A FEW years ago, when Cork hurlers still considered themselves the best, or on their worst day, a decent foil to Kilkenny, Seán Óg Ó hAilpín intimated that 2010 seemed like a nice round year to retire.

Then came the drought, with Cork failing to maintain the excellence that delivered three All-Ireland titles from 1999 to 2005.

“That’s right, when I sat down a couple of years ago I kind of earmarked this year as my last and that might well be the case.

“It’s well and grand for me to say I’m going to retire but the manager mightn’t want me to.

“Plus, there are young fellas in the panel, okay, they are probably not heralded in the same calibre as the Kilkenny young fellas coming up, but there are good young fellas there.

“Maybe it is a time to throw them in. I’m going have to think about that as well.

“As of now, no, I’m not retiring but at the end of the year, hopefully September, I will sit down and weigh up things after that.”

Yesterday the Cork defender was in Dublin as an ambassador for the Suremen Challenge and he reminded us the suggestion of retirement was made back when he was almost sated by success.

“A few years ago I was looking at it on the assumption that it’s going to be three years of September after September but that hasn’t been the way.

“I do miss Croke Park in September, I do miss Munster finals.

“Sport can change very quickly, you know, we were feasted with 2003, ’04, ’05, ’06 getting to Croke Park year after year. Big games. Big following.

“The last four years have been the complete opposite. You do miss it because part of training in January is setting your sights on sunny days in Thurles, 50,000 people, or Croke Park in September.

“At the time, maybe it was a miscalculation, I thought I was going to be . . . the hunger is back again.”

Cork contest the Munster final with Waterford on July 11th.

Having turned 33 last month, Ó hAilpín conceded his peak years are behind him but still feels he has something to offer now his body is being managed correctly.

“The body is fine. Obviously I wish I could do things that the body could do 10 years ago. I have to box clever in terms of my training.

“We have physical trainers in Mark McManus and Donal Burke who are very good that way. They’ll say skip that training session or you don’t have to do that, whereas years ago you would have just done it – flogged yourself. It is smarter that way.

“If I can keep injury free, the body is fresh to go and with that the mind is up for it.”

Meanwhile, the Leinster Council are expecting 60,000 spectators to make their way into Croke Park for Sunday’s football semi-finals where Dublin face Meath at 4pm (live on TV3), with Louth and Westmeath not starting until the unusual time of 5.50pm (live on RTÉ).

“Both management teams are happy to be in Croke Park and the supporters are beginning to get used to it after some initial problems,” said Leinster Council secretary Michael Delaney.

Some 37,000 tickets have already been sold.