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THE Cork hurlers will be hoping to bridge a 27-year gap by retaining the Liam McCarthy Cup in 2005.
Back in 1978, a star-studded Leeside combination, captained by Charlie McCarthy of St Finbarr’s, completed the three-in-a-row at All-Ireland level when accounting for Kilkenny in the final.
Wexford were Cork’s victims in the previous two deciders, with Ray Cummins of Blackrock and Martin O’Doherty of Glen Rovers skippering the team to championship glory in 1976 and 1977 respectively.
Other players to share in that golden era for Cork hurling were Blackrock’s John Horgan, Tom Cashman, Dermot McCurtain and Pat Moylan, the Barrs’ Jimmy Barry-Murphy and Gerald McCarthy, Newcestown’s Tim Crowley, Bishopstown’s John Crowley, the Glen’s Denis Coughlan, Youghal’s Seanie O’Leary, Mick Malone of Eire Og, Brian Murphy of Nemo Rangers and goalkeeper Martin Coleman of Ballinhassig.
Cork clocked up a fifth consecutive victory in Munster in 1979. But the winning run was brought to an end in the All-Ireland semi-final that year by Galway, the county that had also lowered the Rebels’ colours against the odds at the same stage in 1975.
Prior to last year, Cork had scaled the summit on four occasions in the interim, in 1984, 1986, 1990 and 1999. But the task of putting two All-Irelands back-to-back proved beyond the team in ’85, ’87, ’91 and 2000.
Tom Cashman, Dermot McCurtain, Jimmy Barry-Murphy, Tim Crowley, John Crowley and Seanie O’Leary were the survivors from the ’78 side on duty when Cork rode roughshod over Offaly in the Centenary All-Ireland decider at Thurles.
And, coming in the wake of successive final defeats at Kilkenny’s hands in ’82 and ’83, it was an immensely satisfying victory by a team that also included Donal O’Grady, John Hodgins and goalkeeper Ger Cunningham of the Barrs, Na Piarsaigh’s Tony O’Sullivan, the Glen’s Tomas Mulcahy and Midleton’s Denis Mulcahy, Pat Hartnett, Kevin Hennessy and inspirational captain John Fenton.
With Jimmy Barry-Murphy in devastating form at full-forward, Cork came up trumps against Tipperary in the Munster final at Pairc Ui Chaoimh in ’85.
But Barry-Murphy was unable to line out in the All-Ireland semi-final due to an injury sustained in a county senior football championship game, and it proved to be an irreparable blow to Cork’s prospects in a contest, played in atrocious conditions at rain-lashed Croke Park, that was lost by four points to Galway.
Having completed another five-timer in Munster by virtue of a victory over Clare at Killarney, Cork, captained by Tom Cashman, went on to book a place in the All-Ireland final at Antrim’s expense the following year when they turned the tables on a fancied Galway side in the showpiece.
It was Tipperary who foiled Cork’s championship aspirations in 1987, coming out on top in a Munster final replay, which went to extra-time, at Killarney. The game would almost certainly have produced a different outcome had a Tony O’Sullivan goal not been dubiously disallowed at a critical stage of the proceedings.
Much more convincing victors over Cork in the 1988 provincial decider, Tipp romped home against Waterford 12 months later before going on to claim All-Ireland honours for the first time since 1971.
And, considering that the Decies had dumped Cork out of the championship in a Munster semi-final replay in ’89, it was hard to envisage the Leesiders making a major impact in 1990.
Against all predictions, however, Cork, benefiting from the introduction of some fresh blood and the recall of a few players that had been prematurely discarded, dethroned Tipp in a memorable Munster final at Thurles.
And a few weeks later Tomas Mulcahy lifted the McCarthy Cup after the team staged a great comeback to get the better of hot favourites Galway in the All-Ireland decider.
Many believed that Tipp had been caught on the hop by Cork in 1990, and the Premier County men were generally expected to do the business when the sides renewed rivalry in the Munster final the following year.
As things transpired, Tipp did manage to turn the tables, but Cork lost no honour when succumbing in a replay at Thurles where the enforced departure of key centre-back Jim Cashman of Blackrock — the recipient of a blatant foul stroke early in the second half — had a vital bearing on the result.
And Cork confirmed that their achievement in 1990 was no flash-in-the-pan when they floored Tipp, the defending All-Ireland champions, again at Pairc Ui Chaoimh in ’92.
Although Cork went under to Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final that year, they bounced back to collect the National League crown the following season, fuelling speculation that they would again be there-or-thereabouts in the ’93 championship race.
But the Rebels came a cropper at the first hurdle in Munster against unheralded Clare, a result that was to trigger off a dramatic slump in the county’s fortunes.
Over the next four years, Cork’s only win in a championship game came at the expense of lowly Kerry in 1995.
And Cork’s stock hit rock-bottom in 1996 when they shipped a 16-point drubbing from Limerick at Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
The first indication that Cork might soon be ready to emerge from the doldrums was provided when they pushed Clare, the eventual All-Ireland champions, all the way in the ’97 Munster semi-final.
And the notion that the team was on the rise gathered momentum after they shaded a thrilling National League final against Waterford in ’98.
Limerick were eliminated in the first round of the Munster championship that year, but Cork found a vastly-experienced Clare side too hot to handle in the provincial semi-final.
It all came right in 1999, however, as Waterford, Clare, Offaly and Kilkenny were put to the sword, allowing Mark Landers to become the first Killeagh clubman to bring the McCarthy Cup to Leeside.
While Cork lived dangerously more than once during that championship campaign, there was good cause to suspect that the best was yet to come from a team containing several of the players involved in the All-Ireland u-21 triumphs of ’97 and ’98.
But hopes of the two-in-a-row were dashed when Cork, having retained the Munster title in a most convincing fashion, paid the price for poor shooting in the first-half of the 2000 All-Ireland semi-final against an ageing Offaly side that put in a strong finish to take the laurels.
So, Cork’s last four attempts to mount a successful defence of the All-Ireland crown have ended in failure.
But, in light of the team’s impressive march to the summit last year, it’s easy to appreciate the mood of optimism in the county regarding the completion of the two-in-a-row in 2005.
True, Cork made fairly hard work of dispatching Limerick in the Munster semi-final in 2004, and they were forced to relinquish the provincial title in a classic encounter with Waterford.
But it’s generally accepted that mistakes on the sideline contributed to Cork’s single point defeat by Waterford, while the team didn’t have a completely settled look about it for the earlier game against Limerick.
By the time Cork squared up to Tipperary in the first round of the All-Ireland qualifiers, however, Jerry O’Connor and Tom Kenny, who operated in attack and wing-back respectively against Limerick, had teamed up at midfield, John Gardiner had been moved from midfield to wing-back, and Brian Corcoran had been installed at full-forward.
O’Connor, Kenny, Gardiner, Corcoran and Sars’ Kieran Murphy, who was drafted into the side at corner-forward, all made significant contributions as Cork ousted Tipp by 2-19 to 1-16 at Killarney.
And it was obvious that all the pieces had fallen into place when Cork dished out a 22-point thrashing to Antrim in the All-Ireland quarter-final.
Wexford fell by 18 points in the semi-final, and Kilkenny, on the trail of the three-in-a-row, were powerless to halt Cork’s gallop in the final, going under by eight points in a contest that had lost its competitive edge long before the finish.
It’s been a long time since any team won all of their games in the All-Ireland series so comprehensively, and, no doubt, the desire to atone for their final defeat at the hands of the Noresiders in 2003 was a huge spur to Donal O’Grady’s men.
That O’Grady did a tremendous job in his two-year term at the helm is beyond dispute, all the more so since he assumed the reins of control following the conflict between the players and the County Board which marked one of the most turbulent episodes in the history of Cork hurling.
John Allen, who served as a selector during O’Grady’s stewardship, will fill the hot seat in 2005 and he inherits a strong and united squad that is bound to face next year’s championship in a very positive frame of mind.
Motivation certainly won’t be a problem for the players in their opening test against Waterford in the Munster semi-final on May 22, a game that could well define Cork’s season in 2005.
And should they produce anything even remotely close to the form that enabled them to crush all opposition in the latter stages of the 2004 campaign, they will surely be capable of avenging last year’s Munster final defeat by Justin McCarthy’s side.
If they do manage to set the record straight against Waterford, Cork, irrespective of how they fare out in the provincial decider against either Tipperary, Limerick or Clare, would be guaranteed inclusion in the last eight of a revamped championship that, for the first time, will feature four All-Ireland quarter-finals this year.
Kilkenny will have to be respected again in the year ahead, given that the regular success enjoyed by the county at underage level in recent times ensures that Brian Cody shouldn’t be short of options as he attempts to add a fresh impetus to a team that has garnered so much glory since 2000.
But the Cork team will virtually pick itself in 2005.
And, with such top-class performers as Wayne Sherlock, Diarmuid O’Sullivan, Sean Og O hAilpin, Ronan Curran, Joe Deane, Niall McCarthy, John Gardiner, Brian Corcoran, the O’Connor twins, Tom Kenny and Niall McCarthy on board, nobody would dispute that the Rebels are entitled to fancy their chances of collecting hurling’s top prize for the second year in a row.
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