Charlie McCarthy (hurler)

Charlie McCarthy

Personal information
Irish name	Cathal Mac Carthaigh
Sport	Hurling
Position	Corner-forward
Born	Cork, Ireland
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Club(s)
Years	Club
1960s-1980s	St. Finbarr's
Club Titles
Cork titles	7
Munster titles	3
All-Ireland Titles	2
Inter-county(ies)
Years	County	Apps (scores)
1965-1980	Cork	45 (27-151)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles	9
All Irelands	5
NHL	4
All Stars	3

Charlie McCarthy (born 1946 in Cork, Ireland) is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club St. Finbarr's and with the Cork senior inter-county team from 1965 until 1980. McCarthy captained Cork to a third consecutive All-Ireland title in 1978.

Biography

Charlie McCarthy was born in Cork in 1946. He was educated locally at Sullivan's Quay Christian Brothers school and quickly showed a natural talent for hurling. His son, Cathal McCarthy, also played hurling for Cork at underage levels in the 1990s and 2000s.

Playing career

Club

McCarthy played his club hurling with the famous St. Finbarr's club on the south side of Cork city, a club where he enjoyed much success. In 1965 he was one of the younger members of the team as St. Finbarr's made it all the way to the final of the senior county championship. A defeat of UCC saw McCarthy collecting his first senior county title. After this game St. Finbarr’s represented Cork in the struggling provincial club championship. A 3-12 to 2-3 trouncing of Waterford’s Mount Sion saw McCarthy winning a coveted Munster club title.^[1]

Three years after this in 1968 McCarthy added a second county championship medal to his collection following a defeat of east Cork divisional side Imokilly.

After an absence of six years St. Finbarr’s were back at the top of the local hurling world again in 1974 following a defeat of Blackrock. It was McCarthy’s third county championship title. Once again the ‘Barr’s’ were the Cork representatives in the provincial club championship and reached the final. Newmarket-on-Fergus were the opponents on that occasion; however, the game was a poor one. A 0-7 to 0-3 victory gave McCarthy his second Munster club title. The subsequent All-Ireland club final on St. Patrick’s weekend saw St. Finbarr’s take on the Fenian of Kilkenny. St. Finbarr’s ability to get goals at crucial times proved to be the difference in the 3-8 to 1-6 victory. It was McCarthy’s first All-Ireland club title.^[2]

In 1977 McCarthy collected his fourth county championship title following a victory over north side rivals and reigning champions Glen Rovers. Once again St. Finbarr’s reached the Munster club final where Clare champions Sixmilebridge provided the opposition. An interesting game developed, however, the ‘Barr’s’ were the easy winners by 2-8 to 0-6. It was McCarthy’s third Munster club medal. He later lined out in the subsequent All-Ireland club final. Rathnure, the Wexford and Leinster champs, were the opponents. The first-half was a disaster for St. Finbarr’s as a gale-force wind resulted in the Cork side trailing by 0-8 to 0-1. The second thirty minutes saw the ‘Barr’s’ take control with Jimmy Barry-Murphy scoring the deciding goal.^[3] A 2-7 to 0-9 victory gave McCarthy a second All-Ireland club medal.

1980 saw McCarthy add a fifth county title to his collection as well as a fourth Munster club title. 'The Barr's' went on to complete a hat-trick of county victories in 1981 and 1982.

Inter-county

McCarthy first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor hurling team in the early 1960s. He won a Munster title in the is grade in 1964 before later collecting an All-Ireland winners' medal. McCarthy later joined the county under-21 team where he won a set of Munster and All-Ireland honours in 1966.

By this stage McCarthy was also a well-established member of the Cork senior team. The decade after the 1956 All-Ireland final appearance was a bleak period for Cork’s senior hurling team. In 1966 year Cork avoided Tipperary, their old tormentors in the provincial championship, and qualified for a Munster showdown with Waterford. An entertaining hour of hurling followed, however, victory went to Cork for the first time in ten years. It was McCarthy’s first senior Munster medal. This victory allowed Cork to advance directly to the All-Ireland final where arch-rivals Kilkenny provided the opposition. It was the first meeting of these two great sides since 1947 and ‘the Cats’ were installed as the firm favourites. In spite of this two goals by Colm Sheehan and a third from John O'Halloran gave Cork a merited 3-9 to 1-10 victory over an Eddie Keher inspired Kilkenny.^[4] It was McCarthy’s first senior All-Ireland medal.

Tipperary emerged as the Munster champions in both 1967 and 1968, however, Cork were back in 1969. That year McCarthy tasted success early in the year when Cork defeated Wexford by 3-12 to 1-14 to take the National Hurling League title. This victory gave Cork a huge boost going into the Munster campaign where the team qualified to meet Tipperary in the final. Cork were out to avenge the nine-point defeat administered by the same side in 1968 while Tipp were out to capture a third provincial title in-a-row. The game was a major triumph for Cork as ‘the Rebels’ won by 4-6 to 0-9. It was a victory that made up for all the beatings that Tipp had dished out to Cork in the early part of the decade and it gave McCarthy a second Munster winners’ medal. Once again this victory paved the way for an All-Ireland showdown with Kilkenny. The game was there for the taking for Cork, particularly after Kilkenny forward Pat Delaney left the field on a stretcher. ‘The Rebels’ led ‘the Cats’ coming into the last quarter, however, Kilkenny scored five unanswered points in the last seven minutes to win by 2-15 to 2-9.^[5]

In 1970 Cork were still regarded as one of the best teams in the country and expectations were high. At the start of the year Cork defeated New York with an aggregate score of 5-21 to 6-16 to take the National League title. It was McCarthy’s second winners’ medal in the competition. For the third year in-a-row Cork qualified for the Munster final where Tipperary provided the opposition. It was the first eighty minute final in the history of the provincial championship and a close affair developed. At the final whistle Cork were the victors by 3-10 to 3-8 and McCarthy captured his third Munster title. Cork later qualified for the All-Ireland final where Wexford were the opponents. That game broke all records with a huge 64-point score line. Cork's Eddie O'Brien scored a hat-trick of goals to help his team to a 6-21 to 5-10 victory.^[5] It was McCarthy’s second All-Ireland medal.

Defeat was Cork’s lot in 1971, however, the team bounced back in 1972. A third National League title following victory over Limerick before McCarthy later lined out against Clare in the Munster final. An absolute rout took place on that occasion as Cork recorded a huge 6-18 to 2-8 victory over the ‘banner’ men. It was McCarthy’s fourth Munster winners’ medal. Another comprehensive victory over surprise package London in the All-Ireland semi-final allowed Cork to advance to the championship decider where, once again, Kilkenny provided the opposition. The game itself is regarded as one of the classic games of the modern era. With time running out Cork were cruising to victory and led ‘the Cats’ by eight points. A Kilkenny fight-back, however, saw the team draw level with Cork and score seven further points without reply to capture a 3-24 to 5-11 victory.^[6] It was a huge blow to a Cork team that seemed destined for victory.

Cork lost their provincial crown in to Limerick in 1973, however, in 1974 the team bounced back with McCarthy capturing a fourth National League winners' medal. It was 1975 before Cork contested their next provincial decider, the first one to last for seventy minutes. A 3-14 to 0-12 victory gave McCarthy a fifth Munster title. Cork looked set for another All-Ireland appearance; however, Galway had other ideas in the semi-final. A 4-15 to 2-19 score line gave Galway their first-ever championship win over Cork.

1976 saw Cork retain their Munster title with another huge 4-14 to 3-5 win over neighbouring Limerick. It was McCarthy’s sixth Munster winner’s medal. This victory allowed Cork to advance directly to the All-Ireland final where Wexford provided the opposition. Both sides had high expectations. Cork got off to the worst possible start in an All-Ireland final and trailed by 2-2 after six minutes. McCarthy’s side battled back, however, the game hung in the balance for much of the seventy. With ten minutes left Wexford were two points to the good, however, three points by Jimmy Barry-Murphy, two by Pat Moylan and a kicked effort from captain Ray Cummins gave Cork a 2-21 to 4-11 victory.^[7] It was McCarthy’s third All-Ireland title.

In 1977 Cork reached their third consecutive Munster decider with Clare as the opposition. ‘The Rebels’ got off to a great start with a Tim Crowley penalty after just seventy-five seconds. Clare fought back, however, Cork still defeated fourteen-man Clare by 4-15 to 4-10.^[8] A subsequent defeat of Galway set up a second consecutive All-Ireland final showdown with Wexford. Like the previous year the game turned into a close, exciting affair. A Seánie O'Leary goal, together with some brilliant saves by goalkeeper Martin Coleman helped Cork to a 1-17 to 3-8 victory.^[7] The victory also resulted in a fourth All-Ireland winners’ medal for McCarthy.

1978 saw McCarthy being appointed captain of the Cork side that dominated the provincial championship once again. Clare provided the opposition in second consecutive Munster showdown between the two sides. The game was a close affair and one which Cork could have lost. At the full-time whistle Cork still had a narrow 0-13 to 0-11 win ^[9] to give McCarthy an eighth Munster title. This victory paved the way for Cork to take on Kilkenny in the subsequent All-Ireland final. The stakes were high as Cork were attempting to capture a first three in-a-row since 1954. The game, however, was not the classic that many expected. Cork were never really troubled over the course of the seventy minutes and a Jimmy Barry-Murphy goal helped the team to a 1-15 to 2-8 victory over their age-old rivals.^[7] This victory gave Cork a third All-Ireland title in succession and gave McCarthy a fifth All-Ireland medal. He also had the honour of lifting the Liam McCarthy Cup on behalf of his county.

In 1979 Cork were invincible in the provincial championship once again. A 2-15 to 0-9 trouncing of Limerick gave the county a record-equaling fifth consecutive Munster title. On a personal level it was McCarthy’s ninth Munster winners’ medal. After this game it looked likely that Cork were set for a fourth consecutive appearance in the All-Ireland final and the chance to equal the seemingly unbeatable record of four championships in-a-row. The All-Ireland semi-final saw Galway catch Cork on the hop once again. A 2-14 to 1-13 defeat ended the dream of four in-a-row.

McCarthy remained with Cork for one final season in 1980, however, by this stage he was on the fringes of the panel. That year Cork aimed to make history by capturing a record-breaking sixth Munster title in-a-row. Limerick provided the opposition in the Munster final. McCarthy came on as a substitute for Ray Cummins, however, Cork were now in decline. The defeat by the Shannonsiders brought McCarthy's inter-county career to an end.

Provincial

McCarthy also lined out with Munster in the Railway Cup inter-provincial competition. He was captain of the team in 1978 when a defeat of Connacht in the final gave him his sole Railway Cup medal.

References

1. ^ "Club Championship Senior Hurling Munster Final Winning Teams". Munster GAA. http://munster.gaa.ie/teams/clubhurling.html. Retrieved 2009-03-29. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ Corry, Eoghan (2005). The GAA Book of Lists. Hodder Headline. p. 428. 
3. ^ The GAA Book of Lists p. 429
4. ^ The GAA Book of Lists p. 356
5. ^ ^{a b} The GAA Book of Lists p. 357
6. ^ The GAA Book of Lists p. 358
7. ^ ^{a b c} The GAA Book of Lists p. 359
8. ^ Sweeney, Éamonn (2002). Munster Hurling Legends. The O’Brien Press. p. 108. 
9. ^ Munster Hurling Legends p. 112-113

Sporting positions
Preceded by Martin O'Doherty	Cork Senior Hurling Captain 1978	Succeeded by John Horgan
Preceded by Johnny Clifford	Cork Senior Hurling Manager 1988-1989	Succeeded by Con Roche
Achievements
Preceded by Tony Doran (Leinster)	Railway Cup Hurling Final winning captain 1978	Succeeded by Phil 'Fan' Larkin (Leinster)
Preceded by Martin O'Doherty (Cork)	All-Ireland Senior Hurling winning captain 1978	Succeeded by Ger Fennelly (Kilkenny)

Teams

Persondata
Name	Maccarthy, Charlie
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1946
Place of birth	Cork
Date of death
Place of death