ONE OF THE BEST HURLING HAS SEEN

DENIED AGAIN: Horgan and Cork lost the final to Tipperary two months ago

- BY KARL O'KANE

SO PATRICK Horgan’s Cork career didn’t get the swansong so many had hoped for.

Timing was against him, even as he debuted in 2008 for the Rebels.

That was very much the end of days for the Cork side that landed back-to-back All-Irelands in 2004 and 2005 - with the county not winning one since.

And it also coincided with the rise of Brian Cody's greatest Kilkenny side, the four-in-a-row outfit (2006-09).

Cody's team remained a force until 2015 as the manager won the last of his 11 All-Irelands as a boss.

There was a hiatus when it could have been anyone's but Cork never really looked like grabbing it, as Tipperary (2016 and 2019), Galway (2017) and Limerick (2019) made hay.