Tomás Mulcahy v Charlie McCarthy: 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.

The Echo 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.

Today's match-up is Tomás Mulcahy v Charlie McCarthy.

TOMÁS MULCAHY (Glen Rovers):

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? 

The answer was he had many but he stressed that when the chips were down he always came up with the goods.

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.

CHARLIE McCARTHY (St Finbarr's):

CHARLIE McCarthy was undoubtedly delighted to have recently lost one of the many accolades that he holds.

Until this season, McCarthy was the last man to coach St Finbarr’s to a county senior hurling title, having been in charge as they beat Carbery after a replay in 1993. At the time, few could have thought that they would still be waiting for the next one in 2022 – even though he has been succeeded by Ger Cunningham, the corner-forward still has more than enough honours to his name.

Across a 15-year inter-county career, he scored 24-149, a tally that puts him fifth on the all-time Cork scorers list and a record of more than a goal every two games.

A dual minor in 1964, he scored 3-1 in the All-Ireland hurling final win over Laois and almost achieved a double but the footballers lost out to Offaly. That same year, he was part of a youthful Barrs side that lost the county final to Glen Rovers but they came back strongly the following year to defeat UCC.

He had made his senior debut for Cork that year and won senior and U21 All-Ireland medals in 1966 as the county claimed the Liam MacCarthy Cup for the first time since 1954. It would be the first of five Celtic Crosses for Charlie, the last of those as captain in 1978, while he finished with nine Munster championship medals. 

He finished as the top scorer in the 1970 championship, which Cork won, while his first All-Star came in 1972, when the county lost the final to Kilkenny. Further All-Stars followed in 1977 and 1978 – in 2001, to celebrate 30 years of the scheme, he was named at right corner-forward in the Supreme All-Stars team. Another victory in 1978 came when he captained Munster to the Railway Cup.

With the Barrs, he finished with five county titles, four Munster wins and two All-Ireland championships.

He was also involved in inter-county management: in 1985, along with Johnny Clifford he led the Cork minor hurlers to Munster and then All-Ireland glory. Three years later, when Clifford was forced to resign as senior manager due to health reasons, McCarthy was appointed but 1988 proved to be a disappointing year as Tipperary were on a high after the famine-ending previous year while Cork were in a lull between the 1986 and 1990 triumphs.

McCarthy bounced back from that to guide the Barrs to the Seán Óg Murphy Cup in 1993, yet another distinction to be added to the long list.