1949-1961: the greatest era Cork–Tipperary hurling rivalry

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.