The 1954 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final was the 67th All-Ireland Final and the culmination of the 1954 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, an inter-county hurling tournament for the top teams in Ireland. The match was held at Croke Park, Dublin, on 5 September 1954, between Cork and Wexford. The Leinster champions lost to their Munster opponents on a score line of 1-9 to 1-6.
The game is notable for a number of reasons. The gates were closed 35 minutes before the start of the senior game due to the size of the crowd. A record 84,856 people were in attendance to see Christy Ring of Cork capture a record-breaking eighth All-Ireland winners' medal.
All-Ireland final
Overview
Sunday 5 September was the date of the 1954 All-Ireland senior hurling final between Cork and Wexford. Cork were appearing in their third consecutive championship decider, having beaten Dublin and Galway to take the previous two titles. Wexford last appeared in the championship decider in 1951 when they lost out to Tipperary who captured their own three-in-a-row. They last won the All-Ireland title in 1910 when they defeated Limerick to take their first championship. Cork and Wexford last met each other in the championship more than half a century earlier in the All-Ireland final of 1901 with victory going to Cork. An interesting statistic at the time was that Wexford had never beaten Cork in the championship.
A record 84,856 spectators turned out in Croke Park to see one of the most anticipated All-Ireland hurling finals ever played. The charismatic Wexford men, one of the most talked about teams of the decade, had reached their second All-Ireland final in three years and looked well capable of winning this one. Cork, on the other hand, looked forward to creating their own piece of history. A win would give them a third All-Ireland title in-a-row while on a personal level a win would give captain Christy Ring a record-breaking eighth All-Ireland medal. The record crowd of spectators also looked forward to a scoring shoot-out between Christy Ring and Wexford's Nicky Rackard.
Match report
At 3:15pm the sliothar was thrown-in and the game began in earnest. Cork got off to the better start when Éamonn Goulding, a future Cork dual player, latched onto the sliothar and deftly sent it over the bar for the opening score of the day. Shortly afterwards one of the biggest cheers of the day went up Christy Ring captured his first score of the day when he converted a 40-yard free. Wexford were visibly unnerved by the big occasion and the even bigger attendance and found it difficult to settle. Their first score of the day came from the stick of Nicky Rackard who later scored the equalizer after 20 minutes of play. Less than a minute later Ring was back in the thick of the action. He caught the sliothar, sidestepped three Wexford defenders and sent the sliothar sweetly over the crossbar to restore Cork's lead. He quickly increased his own personal tally by converting a free before passing the sliothar to Willie John Daly who captured Cork's final point of the opening 30 minutes. Wexford were equally accurate with their constant attacks on the Cork goal. A pointed free by Nicky Rackard was followed by the first goal of the day. Paddy Kehoe sent in the sliothar from a sideline cut before Tom Ryan tapped it into the net for the first goal of the game. At half-time the Wexford men had the narrowest of leads by 1-3 to 0-5.
Immediately after the restart Wexford got off to the better start courtesy of a Tim Flood point after a jinking solo run. With six minutes gone in the second half the Cork players found their rhythm again. A long clearance by Gerard Murphy fell to Christy Ring who weaved his way through the Wexford defenders. He was 30 yards out from the goal when he sent off a powerful shot that looked like a certain goal. The players and spectators were convinced that Ring had put Cork back in the lead, however, the umpire had his finger raised for a 70-yard free. There was no goal as the sliothar struck Wexford full-back Nick O'Donnell and went out over the end line. Such was the force of Ring's shot that the impact of the sliothar broke O’Donnell's collarbone and he had to retire from the game. Bobby Rackard was switched to the full-back position; however, it turned out to be a tactical error as his clearances failed to go as far as O’Donnell's. Ring sent over his fourth point of the game in the 40-second minute before Vincy Twomey moved outfield with the sliothar and sent another sweet shot between the posts. In spite of the onslaught Wexford clung on to their two-point lead, however, the turning point of the match was just around the corner. With four minutes left in the game 19-year-old Johnny Clifford became the hero of the day for Cork. Wexford goalkeeper Art Foley was caught out of position and off his goal line leaving Clifford with an easy shot into an almost empty net. Cork had regained the lead but only by the smallest of margins. It had given them some breathing space; however, Wexford launched one final attack. This failed and when Josie Hartnett sent over another point the title looked to be Cork's. Fittingly, the final score of the game came from the man who was about to make history. Christy Ring pointed to give Cork a 1-9 to 1-6 win and a third All-Ireland title in-a-row. Furthermore, the victory gave Ring a record-breaking eighth All-Ireland winners’ medal.
Nicholas Christopher Michael Ring was an Irish hurler whose league and championship career at senior level with the Cork county team spanned twenty-four years from 1939 to 1963. He established many championship records, including career appearances (65), scoring tally (33-208) and number of All-Ireland medals won (8); however, these records were subsequently bested by a number of players. Ring is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the history of the game, with many former players, commentators and fans rating him as the number one player of all time.
Nicholas Rackard was an Irish hurler whose league and championship career with the Wexford senior team spanned seventeen years from 1940 to 1957. He established many championship scoring records, including being the top championship goal-scorer of all time with 59 goals. Rackard is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the history of the game.
Robert "Bobby" Rackard was an Irish hurler who played as a right corner-back for the Wexford senior team.
Billy Rackard was an Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer who played as a centre-back for the Wexford senior teams.
Nicholas "Skinny" O'Donnell was an Irish hurler who played as a full-back for the Kilkenny and Wexford senior teams.
Michael Arthur Foley was an Irish hurler who played as a goalkeeper for the Wexford senior team.
Patrick "Paddy" Barry was an Irish hurler who played as a left corner-forward for the Cork senior team.
Jim English was an Irish hurler who played as a right wing-back for the Wexford senior team.
William John Daly was an Irish hurler and coach who played as a centre-forward for the Cork senior team.
Anthony "Tony" O'Shaughnessy was an Irish hurler who played as a left corner-back at senior level for the Cork county team.
John Lyons was an Irish hurler whose league and championship career with the Cork senior team spanned fourteen years from 1946 to 1960.
Gerald Murphy was an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder for the Cork senior team.
Pádraig "Padge" Kehoe is a former Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club St Aidan's and with the Wexford senior inter-county team in the 1950s and 1960s.
The 1954 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 68th staging of the All-Ireland hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The championship began on 11 April 1954 and ended on 5 September 1954.
Matthew "Matty" Fouhy was an Irish hurler who played as a right wing-back for the Cork senior team.
The 1966 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final was the 79th All-Ireland Final and the culmination of the 1966 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, an inter-county hurling tournament for the top teams in Ireland. The match was held at Croke Park, Dublin, on 4 September 1966, between Cork and Kilkenny. The Leinster champions lost to their Munster opponents on a score line of 3–9 to 1-10.
The 1956 Final was the 69th final of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and the culmination of the 1956 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, an inter-county hurling tournament for the top teams in Ireland. The match was held at Croke Park, Dublin, on 23 September 1956, between Cork and Wexford. The Munster champions lost to their Leinster opponents on a score line of 2-14 to 2-8.
The Cork county hurling team represents Cork in hurling and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the Munster Senior Hurling Championship and the National Hurling League.
The Cork County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) or Cork GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Cork and the Cork county teams. It is one of the constituent counties of Munster GAA.
The Cork-Wexford rivalry is a hurling rivalry between Irish county teams Cork and Wexford, who first played each other in 1890. The fixture has been an irregular one due to both teams playing in separate provinces. Cork's home ground is Páirc Uí Chaoimh and Wexford's home ground is Innovate Wexford Park, however, most of their championship meetings have been held at neutral venues, usually Croke Park.
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