Crowley: It was a long haul to top

Johnny Crowley was being mentioned a lot in recent weeks, having been the central figure in the last team to outwit a Galway tactical innovation in an All-Ireland hurling final.

That was in 1986, but Crowley came to attention in Cork a lot earlier than that.

He starred on the Rebels’ three-in-a-row side, and locally he anchored the Bishopstown hurling team from the mid-seventies on as they made the slow climb through the grades.