Cork hurling legend O’Shaughnessy dies

TONY O’SHAUGHNESSY, star of the Cork hurling three-in-a-row side of the fifties, died over the weekend.

O’Shaughnessy was one of the star corner-backs in the game during that period, lining out alongside John Lyons and Gerry O’Riordan as Cork won three All-Ireland hurling titles from 1952 to 1954 inclusive. In three All-Ireland finals that full-back line conceded only one goal, when beating Wexford 1-9 to 1-6 in 1954. Cork then experienced a 12-year famine which only ended when they regained the Liam McCarthy Cup in 1966, when O’Shaughnessy was one of the selectors.

A mainstay of St Finbarr’s in hurling and football, he captained the southside club to a famous victory over Glen Rovers in the county final of 1955 and won a county senior football medal with the Blues the following year.