I used love a drop shot. You’d never get the swing off nowadays but it’d be great to see back in the game.
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I think you are right, my one and only final on The Hill was '91
I’d be thinking if you drop the ball and attempt to swing the hurley any foul being committed by the “tackler” would be magnified; of course you’d probably be ate by modern coaches for not minding the ball so this sort of thinking is probably anathema to the modern hurler.
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We did the 91 final in Hogan Stand. Three tickets between a family of four. No bother.
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That’s your modern day coaching and coaches for you
You’d want to be a massive cunt to be coaching this
This is what Limerick brought to the modern game.
McGrath makes a good point re: the configuration of the forwards. Any other Cork manager would have left Dalton on the bench, put Barrett in corner or half-forward and sent Hayes to the footballers. We’d have a Harnedy/Lehane/Kingston half-forward line with Kieran Kingston still in charge.
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It’s because the ball is out of play. Same reason lads go ape over sidelines. Would be fully in favour of throwing the ball in when this happens. Simple taunting rule (wouldn’t be simple obviously).
Massive Carey’s Glory End of Storey flag on Canal End.
Wexford players defending that last lobbed in free in front of their support on the Hill & then racing over & climbing onto the railings to celebrate when the final whistle went.
28 years ago if my sums are correct cc @StoneCold.
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The Link Walsh’s auld lad (aka The Boss Man) knocked a Tipp supporter out with a box to the head on the Hill that day.
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What were the respective capacities of the Hill 16 and Canal Ends in the “Old” Croke Park? You’d imagine the Canal End held more people given the greater width of the terrace but maybe the Hill 16 end was steeper and higher??
Maybe someone would correct me here or this could be an exagerrated twee story but didn’t Cork supporters assault an opposition goalie during a Munster Final back in the 40s or 50s? The goalie had to be disguised as a priest when leaving the field at full time to avoid their wroth then. A bit of booing of a freetaker shows how far the average muldoon GAA head has evolved.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with shouting praise or encouragement at your own teammates. It’s screaming into opponents faces that needs to be eradicated. Refs should be easily able to tell the difference.
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You wouldn’t be able to free your arms to even attempt an old school drop shot when you’re surrounded in the modern game. Hence lads just letting the ball fall to the ground to avoid giving away an overcarrying free & leading to another ruck/bunch type situation. I resent using the term ruck but I’ve matured as a poster.
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One thing that was quite shocking from standing on the pitch at the old Croke Park was just how low the top of the Canal End looked when you looked towards it. That was accentuated by the new Cusack Stand towering over it.
The Hill even in its 1988-2003 incarnation went further back alright but it wasn’t much if at all steeper (the 2004 to present Hill is much steeper) and it only went further back over towards the Cusack Stand side and it got shallower and shallower the further away from the Cusack Stand you went.
The Canal definitely held considerably more because it arced around the entire width of the pitch whereas the Hill ended behind the goal at the Railway End.
The old Hogan and Cusack stands held 30k combined. By the early 90s the total capacity was 64k. Throw in maybe 1.5k in the Nally and that meant 32-33k were standing when the ground was full.
https://crokepark.ie/stadium/stadium-history-development/stadium-development
The Cusack Stand was finally completed in 1938 and cost £50,000 and was regarded as one of the finest in Europe at the time. It had two tiers – 5,000 seats on the upper deck and terracing underneath. In 1966 this terracing was replaced with seating for 9,000 spectators. At the Canal End new terracing was provided in 1949 and the Nally Stand was built in 1952.
The ‘old’ Hogan Stand was replaced in 1959 when it became a two-tier structure standing 500 feet high and with seating for 16,000. By this time, Croke Park could house 23,000 seated spectators and 62,000 standing.
Really was a day of days Sunday. An absolute rip roaring spectacle on Jones Road followed by probably best gig I was ever at in Malahide Castle a few hrs earlier. Only feeling right after it now.
Avoided N7 on the way up. The wiley aul lad sent me up via Danesfort, Carlow, Baltinglass, Blessington and in via Tallaght. Left at 9 and was drinking creamy pints in the Palace bar at 12.
Was up in the Holy Gods at the match itself sitting beside Ben O Connor. He could hardly watch but not a bad view from up there. Good view of the hawk doing the rounds keeping the seagulls at bay.
A useful metaphor perhaps to describe Patrick Collins performance to keep the ball out of the net. He was sensational. It was an All Ireland final in everything but name. The red and green hordes, sell out crowd, palpable tension, pre match parade. It had it all. A game befitting of a Micheal O Muircheartaigh special. The weather itself probably as Bipolar as you’d generally get for a traditional Autumnal show piece. Last vesitudes of summer trying to break through an overcast dreary day. As the sun broke it seemed to shine on the Cork backs in a timely manner in the 3rd quarter. There have been many sliding doors moments in this years championship but it was almost at that moment the hurling Gods had decreed that Patrick Horgan had to get his All Ireland medal. But I’m sure Clare and Adam Hogan will have plenty to say about that later.
Limerick went down like the champions they are. Right up to the final whistle it could have gone either way. We have seen all summer Gillane goaling from Diarmuid Byrnes balls dropping short. It would have been heartbreak for Cork but the ball broke kindly from the melee like it did for Limerick in their maiden All Ireland win when Joe Canning went back and that was all she wrote. Niall O Leary came out with the ball around the 72nd minute when Cork needed someone to stand up with the defense starting to ship serious water. Another unsung hero on this day.
The Downey brothers were superb. Every successful team needs brothers. These 2 have stepped up and answered a long standing question since Ronan Curran was standing 20 yards in front of the Rock. And to think it could have never come to pass.
Tim O Mahony is another who has had a second coming. Written off and rumoured to be dropped off the panel earlier in the Spring he had some important cameos. Corks pace and power up front was impossible to contain. Barretts movement was mesmerising. It was said Cork would have to add a few wrinkles to their earlier Pairc Ui Caoimh win but in fact they double downed on it. Did more of it. They had the Limerick half back line pinned back and turned running towards their own goal. Even when breeze was stopping Collins puckouts from travelling beyond Limerick HB line he took a few short one so he could reload again away from his own goal and bombard again. It was relentless. A beautiful symphony of keeping it simple old school values aligned to a traditional Cork (circa mid noughties) running game. Who knew keeping 3 men inside in your full forward line could yield such spectacular results. The so called expert hurling coaches around the country may have been missing a trick here all along. Hayes was the motm for Cork. Following a long line of hurling heros from St Finbarrs. Seen as more of a footballer and a bit raw (where have we seen this before) he has been coached into a brilliant intercounty player. Pace and Power again. He showed a deft touch for the disallowed goal and not totally dissimilar from his first time goal in the drawn Tipperary game last year. He has it all and I’m not sure we have seen an end to it just yet. We wont see his head turned to play Aussie rules like previous incarnations of this type of Cork forward.
To beat a great team everything has to go right and for Cork it did. Cork arguably had to be 6 or 7 points better to win by a point or 2 which is what they did. I wouldn’t be writing Limericks epitaph just yet. It didn’t look like the last burning embers from my vantage point. They are still miles better than every other team and with Cork they have a hurling rivalry that might go back and forth for next 2 or 3 years still. Every great team needs a nemesis and Limerick have found theres. It was always going to be Cork.
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Hail hail, what a post.
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You’d pay to read that in a newspaper.
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You gas cunt. 
Face into the week 
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I’d be extremely wary of them tbh.
There is a definite air from Cork & neutral supporters that Cork have only to turn up.
I think Clare are in the box seat now and have serious motivation & long grass to hide behind.
Cork if they bring that level of performance from the weekend should win but Finals don’t come as easy. Build up, the pre match events etc.
You’d hope Pat Ryan can have them wired just right.
Lohan to his credit has dogged it out of his squad and if he can get them up there again just once they can get the big prize.
It’s going to be an intriguing game.
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