NINE MONTHS is a long time to be nursing a hangover, and the Cork footballers finally get the chance to clear the head in Limerick on Sunday. There's been a lot of craziness since their thumping All-Ireland defeat to Kerry last September, and a lot of other stuff too, but Sunday's Munster semi-final is the first step on the path to redemption.
It would be impossible to recount the fallout from that defeat without stirring up the old controversies that eventually resulted in the Cork players' strike, and no one really wants to go back there anyway, least of all current manager Conor Counihan. His appointment after the Teddy Holland crisis was all about moving forward, not looking back.
"What's done is done. You can't change history, so the only way to deal with it now is positively, and further your progress this year," says Counihan. "Hopefully, we can start that process by winning on Sunday."
Counihan had little time to go about any sort of annual rebuilding. When he took over in late February his first task was to salvage Cork's league situation, which against the odds he did - ensuring they kept their Division Two status for another year.
That doesn't mean he hasn't already put his mark on the team. As centre back on Cork's All-Ireland-winning teams of 1989 and 1990, Counihan was always fairly uncompromising and, though modest, he's showing no fear or lack of confidence when it comes to giving players starting places, or leaving them in reserve.
Eight of last September's beaten All-Ireland team won't start against Limerick, and only partly because of Cork's injury list.
Defender Michael Shields is now plying his trade with the AFL club Carlton in Melbourne, but the other changes are more tactical, as Counihan sounds keen to freshen things up.
"Kevin McMahon and John Miskella are the two definitely out injured. We have a couple of other minor injuries as well. So between all that we have the few championship debuts alright.
"We would be reasonably happy with the way things have gone since the league. We had a lot of club fixtures in between as well, and that can be a bit disruptive, but . . . I think we've done the best we can under the circumstances."
The likes of Diarmuid Duggan, Paudie Kissane and Alan O'Connor are ready to graduate to the starting 15, with Brian O'Regan one of the newcomers off the successful Nemo Rangers.
Cork played a final challenge game against Cavan last Friday night with only seven of their All-Ireland team making the first 15.
Still, Cork's backbone remains: Graham Canty will captain the team from full back, and there are still plenty of experienced heads about in Noel O'Leary, Ger Spillane, Nicholas Murphy and Anthony Lynch - who is carrying a groin injury, but will feature among the substitutes.
Counihan could be seen as experimenting a little for the Limerick game, given Cork are hotly fancied to win. They meet at the Gaelic Grounds for the third successive year, and while 2006 was close (Cork won 0-9 to 0-5), last year Cork strolled to a 2-14 to 0-7 win. The general feeling is that Limerick have slipped back since.
"Maybe we do have a good record recently," says Counihan, "But we've seen what these records mean with the Cork hurlers last Sunday. Records are there to be broken, simple as that.
"Sure, we'd be reasonably confident. But we're under no illusions either and expect a very tough battle going down to Limerick."
The effect of time lost during the players' strike remains a concern for Cork. "Well, sure no one really knows how that will work out," says Counihan. "I suppose the weeks ahead will tell that. If you lose, it's easy to say that's what went wrong, and if you win, it's easy to say everything was alright. So only time will tell that."
