History Cork–Kilkenny hurling rivalry

1 history

1.1 1893: beginnings
1.2 1903-1912: kilkenny s first great era
1.3 1926: lone meeting after fourteen-year absence
1.4 1931: 3 all-ireland finals
1.5 1939-1947: 2 iconic all-ireland meetings
1.6 1966-1972: renewed rivalry
1.7 1978-1983: kilkenny double after cork treble
1.8 1992: lone meeting
1.9 1999-2006: cork , kilkenny dominate
1.10 2008-2013: kilkenny s greatest team

history
1893: beginnings

an inauspicious start 1 of greatest rivalries on 24 june 1894. cork won on unsuitable playing surface in hurling history after neglected grass cut @ original venur in ashtown. goalposts uprooted , spectators , players alike moved phoenix park after long delay. cork, represented blackrock, gave exhibition of hurling , led 3-4 0-1 @ interval. each side made same return in second half give cork victory.

1903-1912: kilkenny s first great era

on 16 july 1905, cork played kilkenny in delayed 1903 all-ireland home final. cats overwhelmed cork powered 8-9 0-8 victory.

the delayed 1904 all-ireland final, played on 24 june 1906, pitted three-in-a-row hopefuls cork against kilkenny. after losing 4 previous finals kilkenny triumphed. dick doyle s first-half goal set cats on way, while last-minute miracle save keeper pat fox maher secured narrow 1-9 1-8 victory.

cork s 5-10 3-13 defeat of kilkenny in delayed 1905 all-ireland final, played on 14 april 1907, declared null , void cork goalkeeper daniel mccarthy british army reservist, while kilkenny s matt gargan had played waterford in earlier rounds of championship. replay on 30 june 1907 saw kilkenny s jimmy kelly score record-equalling 5-2. kilkenny scored 7 goals in thirty-minute spell. puck-out cork goalkeeper jamesy kelleher said have bounced , hopped on kilkenny crossbar point. kilkenny powered 7-7 2-9 victory.

the delayed all-ireland final on 21 june 1908 saw cork face kilkenny @ fraher field. jimmy kelly got first of hat-trick of goals within seconds of start. game looked heading replay when jack anthony scored winning point. cats survived 2 cork goal hunts in dying minutes , claimed narrow 3-12 4-8 victory.

gate receipts record £589 @ croke park all-ireland meeting of cork , kilkenny on 17 november 1912. kilkenny s ability score goals proved decisive recorded one-point defeat of cork. sim walton pulled on long, dropping ball jimmy kelly kilkenny s first goal. long matt gargan ball dropped past cork keeper , stopped inch on line second. 2-1 1-3 score line gave kilkenny sixth all-ireland title in 9 years.

1926: lone meeting after fourteen-year absence

on 24 october 1926 cork , kilkenny did battle on snow-covered croke park. 3 meagher brothers - lory, willie , henry - bolstered kilkenny team. paddy balty ahern led cork attack rebels had narrowest of leads @ interval. kilkenny slumped in second half, going down 4-6 2-0 defeat. first of thirteen all-ireland victories legendary cork trained jim tough barry.

1931: 3 all-ireland finals

on 6 september 1931 cork , kilkenny faced each other in all-ireland decider. first half closely contested, goal mick ahern helping cork half-time lead of 1-3 0-2. cork stretched advantage 6 points in second half, kilkenny came storming goal , 4 points on trot take lead 1 point. in dying moments cork captain eudie coughlan got possession , made way towards goal. did slipped , fell struck sliotar while down on knees, , went on bar level scores @ 1-6 apiece , force replay.

the replay took place month later on 11 october 1931 , regarded classic swinging fortunes. cork once again had four-point lead @ interval, however, kilkenny again fought in second half. lory meagher sent on 90-yard free level game @ 2-5 apiece , again force replay. after game officials pressed time, however, cork captain coughlan rejected younger kilkenny team have upper hand on aging cork team. suggested @ meeting of central council both counties declared joint champions , half all-ireland medal given each player. motion later defeated.

once again cork , kilkenny assembled @ croke park on 1 november 1931 third installment of all-ireland final. kilkenny captain lory meagher ruled out of game because of broken ribs sustained in first replay , watched game wearing overcoat on sideline. such esteem in held game virtually conceded cork since star captain couldn t play. in spite of fielding younger team, kilkenny defeated cork on score line of 5-8 3-4. first occasion when gaa realised lucrative nature of replays. central council reported earnings of £8000 gate @ 3 games.

1939-1947: 2 iconic all-ireland meetings

on same day england , france declared war on germany, all-ireland final between cork , kilkenny entered realms of folklore famous thunder , lightning final , called because climax of game played in fierce thunderstorm. record crowd of 39,000 cork-kilkenny game saw both sides remain level of game. kilkenny pulled forward 3 points @ 1 stage, however, willie campbell landed long-range free in net dramatic equalising goal cork. while looked if game heading replay kilkenny s terry leahy whipped on winning point after connected paddy phelan 70-yards free. long whistle sounded , kilkenny champions 2-7 3-3.

after seven-year absence, cork , kilkenny renewed rivalry in all-ireland decider on 1 september 1946. cork aiming fifth all-ireland title within 6 years, while kilkenny all-ireland runners-up tipperary previous year. while had written off cork s chances, took interval lead of 4 points. ten minutes remaining cork s lead reduced 2 points, however, goals mossy o riordan , joe kelly secured 7-6 3-8 victory.

regarded many oldtimers greatest all-ireland final of them all, there @ stake when cork , kilkenny met each other on 7 september 1947. after losing back-to-back championship deciders in 1945 , 1946, kilkenny faced unpalatable prospect of becoming first team in championship history lose three-in-a-row. cork, on other hand, hoping capture unprecedented sixth all-ireland title in 7 years. many of previous contests there little separate these 2 sides. kilkenny took narrow 0-7 0-5 lead @ interval, however, game far over. mossy o riordan , joe kelly got cork game 2 second-half goals, however, kilkenny s jim langton , terry leahy key players tallies of 0-3 , 0-6 respectively. game headed towards replay leahy chipped on winning point. first time since 1893 kilkenny failed score goal against cork.

1966-1972: renewed rivalry

after absence of nineteen years, cork , kilkenny faced each other in all-ireland final on 4 september 1966. cork, seeking first title in twelve years, laid foundations victory solid first-half performance having played win trailed 0-7 1-2. not long after restart cork went ahead colm sheehan scoring hat-trick of goals. 3-9 1-10 gave cork title in front of record of 68,249 spectators.

the respective all-ireland champions of 1966 , 1967 faced each other in last sixty-minute all-ireland final on 7 september 1969. cork had better of opening half , had three-point lead @ break. third quarter saw kilkenny edge , on 2 occasions sides not separated. cork faded in final quarter allowing kilkenny ease 2-15 2-9 victory.

regarded 1 of classic games of modern era, all-ireland final on 3 september 1972 eighty-minute championship decider between cork , kilkenny. in game produced plethora of scores, cork s ability find net gave them 2-8 0-12 lead @ interval. halfway through second-half cork on form , stretched lead 8 points. drastic action required kilkenny , eddie keher deployed closer cork goal. 1 of abiding memories of game of keher grabbing sliotar out of sky , racing wing in shadow of hogan stand. sideline position keher pucked sliotar if going point, however, sliotar dropped short, deceiving cork goalkeeper paddy barry, , ending in of net. after scoring goal emotionless keher turned around go normal playing position blood pouring out of cut on eye. keher finished game tally of 2-9 kilkenny scored 7 points without reply capture memorable 3-24 5-11 victory.

1978-1983: kilkenny double after cork treble

not greatest of games between these 2 sides, however, notable cork attempted capture third all-ireland title in-a-row on 3 september 1978. game ebbed , flowed of seventy minutes no side breaking away. sides level 8 times. thirteen minutes left jimmy barry-murphy hit low shot in towards goal , bobbled in past goalkeeper noel skehan. 1-15 2-8 gave cork first championship three-in-a-row since 1954.

kilkenny rank outsiders going all-ireland final on 5 september 1982 attendance dropped below 60,000 first time since before world war ii. opening eighteen minutes frantic, however, noel skehan save seánie o leary shot inspired kilkenny. brace of goals christy heffernan in 2 minutes before break gave cats commanding 2-11 0-7 lead. cork rallied after restart, however, skehan heor kilkenny powered 3-18 1-13 victory.

the first period of all-ireland final on 4 september 1983 similar previous year kilkenny built healthy interval advantage of 6 points. shortly after restart noresiders advantage 9 points, however, failed score last seventeen minutes of game. cork rallied , narrowed deficit 2 points before running out of time. billy fitzpatrick had dream game, scoring 0-10 kilkenny, while noel skehan won ninth all-ireland medal, full twenty years after won first substitute.

1992: lone meeting

the cats underdogs going all-ireland final on 6 september 1992 sought first championship in 9 years. cork, however, had earlier dethroned reigning champions tipperary , aiming second all-ireland crown in 2 years. final going script in first half cork shot 5 points without reply before d. j. carey rattled home penalty before half-time leave them 2 adrift @ beginning of second period. christy heffernan entered fray in second half , inspired kilkenny performance. john power kicked goal , cork, despite ger manley goal, unable on terms kilkenny ran out winners on 3-10 1-12 scoreline.

1999-2006: cork , kilkenny dominate

as century drew close did hurling revolution of nineties. old order restored grip on liam maccarthy cup cork , kilkenny squaring off against each other in all-ireland final on 12 september 1999. in dour contest played on wet day, cork trailed 0-5 0-4 after low-scoring first half. kilkenny increased pace after interval, pulling four-point lead cork kept in touch in game in both defences on top. kilkenny 0-11 0-08 ahead , cork moved gear , through joe deane, ben o connor , seánie mcgrath cork scored 5 unanswered points. kilkenny manage 1 more score – point henry shefflin free – , cork held out win 0-13 0-12, first defeat of kilkenny since 1978.

after four-year hiatus, cork , kilkenny lined out against each other in all-ireland decider on 14 september 2003. conclusion @ end cork, had endured winter of discontent on leeside culminating in players strike, had left all-ireland title behind them. kilkenny sparkled in first half when munster champions haunted terrible finishing , stuttered in face of admirable recovery given huge impetus setanta Ó hailpín s 53rd-minute goal. kilkenny had character , strength in defence survive , triumph through martin comerford s goal 5 minutes end of normal time.

on 12 september 2004, cork , kilkenny renewed all-ireland rivalry second year in-a-row. kilkenny, reigning champions, attempting claim third successive all-ireland championship, while cork out gain revenge defeat previous year. game unassuming one, played on dull, overcast day. sides level of game, however, in final twenty minutes cork scored 9 points without reply , secured 0-17 0-9 victory.

for third time in 4 years, cork faced kilkenny in all-ireland decider on 3 september 2006. cork aiming become first team since 1978 win third successive all-ireland championship. revenge foremost in minds of kilkenny cork denied own chance @ three-in-a-row in 2004. in bruising encounter, teams level 5 times before diarmuid o sullivan dropped high ball aidan fogarty s path in 29th-minute , rocketed shot cork net. kilkenny led 1-8 0-8 @ break , while ben o connor s 67th-minute goal, set bulldozing niall mccarthy, jangled nerves, kilkenny held on 1-16 1-13 victory.

2008-2013: kilkenny s greatest team

by 2008, cork s great team of earlier part of decade in decline while kilkenny enjoying remarkable run of success in history of championship. on 10 august year both sides faced each other in all-ireland semi-final. leesiders gave best shot on , sides level 6 times in opening twenty 1 minutes. when eoin larkin found himself in space kilkenny goal after twenty 9 minutes have side 1-9 0-6 in front, champions in control remainder. nearest cork came closing gap in second half make five-point margin. kilkenny claimed 1-23 0-17 victory cork s stalwart full-back, diarmuid o sullivan, made emotional exit inter-county hurling.

with four-in-a-row taken care of, kilkenny set sights on unprecedented fifth successive championship in 2010. on 8 august cork faced kilkenny in all-ireland semi-final. cats controlled game masterful performance, killing off cork challenge goals eddie brennan , aidan fogarty on way 13-point interval lead. cork did stage revival in second half string of well-taken scores patrick horgan , ben o connor, cats grabbed third goal richie power secure 3-22 0-19 victory.

on 28 july 2013, cork faced kilkenny @ semple stadium in first ever meeting of 2 sides @ all-ireland quarter-final stage, kilkenny entered game clinging onto hopes of securing tenth all-ireland championship following narrow wins on tipperary , waterford. kilkenny boosted inclusion of henry shefflin , michael fennelly in starting line-up, after duo bounced period on sidelines due injury. patrick horgan, had red card munster final rescinded, returned boost cork s chances. cork led of game, while kilkenny dealt major blow second yellow card shefflin late in first half, cork claimed 0-11 0-06 interval lead. kilkenny battled hard on restart, cork kept ahead goalkeeper anthony nash inspirational in cork s first victory on kilkenny since 2004.