Christy Coughlan v Gerald McCarthy: Vote for Cork's best city hurlers
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THE late and great Christy Coughlan was taken from us far too early but his contribution to his club, Na Piarsaigh and to Cork minor and U21 teams was immense.
He won every honour with his beloved Na Piarsaigh and although still in the infancy of his career, he was marked out as a great leader and inspiration. And that came to pass on a never to be forgotten Sunday in Páirc Uí Chaoimh when he led the club to its first county senior title in 1990.
The Barrs were the vanquished team that day, a day when grown men wept openly as the old trophy was taken up to the homes of Farranree. Couglan led by example that Sunday afternoon, a teak-tough defender who never gave anything less than 100%. He first came to prominence playing Féile hurling with the club and his potential was evident then.
Ballyhea were the runners-up on that Sunday.
Down through the years, every club produces players who could be described as unsung heroes, players who might not graduate to collect the bigger prizes on offer on the national but who gave their all in pursuit of club glory. The former Na Piarsaigh star did feature on Cork national league teams after a hugely successful innings at minor and U21 with the county.
Na Piarsaigh has a rich history of producing players that would serve the club with great distinction as they went from young boys to men who gave massive service.
Christy Coughlan was certainly one of them and there is no greater prize available to any player than climbing the steps after captaining your club to county final glory. He did that and that great day in 1990 will stand the test of time. He was often described by opposing forwards as one of the toughest they ever encountered, a player who always delivered when the need was at its greatest.
Few would argue with that assessment. Sadly, he passed away suddenly in 2002 leaving a rich legacy behind.
GERALD McCarthy is the holder of a special piece of GAA history that will never be matched – but his Cork hurling career almost ended before it properly began.
The St Finbarr’s man was still a teenager when he was named as a sub for the 1964 national hurling league semi-final against Wexford in Croke Park. The night before the match, some of the players went to the cinema but, with the Phoenix Park closed, they had to take a longer route back to the hotel and missed curfew. Trainer Jim ‘Tough’ Barry was not happy.
“I stood at the back, trying to stay out of the way,” Gerald says, “but he pointed straight at me and said, ‘As for you – this is your last time ever travelling with the Cork team!’ I was rooming with Mick Archer and I could hardly sleep that night with the worry.
“The following morning at breakfast, Tough came up to the table. ‘I want to apologise to you,’ he said, ‘I thought you were the taxi driver!’”
Having overcome that early bump in the road, Gerald developed into a top player for the Barrs and Cork.
The Rebels claimed a first Munster title in a decade as Waterford were beaten and they made it to the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny, seeking to end a drought dating back to 1966. Any nerves within the young squad were doused on the bus journey in from the West County Hotel as they sang rebel songs and McCarthy lifted the cup named for his namesake Liam as Cork won by 3-9 to 1-10.
Later that year, Gerald captained the Cork U21s to win that All-Ireland as they beat Wexford after two replays. With players in the U20 grade now prevented from playing in the senior championship, his record cannot be equalled.
Four more All-Ireland medals followed, in 1970 and the three-in-a-row from 1976-78, while he helped the Barrs to three more county hurling titles as well as three Munster wins and two All-Irelands.
Later, he was in charge for three Barrs county wins and he was trainer as Cork won the 1990 All-Ireland, later going on to manage Waterford and his native county as well as helping the Cork camogie side to win Munster in 2006.
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