Of the four Munster senior hurling finals between Cork and Tipperary that went to a replay, three helped elevate the status of the fixture to a near-mythical level. This weekend, for the first time, the counties meet in an All-Ireland senior hurling final. Here, we revisit past Munster final meetings that helped forge a unique rivalry.
1926: Three-peat
Tipperary were All-Ireland champions when these counties met in the 1926 provincial final in Cork’s Athletic Grounds on September 12th. The crowd was so big (27,000) that it ended up spilling onto the field. The situation became so dangerous that the referee, Mr D Lanigan from Limerick, had to abandon the match in the 25th minute with Tipp leading by 1-2 to nil, having played with a strong breeze.
The refixture, one week later, was in Thurles. Another big crowd, this time 25,000, attended. Torrential rain on the morning of the game did not undermine playing conditions and the contest was fast and furious.
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Leading by 2-3 to 1-0 at half-time, Cork looked in a strong position but the second half quickly became a battle between Tipp’s attack and Cork’s defence. Gradually, the lead was overhauled. It took a last-minute goal to tie up the match at Cork 4-1 to Tipperary 3-4.
In attendance were the Kilkenny hurlers, who were due to play the winners in the All-Ireland final. Their opponents were finally confirmed on October 3rd. The replay was also in Thurles and an even bigger crowd was present, close to 30,000.
The match ended with Cork winning 3-6 to 2-4, with the champions pressing hard at the end. Their captain Johnny Leahy had a storming match in defence despite a heavily strapped arm. Late in the game, his counterpart Sean Murphy blocked a shot on the line and Cork held out.
On October 24th, 1926, Cork defeated Kilkenny to win the All-Ireland.
1987: The famine is over
Cork were All-Ireland champions going into this final. A young Tipperary team – the county hadn’t won Munster for 16 years – under the guidance of Michael Keating were expected to give the Rebels a good match but it was still a surprise when they took the fight to the champions.
Nicky English scored his famous “soccer” goal 15 minutes into the second half and Tipp led by seven, 1-14 to 0-10.
They retreated a little into themselves and although Cork were not playing well, they edged back into contention and having trailed up to the 67th minute, hit the front with a goal from Kieran Kingston. Two late frees converted by Pat Fox squared the match.
Paddy Downey, in The Irish Times, declared that Tipperary had been “robbed of the title”.
The replay was controversially fixed for Killarney because of a disagreement over venue between the counties. The ground’s capacity was 45,000 and easily sold out. The Kerry footballers complained that even they had been unable to get tickets.
Cork played better than in the drawn match and again, it was left to Tipp to equalise at the end of normal time, 1-17 each, after English and Tomás Mulcahy had swapped goals.
English was clear on goal in the last minute. He appeared to have time to ponder his options before firing over the bar to take the final to extra time.
In that period, three goals from Michael Doyle (two) and Donie O’Connell settled the matter for a 4-22 to 1-22 Tipperary win. Captain Richard Stakelum declared the famine over in his acceptance speech.
With their first Munster title since 1971, Tipperary progressed to the All-Ireland semi-final where they lost to ultimate champions Galway.
1991: Has there ever been better? Most unlikely
Paddy Downey’s comment on the drawn Munster final of 1991 was reproduced by Denis Walsh earlier this week. It merits repetition, such was his appraisal of the quality on display at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Cork were All-Ireland champions, having surprised their predecessors, Tipperary, in the 1990 provincial final. The renewal of rivalries between the two created such interest that it became the first Cork-Tipp Munster final to be televised live by RTÉ.
A draw was considered a fair result. Cork’s full forwards excelled, with the late Ger Fitzgerald scoring 2-0. His colleagues, Kevin Hennessy and John Fitzgibbon, added the others in a 4-10 to 2-16 scoreline. Pat Fox battled through for the equaliser.
A disconsolate Nicky English had more success phrase-making than on the field. “If I’d ducks, they’d drown,” he mournfully summarised afterwards. A hamstring injury kept him out of the replay in Thurles two weeks later.
[ Liam Cahill and Tipperary target total vindication against CorkOpens in new window ]
Once again, the Cork full forwards shared four goals. At one stage, Tipperary trailed by nine points after Hennessy’s 47th-minute goal. On this occasion, however, Tipp had four goals themselves.
Michael Cleary netted in the first half. Fox, Declan Carr and replacement Aidan Ryan also got in on the act, with Ryan’s decisive strike putting Tipp five ahead just after Mulcahy’s shot hit the post at the other end. Fitzgibbon pulled back a goal but Cleary saw it out with two points in an extended injury-time, following the mayhem of a mini pitch invasion that greeted Ryan’s goal. Tipp won by 4-19 to 4-15.
The restored Munster champions went on to defeat Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. Then, in a first final against Kilkenny for over 20 years, they added the All-Ireland.
