Scoring king Patrick Horgan energised by fresh Cork approach

Inter-county players north of 30 can never be in any doubt regarding their age.

This is especially true regarding the more high-profile hurlers and footballers, as the questions, primarily from journalists, centre around the intention or otherwise to continue for another year.

The enquiries are inevitable as inter-county careers, just like the schedule, become more condensed. The average age of Kerry's All-Ireland winning team last year was just shy of 27.

For Cork’s Patrick Horgan, there was good reason for Rebel supporters to fear their ace forward may not be around in 2023 to usher in a new era under Pat Ryan.

The Glen man will turn 35 the day before Tipperary roll into Cork for the second round of games in this year’s Munster championship.

Heading into his 16th championship season, his place in the pantheon of Cork hurlers is assured. The all-time top scorer in championship hurling, Horgan has been the talisman during the biggest drought in Cork’s hurling history.

One can only hazard a guess as to how many All-Stars he would have had with a better supporting cast over the years. As it is, four is an impressive haul for someone without a Celtic Cross.

Indeed, only four Cork men have claimed more All-Stars than Horgan (Jimmy Barry-Murphy, John Fenton, Tony O'Sullivan and Ray Cummins) and on average, they have four All-Irelands each.

As well as years of service, other factors were at play.

Last April, he and his wife Ashley welcomed baby Jack into the world, while in the summer he found himself in the unusual position of being among the substitutes for the games against Antrim and Galway in the qualifiers.

By his own admission he was surprised, with former team-mate Anthony Nash saying in the aftermath of the Galway defeat that