The Holy trinity: Cork, Meath and the hunt for that religious scapular

Holy mess: Conor Counihan's All-Ireland final misery in 1987 was compounded when he had to march into the victorious Meath dressing room searching for the scapular given to him as a good luck charm before the game.

Did Conor Counihan ever feel as low as he did at the final whistle of the 1987 All-Ireland final?

His first final, the Aghada rock was Cork captain, a singular honour in itself. Meath was the opposition, and the Rebels were primed to lift Sam for the first time since 1973.

“It was my big day,” Counihan recalls now.

“Before the game, Dr Con (Murphy) produced this religious scapular and asked me to pin it to inside of my jersey. He said his father ‘Weesh’ had worn it in 1945 for All-Ireland success with Cork, and it had been handed onto Billy (Morgan) before the 1973 final against Galway – again, a red-letter day for Cork football.

“‘You’ll pin it to your jersey for good luck’ Dr Con said, Counihan recalled this week amid the 30th-anniversary celebrations of Cork’s 1990 All-Ireland double. 

“I would have worn anything to get us over the line.” 

This was a Rebel heirloom of sorts but Meath weren’t impressed, running out six points winners (1-14 to 0-11) and leaving Counihan and co crestfallen.

“At the end of the match, I was devastated. I had been marking Colm Coyle and we swapped jerseys as you do. Rock bottom I was. Landed back in with Colm Coyle’s jersey on, and Dr Con says ‘where’s my scapular medal?’ 

“Nothing else would do, of course, then but to march up to the Meath dressing room and get the scapular back for Con from the jersey I’d given to Coyle. And at a fairly low ebb in my life!

“That medal was not very high on my priority list at that moment I can tell you.”

The Go Red for Cork campaign is calling on individuals, companies and community groups to light or dress up in red on the 16th September and donate to the campaign – www.idonate.ie/goredforcork or by texting Marymount to 50300 to donate €4. 75% of funds go to Marymount Hospice with 25% going to Cork GAA.

Monies raised through the Go Red for Cork campaign, which marks the 30th anniversary of the Cork GAA double, will go towards ensuring Marymount Hospice is ‘winter ready’ for current and any possible future Covid restrictions and will allow for outdoor visiting in comfortable covered spaces, following Government guidelines at all times.