did Brian Cunningham play championship in 89 when Cork were poor, beaten by Waterford? the good team from the mid 80s was finished.
Like any sporting career you need the breaks, a good team around you and to avoid injuries. The window to establish yourself as an elite senior player is very short, maybe only two or three years from age 20 to 23. Of all the guys mentioned here only Egan and Setanta(at age of 20) won All Stars. I know there were no All stars before the 1970s but they are a good barometer of the last 50 years. Who knows what Setanta would have gone on to achieve, he could even still be playing!! Considering he only played one season it would be unfair to call him one of Cork´s best(he did play in a winning county senior final). Is there any player mentioned who was consistently one of the best in the county championship, say over a 10-12 year period, but never made it to the top table.
edit- I see Pat Horgan won an allstar in 1980 when he was only 23, another guy who was unlucky, I seem to remember him being very good for the glen for many years. Often seemed to be the best player when Cork had a bad year and on the bench when they were going well. John Fenton was like that for years before Midleton won the county in 83 and then he was rightly recognised as one of the best players in the country for the next few years.