1984 Revisited: Cork hurlers evoke comparisons with French

Two teams from different sports lit up the year with their dashing flamboyance, writes Colin Sheridan

Cork captain John Fenton with the Liam McCarthy Cup after beating Offaly in 1984 at Thurles. Picture: INPHO/Billy Stickland

Pictures so often tell a story the written word cannot. Moments in time that evoke nostalgia and fond remembering, but also represent something grander, a glimpse into history. 

Two team photographs from 1984 stand out to me, for different reasons. The French national football team, and the Cork hurlers. Undoubtedly, Les Bleus were a more exotic looking bunch. Michel Platini resembled a down-on-his-luck cop, the type you’d find in a Marseille dive bar searching for the meaning of life at the bottom of a glass of pastis. Jean Tiguna, the svelte and graceful athlete. Manu Amoros, the brooding beat poet.