Linking the eras

KILLINAN END

“They buried him on a day in March 1979 in the soil of his native village of Cloyne in a manner befitting the greatest hurler of all time.” Those words are the opening lines of Chapter 1 of Raymond Smith's The Clash of the Ash, which was published in 1981. This edition of his series on the history of hurling dealt extensively with the late 1970s and very early ‘80s.

The death of Christy Ring - the reference in the opening line - in the early days of March 1979, at the age of just 58, was national headline news. It was an especially crushing blow to Cork hurling. The Rebel County were, at that point, in the throes of a remarkable run which had seen them win three All-Irelands in a row and, as 1979 dawned, they were looking to equal the feat of Ring's own era from 1941–44.

The headline of that opening chapter of Smith's book quotes Cork's 1979 captain John Horgan saying, "Okay lads, this one is for Ring." The context was yet another Limerick-Cork Munster final. Like the current era, they did not come along all that often but, when they did, they came in bunches.

The 1975 meeting between the teams at the Gaelic Grounds had been the counties' first Munster final meeting for nineteen years. They did it all again a year later in the shiny new Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Semple Stadium in July 1979 was their third meeting in five years. Cork were comfortable winners each time. In 1980, another year when the counties met in both League and Munster Finals, Limerick were electric in Tom Semple’s field in finally taking down Cork.

The 1979 match was, as Munster finals go, far from vintage. It was always an uphill struggle for Limerick given Cork’s power and cohesion, allied to the loss of Pat Hartigan through what became a career-ending eye injury. After tight affairs between Cork and Clare in the previous two years, this was a handy enough eleven-point win for the Rebels. Ray Cummins tormented Jim O'Brien, Hartigan's stand-in at full-back. At the other end, Martin O'Doherty blotted out the considerable threat of Joe McKenna, while John Fenton was outstanding at midfield.

What makes this much more interesting is not the game itself but the broader context. Cork's pursuit of a history-equalling All-Ireland title in 1979 was the talk of the country. Christy Ring had been an imposing presence on the Cork sideline as a selector since 1976. His absence was keenly felt. This made their pursuit of history all the more poignant and emotional.

Dr Con Murphy has recalled a special moment during training as Cork prepared for the 1978 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final against Kilkenny and a tilt at three in a row. Ring, he said, almost never spoke to the players about his own career but, as if making a valedictory speech before what would be his last visit with Cork to Croke Park, he opened up ahead of the final.

You could have heard a pin drop in the dressing room as Ring described his goal from a long solo run against Kilkenny in the 1946 final when the defenders were "like wasps around me". The players could not have known the fate that soon awaited Christy Ring, but they recognised a special moment when it was before them.

The same Cork players shed tears in the Croke Park dressing room in August 1979. They did not weep solely for the loss to Galway. They wept because an era was ending and because they sensed that, even if Cork returned to the summit a year later, nothing would quite be the same again.

As things transpired, hurling was on the threshold of a new era. New teams, new stars. Had Raymond Smith's book been published in 1978 or even 1979, it is inconceivable the front cover would not have featured a Cork player or two. Instead, this cover showed Limerick's Leonard Enright fielding a ball over the head of Galway's John Connolly during the 1980 All-Ireland final.

After Cork's great run in the late 1970s, their successors in Munster were a fine Limerick side featuring Tommy Quaid, Seán Foley, Joe McKenna and Eamonn Cregan. But while Cork dominated the national stage with almost natural ease, it was Limerick's unfortunate fate to come up short in both 1980 and 1981. In a scenario current Cork followers will recognise, they were strong enough to negotiate the treacherous waters of Munster but unable to convert that strength into All-Ireland success.

That 1979 Munster final lacked the excitement of an uncertain outcome, but it was a threshold moment in hurling history. The game featured on the inaugural Sunday Game, which devoted an hour to highlights and discussion of this single match. This was a serious upgrade. As recently as September 1978, highlights of the All-Ireland final had shared a billing with the European Athletics Championships on a programme called Sportscene starting as late as 10.45 on a Sunday night. It is a far cry from the extensive treatment of the provincial finals we will enjoy this weekend - another reminder that, in more ways than one, hurling was entering a new era in the summer of ‘79.