. Cork did beat them on a memorable night at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in mid-May. It’s that result that has given Cork supporters genuine hope of ending their All-Ireland drought, a winless streak stretching back to 2005.

“I haven’t really experienced anything like that,” said Fitzgibbon of the atmosphere on Leeside that evening.

“We experienced more in terms of success with the Munster wins in 2017 and 2018 but I think that night was just, I suppose, a feeling of relief that we could extend our season by another week, and also to show that the things we’d been working on in training were working and to give us confidence to drive on.

“Everyone talks about the scenes after the match. I think that was the crowd expressing an emotional response to what we did on the night.

“At the same time, we knew as players when we got back into the dressing-room that, yeah, we were saying well done to each other but we knew we had to get back in and get ready for the following week.

“We were in the gym the following morning.”

Cork could do with conjuring that same chutzpah. Pat Ryan used the same word to describe his team’s recent performances against both Offaly and Dublin – sloppy.

“There was a lot of pressure going into that Limerick game, you could either let it eat you up or you could put the shoulders out, drive through and give it your best,” he said. “That’s what we did.”

And what they need to do again.

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