A timely rub of the green

KILLINAN END

That the changes wrought by the passage of half a century are remarkable is not a novel observation. Across all areas of society, time moves on and pens an unrelenting narrative.

Since Tipp and Cork lined out at the Gaelic Grounds back in June 1976, the sport of hurling has changed no end as well. For starters, back in the day it was straight knockout: no second chances, no sentiment. The stakes could not have been higher.

The comments of the newly appointed Cork coach of the time, Fr. Bertie Troy, are a serious throwback too. A man who could point to involvement with the very successful Cork Minor and Under-21 teams of the late 1960s was still, even in 1976, extolling the merits of ground hurling when he unveiled his coaching philosophy.

This was a different place in many respects. The National Hurling League started in October 1975 and didn’t have the trophy presented until late June 1976, when Kilkenny beat Clare in a replay for the county’s first League title in a decade. Between the draw in early May and the replay, Kilkenny had managed to tour the USA with the All-Stars team, while the Banner knocked Waterford out of the Munster Championship.

Another factor that would not happen these days was the opening of the newly redeveloped Páirc Uí Chaoimh on the very Sunday before the Tipp–Cork game. That was a glamour occasion, with Cork playing the All-Ireland champions in hurling and football, Kilkenny & Kerry respectively. Kilkenny, supposedly suffering the ill-effects of their American trip, were well beaten by the home team (Kerry won the football by a point). Cork, without tearing up trees, hit six goals on the new stadium’s opening day. They had scored four against Tipp in the National League and followed it with four against Dublin. These were straws in the wind that would prove telling at championship time - they would score eight goals in two games in Munster. Whatever tale the general play would weave, goals would provide the punchline.

Tipp’s approach to the Munster Championship was, to put it mildly, unpromising. Having reached the League Final, the previous year - Galway’s breakthrough year - the more recent campaign was little short of a disaster. A bad beating on the Mardyke against Cork and an abject display in Tulla against Clare were lowlights of a winter of discontent. A couple of wins, against Galway and Dublin, at least staved off relegation. As it happened, Tipp, finalists the previous year, were kept off the bottom only by Galway their conquerors of 1975.

An uphill National League campaign had provided little championship potential for Tipp. Instead, Tipp recalled some players who appeared to be in the autumn of their careers. Roger Ryan was back on the panel; Borris-Ileigh’s Mick Coen was a surprise choice at centre-back; while the selection of Séamus Power, who had been released to play for his club only the previous weekend, suggested significant uncertainty about precisely what Tipp’s best team was at this point. The team did have fresh blood in two forward debutants, Cashel’s John Grogan and Pat Quigley of Seán Treacy’s. The latter was hardly a huge gamble given his performances with Dublin and Leinster, while Grogan emerged as a particular success, especially with his accuracy from frees.

Tipp’s story in the latter part of the 1970s and into the early ’80s can be placed anywhere on a spectrum ranging from ill-luck and missed opportunity to utter despair. This was a day which perhaps encapsulated all three. Expectations were modest, with any pre-match excitement in the national media stemming from the history, tradition, and usual competitiveness of the pairing. Logic dictated that, by all assessments of form, Cork should be favourites. Defending Munster champions and recent National League semi-finalists faced a Tipp team whose formbook was unconvincing.

The match itself at the Gaelic Grounds confounded all of this and did indeed live up to the edge-of-the-seat tradition of this pairing. Despite a suggestion in one newspaper in the lead-up to the match that both Cork and Tipp were in decline, the Rebel County would of course go on to win three consecutive All-Ireland hurling titles, and in doing so recover comprehensively the lost ground of the 1955–1975 era.

It was another “goals win games” day as Cork squeezed past by 4–10 to 2–15. Several point-blank saves from Martin Coleman, and an unfortunately positioned goalpost which kept out Séamus Power’s late effort, were among the reasons Tipp exited the championship. An injury to Tadhg O'Connor early in the second half didn't help the cause either, despite brilliant defensive displays from Jim Keogh and Noel O’Dwyer. Given the subsequent fates of the teams - Cork climbing to heights not seen since Jim Barry prowled the sideline, while Tipp stumbled forth into the championship wilderness for what seemed an eternity - this might be described as the ultimate sliding doors moment. Funny how small margins can have big consequences.