and that small traces had also shown up in his stomach. While rumours about his illness had been circulating in hurling circles for several weeks, Deane refused to confirm the nature of his illness until after the surgery. Good-will cards flooded in from many of his past and present foes on the playing field, including the entire Tipperary team. Deane underwent surgery at the Bons Secours hospital in Cork in November and the possibility of chemotherapy was raised. On a visit to his oncologist it was revealed that the traces of cancer in the blood had dissipated, and there would be no need for treatment. Deane returned to competitive inter-county hurling on 21 January 2007 when he was introduced as a substitute in a 2–10 to 1–11 defeat of the Cork Institute of Technology in the Waterford Crystal Cup. Retirement In spite of having contested the four previous All-Ireland finals, Cork's fortunes took a downturn over the following few years. Deane played his last championship game for Cork on 10 August 2008 in a 1–23 to 0–17 All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Kilkenny. A winter of discontent followed for the Cork senior hurling team following the unwanted reappointment of Gerald McCarthy as manager. Following a strike by the players McCarthy eventually stepped down in March 2009. In spite of being one of the striking players, Deane decided to retire from inter-county hurling on 20 April 2009. Munster Deane represented Munster in the inter-provincial series of games. He was first called up to the provincial team in 1999, however, it was 2000 before he enjoyed success. A 3–15 to 2–15 defeat of Leinster gave Deane his sole Railway Cup medal. Career statistics Club Division Inter-county Inter-provincial Honours Team Midleton CBS Dr. Harty Cup (1): 1995 University College Cork Fitzgibbon Cup (3): 1996, 1997, 1998 All-Ireland Freshers Football Championship (1): 1996 Killeagh Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship (1): 2001 Cork Junior Hurling Championship (1): 1995 Glenbower Rovers East Cork Junior A Football Championship (2): 2011, 2012 Cork All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (3): 1999, 2004, 2005 Munster Senior Hurling Championship (5): 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006 National Hurling League (1): 1998 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship (2): 1997, 1998 Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship (3): 1996, 1997, 1998 All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship (1): 1995 Munster Minor Hurling Championship (1): 1995 Munster Railway Cup (1): 2000 Individual Awards All-Star (3): 1999, 2000, 2003 GAA/GPA Player of the Month