Seán Óg Ó hAilpín v Jim Cashman: Vote for Cork's best city hurlers
WITH your help, we’re looking to pick the best hurler from either side of St Patrick's Bridge from the last 50 years of action.
has pitched some of Cork’s finest hurling stars from the northside and southside of Cork city together for a series of fun head-to-head battles. Your votes will decide who goes through and you can see the full list of 16 northside and 16 southside players here.
WHERE do you start with one of the most iconic GAA players of all time?
Unique in so far as he was not of Irish descent, being born in far-off Fiji before his parents arrived in Ireland and, as they say, the rest is now history.
He won every major honour that the game could offer, an outstanding Na Piarsaigh and Cork hurler, he was also a renowned Gaelic footballer, winning a Munster and national league medal with the county but it’s as a truly great hurler that he is best remembered.
Again, Seán Óg was one of those players who could fit in comfortably in a number of positions but it’s as a left wing-back that he played some of his finest hurling He was a product of the Gaelcholáiste section of the North Mon where he began his hurling career and was a key component of the school’s teams, winning a Harty and Croke Cup medals.
He is a fluent Irish speaker, probably more comfortable with that language and when he led Cork to All-Ireland glory in 2005, his after-match speech on the podium of the Hogan Stand captured the imagination of the entire country.
Na Piarsaigh was his club and his immense contribution to the great Northside home has remained immense and the pride that he has in that jersey has never diminished.
His two county senior medals in 1995 and 2004 are among his most cherished achievements and alongside John Gardiner and Tony O’Sullivan, he ranks as a true Piarsaigh great of which there have been so many down the years.
The Cork half-back line of the winning years of 2004 and 2005 was so often the launch pad for scores that made the difference between winning and losing.
Ó hAilpín was GPA hurler of the year in 2004, and Texaco Hurler of the Year in that year as well and to add further gloss, RTÉ named him as their star player as well. He has three All-Stars, in 2003, 2004 and 2005 to accompany a very lengthy list of honours collected in both codes.
One of the most popular players ever to line out for Cork, he has inspired so many youngsters to try and follow in his footsteps and he is now giving back to the club that gave him so much when he wore the Piarsaigh jersey.
With his playing days now long over, the very mention of his name still generates great excitement.
JIM Cashman’s tally of two county SHC medals and two hurling All-Irelands is not to be sniffed at by any means, it’s not near the top in terms of personal hauls for Blackrock or Cork. However, that’s more down to his relative misfortune in terms of being born in 1965 rather than a lack of quality.
His bloodlines were strong, with his father Mick Cashman playing for Cork – first outfield and then in goal, but also unlucky as his career coincided with the long All-Ireland drought from 1954-66 – while uncle Jimmy Brohan also lined out for the county and his older brother Tom starred in the 1970s and 1980s.
Tom’s last All-Ireland, as captain and centre-back in 1986, came with Jim on his right flank. The older brother was skipper as a result of Blackrock’s 1985 county final win over Midleton, a game in which 20-year-old Jim won the Man of the Match award.
For the rest of the 1980s, he was a first-choice player for Cork, either in midfield or the half-back line, and for the 1990 campaign, he was a fixture in the number 6 jersey as a first provincial title in four years was won.
The Rebels made it through to the All-Ireland final against Galway and, while Cashman endured a tough first half against Joe Cooney, was imperious in the second period as Cork came back to claim the Liam MacCarthy Cup.
A national league medal followed in 1993 but, unfortunately for Cork and Cashman, much of the rest of the decade involved disappointment and he retired from inter-county hurling after the defeat to Limerick in 1996.
At 31, he was not old by any means and he continued to play club hurling with Blackrock. The club reached the county in 1998 – their first since the 1986 defeat to Midleton – but lost out to Imokilly. However, they were back a year later and the 14-year wait was ended with victory over UCC. As had been the case in 1985, Cashman – now 34 – was Man of the Match once again, his class shining through as ever.
That heritage was since been passed on to his sons Niall and John, who in 2020 helped the Rockies bridge what had become an 18-year gap since their previous Seán Óg Murphy Cup triumph.
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