Tipperary wanted it more than us.. they were relentless and we just got shocked by it.. we let lots of Cork people down, not least ourselves

CONNOLY CAN'T HIDE PAIN OF REBELS' HELL IN ALL-IRELAND FINAL BUT HE'S READY TO DUST HIMESLF DOWN & GO AGAIN

- BY GARRY DOYLE

CORK star Alan Connolly has opened up on the pain he felt from the Rebels' All-Ireland final meltdown.

And you can understand why. After all, it took three years to build their dream and just 35 painful minutes for it to be torn into a million pieces.

So when Connolly looks back on Cork's 2025 campaign, his voice can't quite hide the flicker of emotion.

The highlights were the league final and the Munster final," he says.

"They were two unbelievable days. To see all the Cork fans after the league win it was incredible.

"Maybe we were getting a bit ahead of ourselves, but then again it was the first league win in 27 years. So it's understandable.

"And then the Munster final... that was one of the best days ever. The scenes afterwards were unbelievable. Then to go to penalties that was some feeling."

You can hear the pride in every word because Cork's year had been a resurgence a team finally finding its swagger again.

So when the All-Ireland final came around, belief wasn't in short supply. After all, they had hammered Dublin 7-26 to 2-21, with Connolly bagging a hat-trick.