DESPITE hailing from a place famous for a stone that gives you the gift of the gab, Shane Barrett is content to let others do the talking when it comes to Cork’s chances in 2025.
Their impressive displays were a hot topic of conversation for GAA fans up and down the country after romping to a first National League crown since 1998.
But last month’s 3-26 to 1-16 defeat to Limerick seemed to shut up that chatter, at least for now.
Much of the hype that surrounded Pat Ryan’s side emanated from external sources.
Yet the boss did accuse a section of Cork fans of being ‘off their game’ for penning obituaries for a Treaty side who are chasing their seventh straight Munster SHC title.
This evening’s rematch with the reigning champions at the Gaelic Grounds will mark Barrett’s first involvement in a senior provincial final.
The Blarney forward insisted: “Whatever people want to say outside the dressing room, we can’t control it. So whatever they want to do, they can do it.
“Cork supporters have been fantastic to us, forever really, but particularly over the last year.
“We really cherish them on match days — they really do help us. But whatever they say outside of our 38 players and 20-plus management, it doesn’t really matter to us.
“They can say what they want to say and people from other counties can say what they want to say.
“You can’t begrudge a supporter for wanting our team to do well, so what they do is what they do.”
Barrett, 24, was just seven years of age when Cork’s longest-serving player, Patrick Horgan, made his senior debut.
But he is now leading a team that includes stalwarts Horgan and Séamus Harnedy.
With a hamstring injury restricting skipper Rob Downey to the bench, vice-captain Barrett will deputise in Cork’s quest for a first Munster crown since 2018.
He said: “You get away with being the new fella, the young fella, for a few years.
“If you have a bad game, you get left off with it. But I suppose you just develop.
“There are great role models in the squad, the likes of Hoggie and Harnedy.
“When you’re around these lads all the time, you’re going to mature and ask them for information — it’s a natural progression.”
Although they rebounded with a Munster SHC win over Waterford that set up a shot at redemption, Cork were left with plenty of soul-searching to do after their most recent visit to Limerick.
Barrett reflected: “There wasn’t anything we could have taken as a positive.
“They blew us completely out of the water. We had no answer for them whatsoever.
“I think we improved on a lot of things against Waterford that weren’t there in the Gaelic Grounds, but we just had no answer for them up there.
“Limerick are an unbelievable team. You just have to respect what they’ve done over the last seven, eight years. They’re an unbelievable unit, a well-oiled machine.
“They know each other inside out. It’s about weathering the tough moments against them and trying to impose your own game-plan.”
MILESTONE APPEARANCE
That defeat saw Barrett make his return from suspension, having missed the win over Tipperary as a result of the red card he was shown in the draw with Clare.
For the All-Star attacker, who made his debut aged 19 in the 2020 All-Ireland qualifier win against Dublin, this year’s Championship opener in Ennis was his 50th competitive appearance for Cork.
He said: “Pat always talks about us having to represent the jersey, because it’s such an iconic jersey in GAA.
“He always says you have to really cherish it when you put it on because you don’t know when the last time you’ll get to wear it will be.
“You could get injured, dropped, go out of form or whatever. So when you wear it, it’s a privilege.
“You respect it by going out and representing it to the best of your ability every single time. That’s one thing he always says, which is something we try to do every single day.”
