ALL eyes now turn to the All-Ireland SFC for John Cleary’s Cork.

After the disappointment of their Munster final defeat to Kerry, the Rebels have little time to dwell on what might have been, with a third meeting of the season against Meath looming large in Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday, May 23rd (5.30pm).

Having already shared two hard-fought Division 2 battles with the Royals this year, Cork know exactly what awaits them in Round 1 of the All-Ireland series. Cleary expects his players to quickly refocus.

‘We’ve just got to get back into it. The Munster championship is finished. We would have loved to have won it but we didn’t,’ the Cork boss said.

‘Meath are coming down in two weeks’ time. We’ll think about that during the week but I don't think it’s going to be hard to pick the players up for that game. They’re a resilient bunch.’

Cork’s second-half collapse against Kerry in Killarney was hugely frustrating given the position they found themselves in at half-time.

Leading by three points at the break against a Kerry side missing several frontline players, the Rebels failed to build on a promising opening half and were ultimately outscored 1-13 to 1-2 in the second period.

That defeat ended Cork’s hopes of provincial silverware, but the new All-Ireland format means there is little room for self-pity.

A victory over Meath would put Cork just one win away from an All-Ireland quarter-final and would also offer a measure of revenge after the Royals defeated the Rebels in the Division 2 league final at Croke Park earlier this season.

Cork did, however, beat Meath 1-23 to 1-21 in Páirc Uí Rinn during the league campaign, and Cleary expects another fierce contest between the counties.

‘The only thing we’re worried about, when we dust ourselves down after the Kerry loss, is heading for next Saturday week. We’ll see where we are then in terms of the championship,’ he said.

‘That’s a big game for us. We’ve had two titanic struggles with Meath already this year. We’ve just got to get prepared for that.’

Cork already knew their Round 1 opponents before the Munster final took place, but Cleary dismissed any suggestion that attention had shifted away from Kerry in the build-up to the provincial decider.

‘We were focused on the Munster final. At inter-county level, all you can do is concentrate on the next game. Then you get that over and done with,’ he explained.

‘We probably made it easier for Meath. They had a good look at us and they had three, four, maybe five weeks fully prepared for this game. From our point of view, we’ll just look at the Meath game.’

Dara Sheedy missed the Munster final against Kerry.

Cork will hope to have experienced forwards Brian Hurley and Dara Sheedy back available for the clash with the Royals.

Hurley missed the Munster final with a groin injury while Sheedy was sidelined by a hamstring problem. Cleary admitted both players remain doubtful.

‘It’s 50-50. We’ll see how they go in training,’ he said.

‘They tried to make it for the Munster final, but they weren’t ready. We’ll leave it to the medics.’

While some viewed Kerry’s injury list as an opportunity missed for Cork, Cleary pointed out that the Kingdom’s strength in depth remains unrivalled.

Even without Sean O’Shea, Joe O’Connor and Shane Ryan, Kerry were able to introduce proven performers such as Tony Brosnan, Killian Spillane and Dylan Geaney from the bench.

‘I know they had players injured but they were bringing on top-class players as well,’ Cleary said.

‘You bring on Tony Brosnan. You bring on Killian Spillane. You bring on Dylan Geaney. That doesn’t weaken your set-up very much.

‘Any player that makes the Kerry panel is an excellent player. We would see, being close to them on the county bounds, who they have and what’s happening.

‘They have 30 players that would play in any county team in the country. They come in, they do their business, play efficiently and play for the system.’

Now, Cork’s attention turns firmly towards Meath and the beginning of another All-Ireland journey.