All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final: Tipperary 3-27 Cork 1-18 (report)
“There had been much emphasis on how much Cork would benefit from hard-earned lessons in previous All-Ireland finals and by half-time, all that adversity looked like it had been well invested. A Shane Barrett goal in injury-time put them six points ahead going in for the break,” Seán Moran writes from Croke Park.
“To most present, that was enough to suggest that the match, if not over, was on a course that would be hard to alter.
“Beware easy consensus. Former Tipperary player John O’Dwyer was doing a spot of punditry at half-time and breezily asserted that he could see his county getting a couple of goals and winning. Bravado, surely?
“In a tumultuous second half, Bubbles was proved a prophet and Cork’s fervent hopes of ending 20 years of drawing blanks and taking Liam MacCarthy home to Leeside.”
Read Seán’s match report in full below:
Full-time stats from today’s final.
A hugely disappointed Pat Ryan gives Tipperary all the credit after Cork’s All-Ireland final loss.
Some quote from an overjoyed Liam Cahill in his post-match interview!
Here are the highlights of today’s All-Ireland hurling final.
The score in that second half was Cork 0-2 Tipperary 3-14!
Ronan Maher has finished up his speech, where he honoured Dillon Quirke, and the Tipp hurlers are up lifting the cup. What a game by the captain today!
It’s going to be such a hard defeat to stomach for Cork, blown away by Tipperary’s second half storm. They eased past Tipp in earlier fixtures this year, but are now watching Ronan Maher lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup. A third final loss for the Rebels in five years, and still no All-Ireland since 2005 for the hurlers.
Here’s John McGrath’s superb second goal that took it out of Cork’s reach today.
An unbelievable day in Croke Park, Tipperary will lift Liam MacCarthy for the first time since 2019. They were huge underdogs, but Cork took a hammering in the second half.
Full-time: Cork 1-18 Tipperary 3-27
Noel McGrath with the final score, so fitting, and Tipperary are All-Ireland champions!
74 Mins: Liam Cahill is continuing to amp up the Premier County. McCarthy strolls out to take a free from out on the Hogan side, cracking it over brilliantly. What a game for him. Cork 1-18 Tipperary 3-26
72 Mins: Penalty for Cork. Brian Hayes wins a great high ball, turns for goal and is dragged down. It must be the meekest reception to an All-Ireland final in history.
Save by Shelly! Lehane is denied, no let up at all. Cork 1-18 Tipperary 3-25
70 Mins: Tipperary aren’t letting up defensively, two defenders blocking Kingston as he goes for goal. He goes again, and Tipp defenders block, swarm and win the ball. Cork 1-18 Tipperary 3-25
69 Mins: Cork are chasing goals now, as they have to really. But the Tipp backs are so on top, the Cork forwards are not at it at all. They win a free, which is played along the ground back to Shelly, and the ‘keeper gets his first ever score in the championship. Cork 1-18 Tipperary 3-25
67 Mins: Oisin O’Donoghue, who scored the goal to get Tipp to the final is in, as well as Alan Tynan. Pat Ryan looks like the life has drained out of him. Darragh McCarthy pops another free over. Cork 1-18 Tipperary 3- 24
65 Mins: Cork hit the upright again, another point attempt. That’s 1-3 off the woodwork for them now. Great score from Harnedy off the wing, 11 in it.
Cork 1-18 Tipperary 3-23
63 Mins: Cork hit the crossbar! Harnedy desperately unlucky, he hit it too well! Then Connolly drives through, but tries to hand it off to Hayes when he should have shot, and it’s a wasted chance.
Cork 1-17 Tipperary 3-23
62 Mins: Fitzgibbon gets just the second Cork point of the second half. But Hawk-Eye is getting involved, and it’s ruled a wide. Cork 1-17 Tipperary 3-23
60 Mins: GOAL for Tipperary! John McGrath! A beautiful flick on as he beats Collins to the ball, unbelievable piece of skill! Then another score from Forde.
Cork 1-17 Tipperary 3-23
58 Mins: Alan Connolly goes away up the pitch to get on the ball, and fires it well wide. Damien Calahane barges out through McCarthy and gives away a needless free because of it. His victim there pops the resulting free over.
Pat Horgan is off for Conor Lehane. Can Cork pull it back to get him a medal finally? Cork 1-17 Tipperary 2-22
56 Mins: What a score by McCarthy again. Tipperary have been scorching Cork all over the field, unreal. Still just the one point from Cork in the second half. Cork 1-17 Tipperary 2-21
54 Mins: GOAL for Tipperary! Darragh McCarthy! Amazing peno into the top corner beyond Collins! Cork 1-17 Tipperary 2-20
53 Mins: Darragh McCarthy converts after Breen won an inspiring free.
Penalty for Tipperary. McGrath gathers a long ball in superbly, and Downey pulls him down. Downey is sent off! Second yellow card. Cork 1-17 Tipperary 1-20
50 Mins: Great ball to Hayes by Fitzgibbon. Hayes uncharacteristically bobbles the ball out, then regathers it and sends it wide. Bryan O’Mara is off for Tipp.
Cork 1-17 Tipperary 1-19
49 Mins: Robert Doyle tries for another point but ignores Ormond in loads of space just to hit it wide. Harnedy is rusty off the bench, missing an easy point chance. McGrath pops a lovely score over after a savage turnover by Willie Connors. Cork 1-17 Tipperary 1-19
47 Mins: Tipp were being written off at half-time, now they lead. Alan Connolly and Robert Doyle each get a yellow, Willie Connors picked up one earlier too. Cork 1-17 Tipperary 1-18
46 Mins: GOAL! John McGrath! Collins taps down a point attempt, but trades one point for three for Tipp, as McGrath capitalises on the rebound coolly. Barrett finally gets Cork’s first second half score. Cork 1-17 Tipperary 1-18
44 Mins: Séamus Harnedy comes in for Declan Dalton. Five points to no score in this half for Tipp. Morris switches it to McCarthy, he’s blocked at first and then sends another shot just wide. Cork 1-16 Tipperary 0-18
42 Mins: What did Liam Cahill say to these fellas at half-time? They’re winning every ball now. A poor wide from miles out, but the puckout from Collins goes straight to Jake Morris. Rob Downey grabs a hold of him, conceding a free and getting a yellow card. McCarthy pops it over. Cork 1-16 Tipperary 0-18
41 Mins: Mad stuff! Shane Barrett hits a shot, Shelly sees it wide, but it hits the post and comes down almost on the goal line, where Tipp manage to clean it up. Great scrap up the other end, and there’s half a goal chance, but Darragh McCarthy gets a point. Cork 1-16 Tipperary 0-17
40 Mins: Patrick Collins gets a touch of the hurl from McGrath, winning a free. Tipp win the break, but spill the pass. Healy’s attempt at a point goes wide and O’Frarrll drives through the centre, handing off for another Ormond score. Cork 1-16 Tipperary 0-16
38 Mins: Superb score by Andrew Ormond, lovely point off the wing. Tipp do well to clean up a spilled ball in their backline, O’Mara gets a knock in the process. Cork 1-16 Tipperary 0-15
36 Mins: Back on in Croker, and Pat Horgan misses a pretty simple free to start off the half. Tipp’s Stakelum gets the first score of the half. Cork 1-16 Tipperary 0-14
Stats for the first half:
Gordon Manning’s thoughts at half-time are with us now:
Cork, having not had a sight at a goal chance for nearly all of the first half, lead at the break 1-16 to 0-13 after Shane Barrett smacked the ball beyond Rhys Kelly deep in injury-time.
Barret has been excellent in the first half and has scored 1-3 so far. Indeed, all six of Cork’s forwards have scored while only four of Tipp’s top six got on the scoreboard in the first half.
Cork did have the wind in the first half but that goal gives the Rebels a real edge ahead of the second half. Tipp are very much still in the contest but they may yet rue their nine first-half wides.
Half-time: Cork 1-16 Tipperary 0-13
Ugly scenes after the goal between Horgan and Shelly. There’s a small bit of rucking in the tunnel, nothing serious.
37 Mins: Breen beats Horgan to the ball in, and feeds McCarthy who drives it over to put a goal in it. Tim O’Mahony puts his subsequent effort well wide.
GOAL for Cork! Shane Barrett! Right into the bottom corner, what a time to score, what a finish!
Cork 1-16 Tipperary 0-13
35 Mins: Great Tipp defending on Hayes and Dalton to force a wide. Two minutes added. It’s like basketball now. Connolly is tripped, but the ref doesn’t buy it somehow, crazy call. He’s penalised for a throw then. Jake Morris puts a shot wide. Cork 0-16 Tipperary 0-12
33 Mins: Goal for Tipperary! NO Disallowed! Great lift by Craig Morgan, and he’s fouled then. Eoghan Connolly takes the free inside his 45 and Forde touches it in, but he was marginally inside the square it seems. Cork 0-16 Tipperary 0-12
31 Mins: Great skill by Barrett, hopping it off the turf to avoid overcarrying and he cracks it over. Forde is hooked brilliantly but Tipp win it back. McGrath again is fouled by Eoin Downey, and this time it’ll be a yellow for the Cork full back, who keeps pulling his man down. McCarthy gets it over. Cork 0-16 Tipperary 0-12
29 Mins: First score for Alan Connolly, over his shoulder. Tipp corner back Robert Doyle comes up in loads of space and pops that over too. They’re doing better on Cork’s puckouts than their own. But Brian Hayes gets the next score, a beauty.
Cork 0-15 Tipperary 0-11
28 Mins: A free for Darragh McCarthy, which he converts to stop the momentum. The massive Cork crowd don’t like his free kick routine, but the boos don’t affect him. Beautiful playwith O’Farrell driving through the centre and Morris throwing it over off the stick. Cork 0-13 Tipperary 0-10
25 Mins: Tipp concede a handy free for Horgan to tap over again. Great bit of scrapping between the sides in the middle of the field, but it’s Tipp who go overboard and Stakelum concedes a free. Dalton comes out for it and drives it over. Cork 0-13 Tipperary 0-8
23 Mins: Great start by Healy, a third point. The gap is out to four now; Cork’s first big move. They’re dominating Shelly’s puckouts right now. Jason Forde gets a monster of a score from centrefield though. Cork 0-11 Tipperary 0-8
21 Mins: Outrageous from Horgan, a lovely strike over the bar, moving backwards after saving Barrett from huge pressure. Willie Connors scores a lovely point at the other end then. Then a point for Fitzgibbon. Cork 0-10 Tipperary 0-7
20 Mins: Big miss by Eoghan Connolly! He goes for a goal, the first big chance of the game, but drives it low and wide. Cork 0-8 Tipperary 0-6
19 Mins: Maverick piece of skill from Jason Forde! He’s on the ground, lifts it, and hand passes it over his shoulder into McGrath who drives that ball over the bar. Connolly rips the hurl out of Healy’s hands, so it’s another Cork free for Horgan to pop over easily. Cork 0-8 Tipperary 0-6
17 Mins: Poor turnover, as Fitzgibbon cuts out a pass, drives through the defence and strikes it over. Cork 0-7 Tipperary 0-5
15 Mins: Great pass from O’Mahony into Horgan. He links up with Healy, who pops over his second of the day. John McGrath gets out ahead of Eoin Downey and wins his free in front of the posts, which is put over. Cork 0-6 Tipperary 0-5
14 Mins: Seán O’Donoghue’s hurl is the first casualty of this All-Ireland final, with John McGrath putting paid to it with a block. The other corner back, Niall O’Leary, puts Cork back in front. Cork 0-5 Tipperary 0-4
11 Mins: Terrible effort from Bryan O’Mara. Dalton fires wide at the other end, that’s the third ball to go wide in that exact spot, so they may blame the wind. McCarthy gets a Tá from Hawk-Eye and it’s level. Cork 0-4 Tipperary 0-4
10 Mins: Cork are winning all the balls into the Tipp forward line. Shane Barrett wins a ball out in front for Cork, and sends a low effort over the bar from a really tight angle. Jason Forde is held and hauled down for a simple free, which Darragh McCarthy points. Cork 0-4 Tipperary 0-3
8 Mins: Now Pat Horgan misses a simple shot, at least by his standards. There’s an odd wind out there. Shane Barrett gets his first score of the day, Tipp aren’t happy with Dalton’s shoulder on Connors in the build up though. John McGrath fires wide then. Cork 0-3 Tipperary 0-2
6 Mins: Another bad miss for Tipp, this one from Andrew Ormond. It’s scrappy so far, but so exciting. Then Eoghan Connolly raises the skill level with a bomb from halfway. Cork 0-2 Tipperary 0-2
4 Mins: Cork get great pressure on the Tipperary half-backs, but Sam O’Farrell finds space for a shot. He puts it wide, a poor miss really. A great bit of skill each from Rob Downey and Darragh Fitzgibbon to get another Cork shot off, but that’s wide too. Cork 0-2 Tipperary 0-1
3 Mins: Some players showing nerves. First Eoin Downey can’t pick the sliotar up on his first or second attempt, then Darragh Fitzgibbon is hooked and lets Jake Morris in for Tipp’s first score. Patrick Horgan gets a handy free up the other end to keep Cork’s noses in front. Cork 0-2 Tipperary 0-1
1 Min: Cork are actually playing into the Canal End and Diarmuid Healy gets the first score of the day into that goal. Cork 0-1 Tipperary 0-0
The national anthem is now being sung, so the game will be on now in a minute.
The throw-in will be a tiny bit delayed now as they’re only parading now, looks like a slightly shortened lap from the band!
President Michael D. Higgins has just finished up meeting the players, so just the parade and the anthem to go now!
And Malachy Clerkin is also out in HQ for the big game, and his prematch view is with us now:
The wind is blowing down from Hill 16 and going by the flags it seems to be going diagonally into the corner where the Canal End meets the Hogan Stand. It’s not a gale by any means by it’s definitely going to make shooting into the Hill a touch more difficult than into the Canal. Tipperary will play with it in the first half.
Seán Moran is in Croke Park for the final, and here’s his thoughts before throw-in:
Excitement building here before the first ever Cork-Tipperary All-Ireland hurling final, as a capacity crowd settle into improved weather conditions. Rain has stopped for the moment and the sun is beginning to makes it presence felt. No changes to either side, as stadium announcer Jerry Grogan calls out the teams. A particularly big cheer from the Cork supporters for Patrick Horgan’s name – the 37-year-old Glen Rovers player hoping to win a career first All-Ireland medal this afternoon.
That means that Seamus Harnedy will be coming off the bench if he is to play in this All-Ireland final.
No changes to either side for today’s game, on the starting team or on the bench.
Cork are out for their warm-up now, with just a half-hour to go ‘til throw-in. It’s hard not to feel so excited at this stage. Looks like a sea of red today in Croker again, especially up in the Hill.
Cork have two big wins over Tipperary so far this year. In the league final, the Rebels won by 10 points, and just a few weeks later there was a 15 point difference between the sides in the Munster championship.
Tipperary will feel that the Munster game was swayed by a red card to 19 year old Darragh McCarthy before the ball had been thrown in. They also beat Cork way back in February during the league, and have upset the odds to get to the final.
Tipperary legend Nicky English is well placed to give us a view of the rivalry between the Premier County and the Rebels. This will be the first All-Ireland final between the two sides, so the bragging rights on offer today will be even greater than usual.
[Long-awaited Cork-Tipperary final stirs old memories – and offers underdogs a chance]
Just an hour to go now until Cork and Tipperary do battle in Croke Park!
Yesterday, Denis Walsh documented the careers of some of Cork’s greatest – icons of the Cork-Tipp rivalry.
Only one club side has more than one player in the Cork side named to start. Eoin and Rob Downey start alongside Cork legend Pat Horgan, representing Glen Rovers. Rob Downey spoke to Stephen Barry earlier this week about growing up idolising the Rebel great who only lived around the corner.
[Why Robert Downey still draws inspiration from Patrick Horgan]
Cork are in the building now, a little over an hour to go!
It’s been a big turnaround in the last 12 months for Tipperary, led by Ronan Maher. Earlier this week, the Tipp captain spoke to Gordon Manning.
[‘There were lots of sleepless nights’: Tipperary captain Ronan Maher on team’s year of redemption]
An expert guide to all the players in today’s All-Ireland final. First up, Joe Canning takes us through the Cork team, including the legendary Pat Horgan, who Canning says “deserves to win an All-Ireland”.
[All-Ireland hurling final: Joe Canning’s Cork player profiles]
Then, Nicky English introduces the player’s from his native Tipperary. He claims that if Tipp win today, then wing forward Jake Morris is also likely to scoop Player of the Year.
[All-Ireland hurling final: Nicky English’s Tipperary player profiles]
The perfect context for this All-Ireland final; Malachy Clerkin provides the key figures for Cork vs Tipperary today.
[All-Ireland hurling final: Cork v Tipperary by the numbers]
Seán Moran’s preview of today’s final is a must-read before throw-in today.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final. The day has finally arrived, with Cork facing Tipperary in the showpiece at Croke Park (3.30pm).
Cork are attempting to win their first All-Ireland since 2005, having lost out in two of the last four finals. Meanwhile, Tipperary haven’t been in the final since their victory in 2019 over Kilkenny, with only eight players from that team still in the squad.
Join us for updates throughout the day and blow-by-blow coverage of the match. For now, here’s the two teams named to start the final.
Cork: P Collins; N O’Leary, E Downey, S O’Donoghue; C Joyce, R Downey (capt), M Coleman; T O’Mahony, D Fitzgibbon; D Healy, S Barrett, D Dalton; P Horgan, A Connolly, B Hayes.
Subs: B Saunderson, D Cahalane, G Millerick, C O’Brien, T O’Connell, L Meade, B Roche, S Harney, R O’Flynn, C Lehane, S Kingston.
Tipperary: R Shelley; R Doyle, E Connolly, M Breen; C Morgan, R Maher (capt), B O’Mara; W Connors, C Stakelum; J Morris, A Ormond, S O’Farrell; D McCarthy, J McGrath, J Forde.
Subs: B Hogan, J Caesar, S Kennedy, P McCormack, B McGrath, N McGrath, P McGarry, O O’Donoghue, J Ryan, D Stakelum, A Tynan.
