Wayne Sherlock v Gerald McCarthy: Vote for Cork's best city hurlers
Have your say in The Battle of the Bridge.
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.
We're now down to the final four.
WHEN Kieran Murphy of Sarsfield’s came on to the Cork senior panel in the early 2000s, he had to get up to speed quickly as the training matches were of such a high intensity.
“I remember in one of those games I was marked by Wayne Sherlock,” he said “and he gave me a bit of a lesson. When I was coming off, I was talking to Seánie McGrath and he said, “Don’t worry about it, Sherlock destroys us all!”
The encapsulation of a player who did his job with the minimum of fuss, Sherlock didn’t come from a GAA background but soon began to shine in the Blackrock under-age structure and earned call-ups to Cork sides.
A key member of the teams that won All-Ireland U21 titles in 1997 and 1998, he was among several young turks given their chance by Jimmy Barry-Murphy for the breakthrough 1999 season, a rock of solidity in the right half-back position. That same year, he helped Blackrock to end a 13-year wait for a Cork SHC title.
While Cork failed to immediately build on that success for several reasons, Blackrock did and Sherlock was again integral as they won the Seán Óg Murphy Cup again in 2001 and 2002, with Sherlock nominated as Cork captain after the ’01 triumph.
When Cork made it back to the steps of the Hogan Stand under Dónal O’Grady in 2004, Sherlock was imperious at right corner-back, earning an All-Star award that year. While surgery in the early part of 2005 meant that he wasn’t a starter that year, he remained an important member of the panel as the Liam MacCarthy Cup was retained.
He retired in 2007, still shy of his 30th birthday, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that his absence was felt in the years that followed.
As a player, he kept it simple and backed himself.
“As the years went on, you were given videos and DVDs of players; but to be honest, I never, ever looked at one of them,” he said.
“In my head, I felt that if I focused on it too much – whether a guy pucked off his left or right or whatever – you’re nearly overthinking it and second-guessing."
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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