CIARÁN Joyce hopes the lessons learned in the 2024 All-Ireland hurling final will stand to Cork as they look to make amends.
But with fans on Leeside desperate to see the end of the county’s longest ever drought, Joyce feels they cannot afford to be distracted from the task at hand in Sunday’s decider against Tipperary.
The Castlemartyr man hopes to complete the treble for Cork this season having won the NHL and Munster championship
The 23-year-old is a two-time Under-20 All-Ireland champion with the Rebels
Rebels ace Joyce said: “As young fellas, what you dream of is to play in an All-Ireland final. To be playing there then, it’s unreal.
“But you also have to treat it like it’s just another game. You can’t let the occasion get to you.
“The whole parade and all the side pieces that are different for an All-Ireland final, you can’t let these things get to you too.
I suppose in the lead-up to the final last year, there was a lot of hype around the place.
“You’re trying to keep a lid on it this year and just have laser focus.
“Even with tickets or all this type of stuff, it’s just about trying to keep a lid on all of that now. We’ll leave my parents to deal with that.”
Last year’s All-Ireland semi-final win over Limerick was Joyce’s first experience of playing in Croke Park.
But despite dethroning the then-reigning champions, Cork came up short in their bid for a first Liam MacCarthy Cup since 2005.
Reflecting on the one-point extra-time defeat to Clare that followed, the Castlemartyr defender said: “It was probably one of the most enjoyable matches that I have played in.
“Even though we did lose, just the game itself and the occasion and everything, it was just unreal. I suppose it was all a new experience for me too.
It was my second time only playing at Croke Park and playing in front of big crowds as well, so it was a little bit new to me.
“I suppose the Limerick game was kind of like an All-Ireland final as well.
“But of course as a young fella, you’re always learning so the All-Ireland final was no different to that too.
“But I feel like this year we are definitely better equipped. We’ve been through it all and we’re fully ready for it now.”
Cork will look to benefit from their recent experience of contesting the All-Ireland final.
And they come into the game off the back of a big semi-final win over Dublin.
For the majority of the Tipp team that will be looking to deny them, this will be a first brush with the biggest day in the hurling calendar.
But when asked if he subscribes to the theory that you must lose one in order to win one, Joyce insisted: “Oh, no. Definitely not.”
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