Justin McCarthy (hurler)
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Date of Birth | 1945 | ||
| Place of birth | Passage, County Cork, | ||
| Club information | |||
| Club | Passage | ||
| Position | Midfield | ||
| Club(s)* | |||
| Club | Years | Apps (scores) | |
| Passage | 1960s-1970s | ||
| Inter County | |||
| County | Cork | ||
| Position | Midfield | ||
| Inter County(ies)** | |||
| County | Years | Apps (scores) | |
| Cork | 1964-1974 | 28 | |
| Inter County Titles | |||
| Munster Titles | 3 | ||
| All-Ireland | 1 | ||
|
* club appearances and scores |
|||
Justin McCarthy (born 1945) is a former Irish sportsperson who played hurling with Passage and Cork in the 1960s and 1970s. He is currently the manager of the Waterford senior hurling team.
[edit] Early life
Justin McCarthy was born in Passage, County Cork in 1946. From an early age he showed a huge interest in hurling. McCarthy’s hurling genes came from his mother’s side of the family. Her brothers had played with Yong Ireland’s in Boston and won the American championship in 1934. When Bord na nÓg was formed in Cork in the 1950s McCarthy took part in the under-14, under-15 and under-16 competitions. He first wore the red jersey of Cork in 1955 when a game was organised against a group of young Kilkenny boys. In 1963 McCarthy made the big break onto the Cork minor hurling team. The following year he played under-21, intermediate and senior hurling for Cork, however, he would have to wait another few years before success came his way.
[edit] Hurling career
The big breakthrough for Cork and McCarthy came in 1966. The senior side defeated Limerick in the Munster Final to claim their first provincial title since 1956. It was McCarthy’s first senior medal with Cork and paved the way for an All-Ireland final meeting with Kilkenny who were the red-hot favourites. Cork, however, scored a hat-trick of goals and McCarthy won his first and only senior All-Ireland medal. He added to his collection of medals a few weeks later when he won an All-Ireland medal with the under-21 hurlers. McCarthy’s performance at midfield in the 1966 championship set him apart, and he was honoured with the "Hurler of the Year" award. At 21 he was the youngest person ever to receive the award, a record which stood until 1992 when 19 year old Brian Corcoran became the youngest recipient ever.
Three years later in 1969 McCarthy began the year with a National Hurling League victory over Wexford. This was quickly followed by a second Munster Championship title, setting up an All-Ireland final meeting with Kilkenny. On the week of the All-Ireland final McCarthy was involved in a horrific motorbike accident and he broke his leg in three places. In the short-term this meant that he had to watch the entire All-Ireland final from a wheelchair on the sideline. In the long-term it meant that McCarthy also missed out on Munster and All-Ireland honours in 1970. During his recuperation he turned to coaching and steered Antrim to their first-ever All-Ireland title, an intermediate one, in 1970. McCarthy also missed the 1971 championship, however, he returned in 1972 and won a second National League title. He captured his third Munster medal later that same year, however, Cork were once again defeated by Kilkenny in a thrilling All-Ireland final. McCarthy’s last game for Cork was against Waterford in the 1974 Munster Championship.
[edit] Managerial career
In retirement from playing McCarthy became involved in the management side of hurling. In 1975 he trained Cork for the first time, guiding them to a Munster title. Following their defeat to Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final McCarthy fell from favour and left. In late 1976 he became the new manager of the Clare senior hurlers. He brought them back-to-back National League title in 1977 and 1978 with victories over Kilkenny on both occasions. McCarthy almost orchestrated the side’s breakthrough in Munster and into the All-Ireland series, however, Clare were defeated by Cork in back-to-back Munster Finals. He remained with the Clare hurlers until June of 1980. Four years later in 1984 McCarthy was back as joint-coach with Fr. Michael O’Brien and the Cork senior hurling team. Together they guided Cork to Munster and All-Ireland honours in the centenary year of the Gaelic Athletic Association.
Another challenge beckoned in 1990 when McCarthy took on the challenge of coaching the Tipperary side Cashel King Cormacs. It had been fifty years since the side had reached the final of the Tipperary County Championship, however, in his first year in charge McCarthy steered them towards the final which they eventually lost by one point. The following year they won the County Championship before claiming the Munster Club Hurling Championship title before the end of the year. McCarthy’s side almost reached the All-Ireland club final, however, they were beaten by eventual winners Kiltormer of Galway at the semi-final stage. McCarthy remained with Cashel until 1995. He remained out of the limelight for several years before succeeding his former team-mate Gerald McCarthy as manager of the Waterford senior hurlers in late 2001.
Gerald McCarthy had come very close to making Munster and All-Ireland breakthroughs with Waterford, however, it was Justin McCarthy who steered them to a Munster Championship title in 2002, defeating reigning All-Ireland champions Tipperary in the process. It was their first provincial title since 1963. Since then McCarthy’s Waterford team have come to be regarded as one of the top hurling teams in the country. In 2004 Waterford defeated Cork and captured another Munster title. The game itself has been described as one of the greatest Munster Finals of all-time. In spite of provincial success Waterford have yet to make the breakthrough at All-Ireland level. In the 2006 All-Ireland semi-final they lost by just one point to Cork. Following this loss McCarthy was criticised for some decisions, however, he was reappointed manager for the 2007 championship.
| Preceded by Jimmy Doyle (Tipperary) |
Texaco Hurler of the Year 1966 |
Succeeded by Ollie Walsh (Kilkenny) |
| Preceded by ' |
Clare Senior Hurling Manager 1977-1980 |
Succeeded by ' |
| Preceded by Gerald McCarthy |
Waterford Senior Hurling Manager 2002 – present |
Incumbent |
| Cork - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1966 (20th title) | ||
|---|---|---|
|
1 P. Barry | 2 P. Doolan | 3 T. O'Donoghue | 4 D. Murphy | 5 T. Connolly | 6 J. O'Sullivan | 7 P. Fitzgerald | 8 J. McCarthy | 9 M. Waters | 10 S. Barry | 11 J. O'Halloran | 12 G. McCarthy (Capt.) | 13 C. McCarthy | 14 C. Sheehan | 15 J. Bennett | |
||
| Cork - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1984 (25th title) | ||
|---|---|---|
|
1 G. Cunningham | 2 D. Mulcahy | 3 D. O'Grady | 4 J. Hodgins | 5 T. Cashman | 6 J. Crowley | 7 D. McCurtain | 8 J. Fenton (Capt.) | 9 P. Hartnett | 10 K. Hennessy | 11 T. Crowley | 12 T. O'Sullivan | 13 T. Mulcahy | 14 J. Barry-Murphy | 15 S. O'Leary | Managers: J. McCarthy | M. O'Brien |
||
| Waterford Senior Hurling Team 2006 | ||
|---|---|---|
|
1 C. Hennessy | 2 S. Prendergast | 3 T. Feeney | 4 E. Murphy | 5 T. Browne | 6 K. McGrath | 7 J. Murray | 8 E. Kelly | 9 B. Phelan | 10 D. Shanahan | 11 S. Prendergast | 12 J. Kennedy | 13 J. Mullane | 14 M. Walsh | 15 E. McGrath | 16 P. Haran | 17 S. O'Sullivan | 18 P. Flynn | 19 D. Coffey | 20 D. Bennett | 21 K. Moran | 22 A. Kearney | 23 G. O'Connor | 24 P. O'Brien | 25 C. Carey | 26 J. Hartley | 27 N. Jacob | 28 L. Lawlor | 29 S. Molumphy | 30 R. Foley | Manager: J. McCarthy |
||
