Lot of traffic in the tunnel beneath the stands in Semple. From the sunlit pitch, John Allen is making his way in past well-wishers and hangers-on. That's the easy part. Then an ugly wedge of media confront him demanding wisdom. Genial and unassuming as ever, he obliges.

"Lads, on any given day any one of the top six teams could beat each other. I was very pleased overall, we played 60 minutes of top class hurling. It is a good squad. We brought in Neil Ronan and Wayne Sherlock and Ben O'Connor. We have a stronger bench this time. But fellas have to come out and do it."

In a game where Cork's dominance in the key sectors had been impressive, had he worried about the lack of goals? Apart from Joe Deane's first-half effort Cork never really got a sniff of the net.

"The bottom line is who puts the most points on the board . . . We can score. That was Munster championship hurling there today. There's nothing easy. They fought for everything."

It was a curious game and, as Allen pointed out, there was nothing in the first 10 minutes which suggested what would come in the last hour. And yet the scoreline didn't fully reflect Cork's dominance.

"I didn't think we would win by that margin. There was good self- belief and a lot of hard work today. I hope now we're not built up as favourites..."

On the way out of the Cork dressing-room, having offered words of congratulation, Anthony Daly is cornered. Reaction? "Disappointed initially. Delighted with the start but two periods cost us. When Cork get on top they punish you. Before half time and after half time. I'm proud how we battled it out to the finish. Cork are the best team in the country, no doubt about that, but we're not a million miles away. We have to face into our group and claw our way out."

And we ask, insensitively perhaps, a quick word about Deane? "Joe Deane had a great game, when he gets a chance he will punish you. You're aware of that going into it but it's funny. A lot of lads in the papers have great solutions about how to stop Cork and telling you this and that. When it goes out on the field. . . it's lovely to write it down in the paper but it's not quite that easy.

"We're working with the best that Clare have to offer. We're doing our best. Back to square one. Hopefully we'll get back to Croke Park and take it from there." Daly was already starting one of those weeks which managers suffer. If only, if only . . .

"In hindsight, maybe we should have brought Jonathan Clancy in at half time. We said we'd give it the few minutes and they did the damage in that time. Maybe we did hesitate. I'll take whatever blame we have to shoulder there. It cut out the looseness around midfield. It's something for us to ponder. We find it hard to get the goal against them. They find it hard to get the goal against us too but they have better know-how about getting the scores from distance."

John Gardiner was relieved.

"We are delighted to be over it and looking forward to another Munster final. We knew that Clare were going to throw it at us from the start. They went six points up at the start. We kept at it and it was a boost to be up at half-time. We tried to get on top, with the likes of Seán Óg and Ronan Curran, two class acts in the half back line. When we get on top we get going. It was one to 15. The work-rate out of the forwards was exceptional. We weathered the storm. If we stuck to the game-plan we'd make an impact. Clare came out with all guns blazing at the start. We overwhelmed them a bit and they fell into a slump and found it very difficult to get out of it."

And the man of the match? Deane. One of his great days

"The team worked very hard. My own game? Well if that goal had gone in in the first half it would have been very nice! We worked very hard, we hooked and blocked and harried. The backs were superb, for the first quarter of an hour of the second half Clare couldn't get a shot in. Fair play to them." And the future? Simple.

"The quickest way to an All-Ireland is five games for the summer. That's not beyond the realms now. Munster finals are always special days for the team. This year it will be Tipp or Waterford here. Munster final days here are unbelievable. The best days out in the world."

Summer started and the best days yet to come. Not bad.