The Saturday/Sunday Game Thread

No kev ye need to drop the snobbish bullshit that asserts notions of ‘real’ munster finals. What kind of arrogant mentality breeds that kind of shit talk. This ‘ownership’ of munster final day by Cork/Tipp in Thurles is a complete fabrication designed to feed inflated egos. More so in Tipp than Cork but there’s plenty of flutes there who buy into it as well. In 125 years, do you know how many cork/tipp munster finals have been played in Thurles? Seven. Seven of the 125, and it’s the ‘real’ munster final apparently. It’s laughable.

would the majority of those finals have been played in limerick?

The cork/tipp ones must have been.

I’m not on about “Real” or anything else, but its the traditional rivalry everyone remembers, and its the one that produced some of the most memorable games. There is no snobbish about it, its facts, Cork and Tipp are the most successful, they have more to talk about in a programme like that and more people to call upon. Also you have to realise that we were there most years, and thats a Cork or Tipp mans point of view, its not an anti Clare, waterford or imerick thing, thats where your insecurity comes in.
Cork and Waterford built a tradition in recent years, but only met in the Final once, maybe in 10-15 years time we’ll all talk about Cork-waterford and Clare-Tipp, its just the way it goes.

I think Thurles (to me anyway) would be about Munster Championship, but not even solely about Cork or Tipp, it is the home of Munster hurling no matter what slant you want to put on it. I’ve been to some cracking games in Cork, Cork-Limerick 2001, Tipp-Waterford 2002, Cork-Tipp 1991 & 1992, but i wouldn’t go around saying the Pairc is the home of it, because to the majority of Munster people Thurles is, end of.

[quote=“caoimhaoin”]Didn’t see the programme, and can’t watch RTE on my laptop.
But just curious as to what lads thought who was their favourite Munster hurler NOT from their own county.

Mine was Ciaran Carey, just ahead of Nicky.[/QUOTE]

Carey was a clas act but wasn’t anywhere near the best hurler in munster over the last 25 years…His point v clare in 1996 aside (he was average enough the same match) I bet you couldn’t pick out too many more outstanding performances from him off the top of your head…

Outside of clare:
Declan Ryan
Brian Corcoran
Ken McGrath
Donie Ryan

[quote=“The Puke”]Carey was a clas act but wasn’t anywhere near the best hurler in munster over the last 25 years…His point v clare in 1996 aside (he was average enough the same match) I bet you couldn’t pick out too many more outstanding performances from him off the top of your head…

Outside of clare:
Declan Ryan
Brian Corcoran
Ken McGrath
Donie Ryan[/QUOTE]

Corcoran is the only one here who can be spoken about in the same breath as Carey.

Donie Ryan is too pegs above Ken McGrath in legend status alright.:clap:

Where are you getting that statistic from? Off the top of my head I can think of seven - 1960, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1991 replay, 2000 and 2006. There must have been plenty of Cork-Tipp finals in Thurles before that.

In fairness all the games between 1984 and 1991 were unbelievable. That was the golden era of the Munster hurling final, you can even go up to the Limerick-Tipp games in 1996. But the Munster hurling final doesn’t really matter now because of the back door. Those kind of games will never come back. All the hype in the media about it is like the rubbish the BBC and Sky go on with about the FA Cup, it’s all bullshit.

Also Thurles is a shithole, well over rated venue, both in terms of atmosphere and the stadium. Haven’t been there since 2001 but the toilet facilities at the Killinan end had to be seen to be believed the last time I was there. The people who run the stadium seemingly were quite happy for people to have a shite down the back of the terrace. Made Slane look civilised.

[quote=“sid waddell”]Where are you getting that statistic from? Off the top of my head I can think of seven - 1960, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1991 replay, 2000 and 2006. There must have been plenty of Cork-Tipp finals in Thurles before that.

In fairness all the games between 1984 and 1991 were unbelievable. That was the golden era of the Munster hurling final, you can even go up to the Limerick-Tipp games in 1996. But the Munster hurling final doesn’t really matter now because of the back door. Those kind of games will never come back. All the hype in the media about it is like the rubbish the BBC and Sky go on with about the FA Cup, it’s all bullshit.

Also Thurles is a shithole, well over rated venue, both in terms of atmosphere and the stadium. Haven’t been there since 2001 but the toilet facilities at the Killinan end had to be seen to be believed the last time I was there. The people who run the stadium seemingly were quite happy for people to have a shite down the back of the terrace. Made Slane look civilised.[/QUOTE]

to be fair sid, thurles now is almost unrecognisable from those halcyon days.
facilities are probably only 2nd to croke park.

[quote=“The Puke”]Carey was a clas act but wasn’t anywhere near the best hurler in munster over the last 25 years…His point v clare in 1996 aside (he was average enough the same match) I bet you couldn’t pick out too many more outstanding performances from him off the top of your head…

Outside of clare:
Declan Ryan
Brian Corcoran
Ken McGrath
Donie Ryan[/QUOTE]

He was outstanding nearly everytime i saw him anyway, i can’t quite remember a bad match, but i’m sure there was one or two. And it was “favourite” player. Roy Keane and Paul McGrath are my favourite players for Ireland soccer ever, doesn’t mean they were the most talented.

I had great time for Declan Ryan till he got old and became a thug.

Don’t let the fact you were aged between 10-12 when Carey was in his prime to get in the way either.

Carey was in his prime when he was destroyed by PJ O’Connell in the '95 munster final. I’d say he was one of the greats on that Limerick team unquestionably, but at the same time not on the same level as Seanie McMahon and Brian Corcoran in the same position. If they had won the 94 All-Ireland you wouldn’t know what they might have gone on and done, but they didn’t. That’s the way it goes.

I was 18-19???

Not you Kev, you were championing his cause. I’m referring to Pukepeida.

:smiley:

Oh right, i wouldn’t really take any notice of what the Clare fellas think of hurling outside of the glory years, 95-98.:smiley:

:smiley:

or the galway lads, 87-88

[quote=“caoimhaoin”]
I had great time for Declan Ryan till he got old and became a thug.[/QUOTE]
:eek:

He was a nasty piece of work near the end Mullach, only a blind man would deny it.

I’m not blind, and I’m denying it.
In fact I’d say the dirtiest stroke I saw him pull in a Tipp jersey was 10 years before he retired from Inter-County.
Nasty piece of work me bollix.