2010 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final

This was the first meeting between the sides in an All-Ireland SFC final. 2010 was Cork's fifth appearance in the All-Ireland SFC final since 1993, Down had less experience approaching the match, having not featured in a final of any description since the 2003 Ulster Senior Football Championship. Down had however beaten Kerry, the reigning All-Ireland Senior Football Champions, in their 2010 quarter-final. Prior to the senior final, Tyrone defeated Cork in the minor final by one point. ==Pre-match==

Kit On Monday 30 August 2010, the GAA's Central Competitions Control Committee announced that both teams would play in their away kits due to both home kits being red. This meant that Cork would play in a predominantly white kit with a red trim, while Down would play in a predominantly yellow kit with a red and black trim. This is a similar arrangement to what occurred when Cork and Down played in a semi-final of the 1994 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. 2010 represented the first occasion since Kerry and Offaly played in the 1982 final that both teams playing in the All-Ireland SFC final donned alternative strips, whilst the 2004 final was the last time one team (Mayo) wore an alternative strip (versus Kerry). Planes, trains and buses from Cork were said to have been fully booked, with Iarnród Éireann commissioning five additional trains to Dublin due to "phenomenal demand". He appeared as a guest on both The Late Late Show (television) and Miriam Meets... (radio) ahead of the final. Rocky the Chicken Ahead of the game, Rocky the Chicken, who achieved national recognition for successfully predicting 2010 All-Ireland Championship results, opted for Cork as the winner of the 2010 All-Ireland SFC final. Convoy protests The Croke Park Streets Committee (CPSC) intended to protest what they perceived to be the Gaelic Athletic Association's ignorance of the wishes of local residents by staging a vehicular demonstration outside Croke Park on All-Ireland Final day. They cancelled ahead of the event however, after Cork fans objected to possible disruption, instead protesting at the stadium the day before. Team selection Down named the same team that defeated Kildare in the semi-final. Cork named Eoin Cadogan and Graham Canty to start in the final, with Canty serving as team captain. Cadogan had not started the semi-final but came on in Canty's place when Canty wounded his knee. On final day itself Canty was ruled out of the starting team. ==Match==

Summary First half Ciarán Sheehan of Cork's goal-bound effort was saved by Brendan McVeigh, Down's goalkeeper, in the first minute. In the 56th minute, Paul Kerrigan gave Cork back the lead which they relinquished after five minutes, with Goulding boosting this lead by scoring three '45s. Goulding was declared "Man of the Match" by The Sunday Game panel. Broadcast The game was broadcast on television via The Sunday Game on RTÉ2 as well as worldwide on RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and on RTÉ.ie. It was also broadcast by the BBC on radio, television and online. Details ==Post-match==

Reaction Lord Mayor of Cork Mick O'Connell described it as "an incredible match ... so tense ... Everyone was delirious when they won". Cork manager Conor Counihan expressed his feelings in the press room: "Relief, at the end of the day. It's fantastic for the lads, each and every one of them. I spoke to them and we have 30 good guys here, but there are a lot of guys down the years who for one reason or another we had to move on from and those guys are part of this. And the last 20 years, we were landed with a fantastic group of players. They made it hard for themselves, but that makes it all the sweeter". Cork captain Graham Canty also expressed his feelings at a press conference: "Ah. It feels all right now. It is humbling being captain of this bunch of players. I don't understand why I am in here, just because I am captain". Canty offered his sympathies to Down captain Benny Coulter for the loss he had suffered. Down manager James McCartan Jnr paid tribute to Cork "Because I do feel Cork were deserving winners on the day. We've no qualms about that at all". He also expressed pride in his own players. Down forward Danny Hughes said: "Well, none of us want to be one-hit wonders. There are a lot of young lads that came in this year, and there is a great development squad coming through. But we know these days don't happen every year, making All-Ireland finals. Hopefully this will make them hungrier, going forward into next year". Eleven Cork players and seven Down players featured. ==References==