Clare made their eighth final appearance, and their first since winning in 2013. They also won in the finals of 1914, 1995 and 1997, and were beaten finalists in 1889, 1932 and 2002.
Cork were aiming to win their first title since 2005; they are the second most successful county in the championship's history, with 30 wins; their current streak of 18 consecutive seasons without an All-Ireland was the longest in their history.[11]
The two teams had met in the final once before, in 2013, with Clare winning after a replay.[12]
The fifth final to involve two Munster teams, after 1997 (Clare beat Tipperary), 2013 (Clare beat Cork), 2020 (Limerick beat Waterford) and 2021 (Limerick beat Cork).
This was the fourth final to involve neither the Munster nor the Leinster champions (in 2024, Limerick and Kilkenny). The previous occasions were:
Tickets for the final were sold out with no general sales, over 32,000 tickets had been issued to Cork and Clare for distribution between the clubs. Cork had a total of 219 active GAA clubs, most of any county in Ireland, with 84 clubs in Clare.[29]
Stand tickets for the final cost €100 with terrace tickets at €55.[30]
In Cork the match was shown at the Rebels' Fanzone free event at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh with 15,000 tickets sold out within 45 minutes.[31]Clare County Council also screened the final on a big screen at a free event in Tim Smythe Park in Ennis.[32]
Team news
On 18 July, Cork announced the same team for the final that started the semi-final against Limerick. Three players remained from the side that lost the 2013 replay to Clare, with Séamus Harnedy and Patrick Horgan starting and Conor Lehane on the bench.[33]
A day later, Clare also announced the same starting team as against Kilkenny in the semi-final. Four players, John Conlon, David McInerney, Tony Kelly and Shane O'Donnell remained from the side that won the final in 2013.
[34]
Match
Summary
Cork had two points scored in the first minute and added another before Mark Rodgers scored for Clare in the fifth minute. In the 12th minute Rob Downey won the ball on his own 65 and got away from Peter Duggan on the left before firing the ball high to the net straight off his hurl to put Cork into a seven point lead. In the 18th minute Shane O’Donnell won the ball out on the left before passing to Peter Duggan and retaining the ball again before passing to Aidan McCarthy who scored with a finish to the right corner of the net past the advancing goalkeeper. The scores were level at half-time on 1–12 each.[35]
Clare got a second goal in the 40th minute when Mark Rodgers picked up a breaking ball before stepping inside Mark Coleman from the right and scoring with a low finish to the net. In the 52nd minute, Tony Kelly ran in on goal from the left before flicking the ball over Seán O'Donoghue’s head, touched it on the Hurley before flicking it past Patrick Collins into the right corner of the net to put Clare into a 3–15 to 1–18 lead. Clare were still leading by three with two minutes to go before Cork came back with Patrick Horgan sending the match to extra-time by scoring a free in the 76th minute.[36]
Gls: A McCarthy 1, T Kelly 1, M Rodgers 1 Pts: A McCarthy 7 (3fs, 1 '65'), T Kelly 4, M Rodgers 3, D Ryan 3, D Fitzgerald 3, P Duggan 2 (1s/l), D Reidy 2, S O'Donnell 2, R Taylor 1, I Galvin 1, S Meehan 1
Gls: R Downey 1 Pts: P Horgan 12 (10fs), S Harnedy 4, T O'Mahony 4, M Coleman 3, B Hayes 2, S Barrett 2, D Fitzgibbon 2, S Kingston 2, E Downey 1, A Connolly 1, C Joyce 1, R O'Flynn 1
Highlights of the final were shown on The Sunday Game programme which aired at 9:30pm that night on RTÉ2 and was presented by Jacqui Hurley with match analysis from Brendan Cummins, Jackie Tyrell, Ursula Jacob, Joe Canning, Shane Dowling, and Anthony Daly. On the man of the match award shortlist were Tony Kelly, Conor Leen and Rob Downey with Tony Kelly winning the award which was presented by GAA president Jarlath Burns at the post match Clare function at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Dublin.[41]
The Observer's architecture critic Rowan Moore wrote in praise of hurling, though also suggested it was "unexportable" and, were this not so, then it would be "a global sport".[42]
Homecoming
The Clare team arrived back in Ennis at 9pm on the day after the game on an open top bus. There was a reception held at Tim Smyth Park in Ennis with an attendance of over 35,000 people. They had previously visited Wolfe Tones GAA club grounds in Shannon, before going thru Clarecastle on the way to Ennis.[43]
The players and manager were introduced on stage by RTÉ's Marty Morrissey.
[44][45][46]
