An ode to the Cork hurling final: The best day of the year

In Glen Rovers and Midleton, we have two powerhouses of Cork hurling 60 minutes away from paradise at the Cork Colosseum

The Sean Óg Murphy Cup will be presented to the winners of Sunday's Co-Op Superstores Cork Premier SHC final between Glen Rovers and Midleton at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Picture: Jim Coughlan

There really is nothing like it. The occasion, the setting, the drama, the history. County hurling final day, down the Páirc. The importance of the game supersedes the importance of the venue, obviously. Glen Rovers don’t mind that their last two victories came in Páirc Uí Rinn, just as St Finbarr’s and Blackrock’s victories down the Mardyke in 1974 and 1975 count the same as any one of their titles won in the old Athletic Grounds.

Páirc Uí Chaoimh is home, however, and its environs must be among the prettiest in the country. Fitzgerald Stadium springs to mind but the panoramic beauty of the MacGillycuddy Reeks swallows the stadium whereas the beauty of Ballintemple is spread out more evenly.

There’s the quiet authority of the Marina as it runs along confidently beside the Lee, there’s the serenity of the Atlantic Pond, even when it’s briefly interrupted by the hum of the crowd spilling out over the Blackrock End. Then there’s the psychedelic beauty of the fallen leaves along the Centre Park Road that tell us that the end of the year is nigh if the winter chill hasn’t done so already.

Then there’s the old railway line, now populated by runners and walkers, movers and shakers, as they seek refuge from the mad world that surrounds us. The tea and sandwiches of the past may have given way to coffee trucks and food markets, but the talk is the same. Who’ll win the game?

The train line goes all the way to Passage, and one wonders if their hurlers boarded it when they took part in the inaugural championship back in 1887.

A lot has happened since then, a history of events of which today is just the latest chapter. The great triumvirate of the Glen, the Barrs, and the Rockies have written more than most, given us more than most. They’ve blessed us with Ring and Hoggie, Charlie Mac and JBM, Eudie Coughlan and Ray Cummins. In the fabled days of the 1970s, they came in their thousands to watch them duke it out in Cork’s own version of the Colosseum.

There are many other tales to tell too. Midleton go in search of title number eight today with John Fenton and Kevin Hennessey from their golden era sure to be in attendance. We’ve been reared on the stories of Paddy Barry and Sarsfields, Jamsey Kelleher and Dungourney, while we wonder at the Redmondites and their five titles and struggle to imagine a hurling team coming from Tower Street today.

We’ve given thanks to Aghabullogue who delivered our first All-Ireland and we realise what’s possible every time we see Ballyhea's and Éire Óg’s names on the roll of honour. We’ve argued the toss over the divisions and the skull and crossbones, possibly even cheered a little when they were defeated while indulging in their success if it were close to us geographically or personally.

The modern age has re-written much of what was thought to be certain as the old guard have had to dig a little deeper to achieve what was once taken for granted. Na Piarsaigh with their own Baby Jesus have claimed a trinity of titles while their Setanta Ó hAilpín-inspired 2004 victory reminded us of what the crowds used to be like.

Erin’s Own were next to challenge the old hegemony and in Brian Corcoran, they gave us a star fitting of any era. Carrigtwohill had won a county in 1918 but the vision of Niall McCarthy working himself to a standstill in 2011 will forever raise our goosebumps and never fail remind us of what it’s all about.

Which leaves us with Ben and Jerry and the other men of Newtownshandrum who changed Cork hurling forever. Not only did they win four titles, but they made us change the way we play the game, change the way we think about the game.

These are just the stories of the winners. The history of the championship is littered with magnificent campaigns that never quite made it to the promised land as well as one-off stories that still do the rounds in the bars of the villages and towns all over the county.

The great Jimmy Breslin always maintained that the best stories were in the losing dressing room and so it must be here too. The great Ballincollig team of the 1940s that lost three finals in a row and the famous Cloyne team that did the same 60 years later surely have some of the best stories to tell, if they could bear to make themselves do so.

We don’t know what’s in store for Midleton and the Glen yet. We have two powerhouses of Cork hurling sixty minutes away from paradise. One will win, the other will lose, both will be back, and the great show will keep on going.