Tomás Mulcahy v Ger Cunningham: Vote for Cork's best city hurlers
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ONE of the best forwards that the Glen ever produced, he was a regular on the Cork team for many years and was an inspirational captain in the double-winning year of 1990 He was a key member of the Cork starting 15 in 1984, 1986 and '90 when the MacCarthy Cup was brought back to Leeside.
His finest hour in a Glen jersey came in 1989 when the great Northside club regained the title after being without since 1976. That, win, of course, led to his appointment as Cork captain in that historic year and he was an inspirational leader that season.
Mulcahy was a big man for the big occasion, scoring great goals when they were most needed and that was illustrated in the winning years of 1986 and in 1990 when he cracked home two great scores which were key moments in both games.
Alongside his three Celtic Crosses, he has Munster and NHL medals in his trophy cabinet and he was also recognised with two All-Stars.
When his playing career ended he joined the RTÉ match analysis team and for years he was a co-commentator and studio pundit, alongside Ger Loughnane among others.
In that role, he provided great insight into games in his analysis and was never afraid to speak his mind and was able to hold his own in the best of company.
He was a selector and coach to the Glen’s senior team in his time and his contribution to the club was immense in every sense of the word.
In that county final of 1989 against Sars he played against his great friend Teddy McCarthy and the victory that year was notable for the fact that it was the Glen’s 25th title.
In that sequence of victories he scored some vital goals as they overcame Milford, Seandún, the Rockies and Sars.
Recently in conversation with a colleague I posed the question, what was Mulcahy’s greatest attribute?
Nobody would argue with that and, without, a shadow of a doubt he has to be regarded as a major player for club and county. And when he got possession, there was only one thing on his mind, go for goal.
He was also an accomplished footballer
FROM 1981-98 inclusive – 50 championship matches in all – one man was literally the first name on the Cork hurling teamsheet.
Ger Cunningham wasn’t always a goalkeeper but, after the switch, he helped St Finbarr’s to win the county U16 title in 1977 and then played two years for the Cork minor hurling team, winning the All-Ireland in 1978 and 1979, while he was also the minor football goalkeeper in the latter year.
While hurling was always his preference, he did benefit from some cross-code coaching with one of his teachers at Coláiste Eamann Rís.
“Back then, there was no goalkeeping coaching, only stuff that you’d do on your own,” he said, “You’d pick up bits and pieces from different people and I would have been a big believer in going to the ball alley. I was lucky that I had gone to Deerpark at a time when Billy Morgan was there and, when I started playing in goal, we used to do a lot of training together, specific goalkeeping stuff.
“That was the first time I came across anything like that.”
Morgan would also have an influence on Cunningham’s choice of gear, with the younger goalkeeper preferring to wear red and white hooped jerseys, like that donned by the Nemo Rangers man when Cork, wearing white, beat Galway in the 1973 All-Ireland football final.
The first of those Celtic Crosses came in the GAA’s centenary year of 1984. By that stage, Cunningham had claimed three county senior titles with the Barrs in 1980, 1981 and 1982 but Cork, having lost the previous two deciders to Kilkenny, were under pressure to win back the Liam MacCarthy Cup. A late comeback secured the Munster title with victory over Tipperary and Cunningham starred in the All-Ireland final win against Offaly in Thurles.
It was the first of three successive All-Stars, with Cork champions again in 1986 while Cunningham claimed the Texaco Hurler of the Year Award that year, too. In 1985, he was captain as Cork won the Munster title and he also skippered the county team after subsequent Barrs successes in 1988 and 1993.
For seven years in a row, 1984-90 inclusive, he won the All-Ireland Poc Fada Championship and in 1990 of course he was also part of the Cork side that won the hurling leg of the historic double. A fourth All-Star followed that year and, by the time of his retirement, he had won seven Munster championships, three national leagues, three All-Irelands and six county titles.
As a manager, he has also enjoyed success, guiding Ballygunner to the 2009 Waterford title and he was a selector as Cork won the 2004 and 2005 All-Irelands. Back as Barrs manager in 2022, he led them to the county final against Blackrock.
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