John Cleary believes his group were not as prepared to go up to Division 1 in previous years.
But on this occasion there was no question about their readiness as they claimed six wins out of seven to end 10 years outside the top eight.
“Relief is the word, really,” said Cleary. “But satisfaction as well. Because there was an awful lot of hard work that’s been put in there in the last three years.
“And maybe we weren’t ready. And I think we were ready this time. And it would have been a big blow to us if we hadn’t come out with a victory here today. Because it would have been back to square one, really.”
Cleary senses his Cork team now realise how good they are following some difficult seasons.
“The big thing where I’ve…