History Cork–Tipperary hurling rivalry

1 history

1.1 1942: first door champions
1.2 1949-1961: greatest era
1.3 1984-1991: rivalry reignites

history
1942: first door champions

when tipperary , cork faced each other on 12 july 1942 there unique feature contest. first time in championship hurling ireland champions (cork) met provincial champions (tipperary) in following year s championship. explanation tipperary had withdraw 1941 munster championship, because of foot , mouth epidemic. cork won ireland title in september when munster final subsequently played, tipperary beat leesiders in limerick on october 26 5-4 2-5. ireland champions, captained jack lynch, easy winners on 4-15 4-1 scoreline.

1949-1961: greatest era


Éamonn sweeney writing in munster hurling legends.

cork , tipperary s modern rivalry reached peak during twelve years of epochal meetings spanning 3 decades, first of took place on 29 may 1949 in front of record crowd of 34,702 munster quarter-final. stage tipperary had fallen on hard times, having been eclipsed great limerick , cork teams of previous 2 decades, , had won 3 of previous twenty all-ireland titles. cork still had survivors four-in-a-row era, while tipperary had relatively young , inexperienced team. of match looked if youth trump experience , few minutes spare ahead 3-10 2-9. solo effort jack lynch, know td, usual midfield berth resulted in goal , brought personal tally 1-6. point bernie murphy levelled scores @ death.

the replay 4 weeks later classic. john doyle made championship debut , began 1 of longest , distinguished of inter-county careers. gerry o riordan goal gave cork 1-2 0-2 @ intervals, however, cork have been further ahead disallowed goal. mossy o riordan sent shot past tipp keeper tony reddin, however, sliotar appeared rebound off stanchion supporting net before being cleared. in spite of cork protesting referee waved play on. after 5 minutes of injury time cork still led 1-5 0-5, however, jimmy kennedy scored equalising goal , game headed extra-time. both sides took different approaches extra-time played. tipperary retired dressing room players refreshed creamery churn full of cold water. cork on other hand remained out on field in 1 of warmest days ever recorded in ireland. tipperary took field fresher team , goal mick ryan gave them lead , held out win 2-8 1-9. tipp s tommy doyle, earlier in year ad been coaxed out of retirement, gave inspired display holding cork s top marksman christy ring scoreless 2 drawn games , period of time. defeat brought cork s decade of success end, willie long puck murphy, alan lotty , jim young hung hurleys final time after game.

there inevitability meeting of cork , tipperary in 1950 munster final, game marked low point in history of crowd-troubled games. official attendance @ fitzgerald stadium given 39,000, however, 50,000 saw game gates broken down, walls scaled @ pitch invaded supporters. there supporters on pitch @ throw-in, while cork fan tried strike tipp s seán kenny. despite madness swirling around them, tipperary , cork players managed produce absolutely classic game of hurling. paddy kenny goal helped tipperary 1-13 1-6 half-time lead. start of second half delayed yet pitch invasion, , when got under way, christy ring dragged team contest slaloming through tipp defence in typical style , rifling ball of net. match drifted away team cork fans grew more , more frustrated, , when jimmy kennedy point put tipperary 2-17 2-9 ahead twn minutes remaining, hundreds invaded pitch behind tony reddin s goal , forced referee liam o donoghue call halt match. goalkeeper had oranges , overcoats thrown @ him carried out duties , on 1 occasion supporter held him jersey went clear sliotar. every cork score greeted pitch invasion, while pleas jack lynch , christy ring failed quell them. tipperary won anarchical game 2-17 3-11.

cork , tipperary faced each other in 1951 munster final. authorities taking no chances of repeat of anarchy of previous year thousands of spectators missed 1 of greatest games of time being locked outside gates @ gaelic grounds. @ half-time tipperary led 0-9 1-4, however, restart saw cork ante. christy ring gave absolute exhibition of scoring, collecting possession, beating tackles , setting attacks. tipperary, however, never faltered in wake of ring s roaming presence. playing out final stages of match in bare feet ring converted 2 more frees, however, tipperary held on win 2-11 2-9.

a blood-stained christy ring s words Éamonn young

following conclusion of 1952 munster final as

cork preserved record of four-in-a-row. young s

brother, dr. jim young, 1 of 9 players

to line out in 4 finals.

in 1952 cork stood in way of tipperary claiming fourth successive munster crown , record-equalling fourth successive all-ireland title. cork had 7 newcomers team fourth-choice goalkeeper dave creedon. tipperary looked better side, scoring soft goal after 3 minutes , leading 2-5 0-5 @ interval after playing against strong wind. tony reddin rebuffed cork 2 cork goals tipperary had four-point lead game entered final quarter. mossy o riordan burst through tipp defence, fouled carried on fire in shot liam dowling steered net. goal allowed stand protests tipp defenders fell on deaf ears. cork added 4 points in-a-row while late gerry doyle effort tipp flew inches on crossbar. narrow 1-11 2-7 score line gave cork victory , thwarted tipperary s attempt @ four-in-a-row.

for fourth time in 5 years, munster final produced cork-tipperary clash in 1953. 43,000 supporters packed gaelic grounds, locked-out cork fans breaking gate in. tipperary had wind in first half , had 1-8 1-4 interval lead. pat stakelum put tipperary 5 points clear, tipp selectors made mistake when switching jimmy finn off josie hartnett. rejuvenated hartnett fired in shot finished net liam dowling. christy ring finished game 1-8 cork produced 1 of impressive munster final performances win 3-10 1-11.

more attendance records tumbled in 1954 cork , tipperary met in munster final in front of 52,499. tipp had six-point lead @ interval, having played strong wind. still had lead, albeit one-point lead, match moved injury time. christy ring, although swarmed 3 players, sent in speculative cross goalkeeper tony reddin fumbled. paddy barry on hand finish net. point followed ring cork triumphed 2-8 1-8.

after one-year hiatus fixture, cork , tipperary met in 1956 munster semi-final. cork overturned tipp s eleven-point half-time lead, cork s oldest player christy ring proving difference. game turned on controversial disallowed goal. @ 1-11 2-6 in arrears tipperary engineered goal paddy kenny. play stopped , free awarded instead. tipp lost game 1-11 2-7.

cork held upper hand once again when sides met in 1957, however, tipperary secured first defeat of cork in 6 years following year.

for first time in 6 years, cork , tipperary faced each other in munster final in 1960. described toughest game of hurling ever played, tipp s john , jimmy doyle in best form of respective careers. cork enjoyed of possession in first-half, however, tipperary led goal @ interval accuracy of jimmy doyle. stretched lead 5 points in final quarter, however, last-minute cork goal left result in doubt once again. tipp won gruelling contest 4-13 4-11.

1961 marked end of decade of frenzied cork , tipperary encounters, sides did battle in year s munster final. official attendance of 62,175 biggest ever recorded @ cork-tipperary match, or @ irish sporting event outside of croke park. real attendance may have been high 70,000 gates thrown open halfway through preceding minor game. cork s preparations undermined large crowd. after togging off in railwya hotel in limerick city centre, had intended travel cars venue. volume of bodies on ennis road meant players had abandon cars , physically jostle way through crowd make throw-in time. @ half-time tipp out of sight 3-3 0-1. game ended on sour note when christy ring , john doyle became involved in punch-up while tom moloughney knocked ground, allegedly after being struck ring. tipperary won game 3-6 0-7, however, ring wrongly named in national newspapers having hit both doyle , moloughney. national union of journalists later issued apology him.

1984-1991: rivalry reignites

one of highlights of centenary of gaelic athletic association munster final between cork , tipperary on 15 july 1984. tipp had failed win munster title since 1971, while cork had won 8 in intervening period claiming 3 successive all-ireland crowns between 1976 , 1978. game physical, honest , intense. while cork forwards looked dangerous, tipperary midfield duo of ralph callaghan , philip kennedy on fire. 6 minutes remaining tipperary looked have taken decisive advantage when held four-point lead of 3-14 2-13. john fenton converted free 4 minutes remaining , @ stage decision introduce gifted tony o sullivan. when pat hartnett shot parried goalkeeper john sheedy, o sullivan reacted instinctively fire net , leave sides level. tension became unbearable, tipperary lost possession advantageous attacking position. o sullivan s point attempt batted away sheedy , goal-poacher seánie o leary on hand net. fenton added pointed free , cork had won amazing game 4-15 3-14.

tipperary captain richard stakelum received cup after 1987 munster final.

in 1987 cork reigning provincial , all-ireland champions , had ended chances of tipperary hurling revival in both 1984 , 1985. because of cork installed favourites win record-breaking 6 consecutive munster title, however, tipperary led 0-11 0-7 @ half-time. second-half goal nicky english, controlled sliotar foot having dropped hurley , calmly sidefooted net, put tipp ahead 7 points. string of points brought cork game, , 3 minutes time kieran kingston goal gave them two-point lead. tipperary rallied , 2 pointed frees pat fox levelled game @ 1-18 apiece.

in spite of surviving scare in thurles, cork still regarded favourites replay. team scored 5 unanswered points in first ten minutes, while nicky english goal cancelled out tomás mulcahy effort. cork had n interval lead of 1-10 1-5. tipperary inspired after restart , came contention succession of points. pat fox point brought 2 teams level, however, cork regained lead twice tipperary levelled twice. @ end of normal time both sides again level , time needed. first period of extra-time saw cork take 1-21 1-20 lead, tipp edged forward 2 more quick points. michael doyle, son of legendary john doyle, came on substitute , had game of life. scored 2 extra-time goals swing momentum in tipp s favour. donie o connell bagged goal give tipp incredible 4-22 1-22 victory.

after highs of 1987, 1988 installment of cork-tipperary damp squib. tipp led 1-12 0-5 @ half-time , bested cork 2-19 1-13.

in 1990 tipperary reigning provincial , all-ireland champions , expected build on success retaining titles. despite strong start gave them lead tipperary lost way , cork won in end. mark foley played game of life, scoring 2-7 play, , helped cork eight-point dethroning of all-ireland champions.

the 1991 munster final between cork , tipperary, ranked among all-time classics, seen game decide not provincial honours destination of all-ireland title well. tipp looked defeated team in stages , fell 3-5 1-7 behind @ break courtesy of 3 goals shared john fitzgibbon , ger fitzgerald. young star john leahy bagged goal tipp, however, fitzgibbon scored fourth goal cork. momentum moved towards tipp after this, however, nicky english had legal equaliser ruled out. pat fox levelled game @ 2-16 4-10 , replay needed.

nicky english s reaction reporter after drawn

1991 munster final.

the replay more exciting draw cork taking nine-point lead @ half-time. @ end of third quarter kevin hennessy goal left rebels 3-13 1-10 in front. star forward nicky english ruled out of game through injury, however, tipp forwards proved effective unit without him. pat fox produced great goal leave 3 points between sides. overhead flick declan carr subsequently levelled sides full-time approached. tipp went 2 points ahead while tomás mulcahy shot on goal cleared , resulted in aidan ryan scoring 1 of all-time great munster final goals tipp. john fitzgibbon answered cork goal, however, momentum tipperary won 4-19 4-15.