Captaincy honour caps great day for Seán Óg
Cork wing back Seán Óg Ó hAilpín admitted it was a "tremendous honour" to captain the Rebels to Munster SHC glory in the aftermath of yesterday's five-point final win over Tipperary.
Ó hAilpín, the first Na Piarsaigh clubman to skipper Cork to a Munster title, helped the Rebels lift the siege in the second half with some telling clearances as Tipp whittled what was once a 12-point lead down to four with six minutes remaining.
Cork, helped by last year's All-Ireland winning skipper Ben O'Connor - who hit six frees - held on to claim their 49th provincial crown and second in three years.
Ó hAilpín said: "It's a very proud day for my club and for all the coaches I have played under. Down through the years, there have been many legendary hurlers to skipper Cork to victory in a Munster final, and it's a tremendous honour for me to have my name added to the list.
"Tipp deserve full marks for coming back at us in the second half. It could have gone right down to the wire if there had been more playing time," admitted Ó hAilpín.
"It was a bit too close for comfort in the end, but if someone had told me this morning that we would win the match by just a point, I would have been very happy to settle for that."
John Allen's Rebel side now have a four-week lay-off before they face one of the qualifiers in the All-Ireland quarter-finals on July 24.
