Martin O'Doherty

Martin O'Doherty (born 1952 in Galway, Ireland) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Glen Rovers and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1971 until 1982. O'Doherty captained Cork to the All-Ireland title in 1977.

Playing career

Club

O’Doherty played his club hurling with the famous Glen Rovers club on the north side of Cork city and enjoyed much success. After little success in the minor of under-21 grades, O'Doherty joined the club's senior side in the early 1970s. In 1972 he captured a senior county championship winners' medal as 'the Glen' defeated Youghal in the county decider. Glen Rovers later represented Cork in the provincial club championship and even reached the final. A 2-9 to 1-10 defeat of Roscrea gave O'Doherty a coveted Munster club winners' medal.^[1] Glen Rovers later qualified for the All-Ireland final with St. Rynagh's of Offaly providing the opposition. Tom Buckley and Red Crowley inspired 'the Glen' to a 2-18 to 2-8 victory, giving O'Doherty a coveted All-Ireland club winners' medal.^[2]

After defeats in the county finals of 1973 and 1975, Glen Rovers bounced back in 1976 with a 2-7 to 0-10 defeat of Blackrock in the county championship decider. It was O'Doherty's second county title. Once again 'the Glen' reached the Munster club final. A 2-8 to 2-4 defeat of Limerick side South Liberties gave O'Doherty a second provincial winners' medal and the opportunity to reach another All-Ireland final.^[3] Camross of Laois were the opponents on this occasion, however, Glen Rovers had a relatively comfortable 2-12 to 0-8 win. It was O'Doherty's second All-Ireland club winners' medal.^[4]

Minor, Under-21 and Junior

O’Doherty first came to prominence in the late 1960s as a dual player with the various Cork underage hurling and football teams. In 1968 he won an All-Ireland medal at minor level with the footballers, before winning a Munster minor football medal in 1969. That year O’Doherty also won his first Munster title with the hurlers. This was later converted into an All-Ireland medal. In 1970 O’Doherty repeated this feat by winning a second set of both Munster and All-Ireland minor honours. He also claimed an All-Ireland under-21 football medal that same year. Doherty continued his great run of success in 1971 by winning both Munster and All-Ireland honours in hurling at under-21 level. He also claimed both Munster and All-Ireland honours with the footballers at under-21 level that same year. Two years later in 1973 Doherty added another All-Ireland under-21 hurling medal to his haul.

By 1971 O’Doherty had joined the Cork junior football team where he played along with such future stars as Dinny Allen and Brian Murphy. He won a Munster medal that year before collecting an All-Ireland junior medal in 1972.

Senior

In 1971 O'Doherty made his senior championship debut with Cork. It was a poor year for the senior inter-county team as they were defeated on their first outing. In spite of making his debut that year it took O'Doherty a number of years to establish himself on the team/

In 1974 the Cork hurling team bounced back somewhat with O'Doherty capturing a National Hurling League winners' medal after a defeat of Limerick.^[5] Cork's championship campaign came to an abrupt end at the first attempt.

1975 saw the Cork hurlers return to the big time with O'Doherty playing a key role as full-back. He captured his first Munster winners' medal that year following the provincial final trouncing of reigning champions Limerick.^[6] Cork, however, were defeated by surprise package Galway in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final.

1976 saw Cork retain their Munster title with another huge 4-14 to 3-5 win over neighbouring Limerick.^[7] It was O'Doherty's second Munster winner’s medal. This victory allowed Cork to advance directly to the All-Ireland final where Wexford provided the opposition. Both sides had high expectations. Cork got off to the worst possible start in an All-Ireland final and trailed by 2-2 after six minutes. Cork battled back, however, the game hung in the balance for much of the seventy. With ten minutes left Wexford were two points to the good, however, three points by Jimmy Barry-Murphy, two by Pat Moylan and a kicked effort from captain Ray Cummins gave Cork a 2-21 to 4-11 victory.^[8] It was O'Doherty's first All-Ireland winners' medal.

In 1977 O'Doherty was appointed capatin of the team and Cork reached their third consecutive Munster decider with Clare as the opposition. ‘The Rebels’ got off to a great start with a Tim Crowley penalty after just seventy-five seconds. Clare fought back, however, Cork still defeated fourteen-man Clare by 4-15 to 4-10.^[9] A subsequent defeat of Galway set up a second consecutive All-Ireland final showdown with Wexford. Like the previous year the game turned into a close, exciting affair. A Seánie O'Leary goal, together with some brilliant saves by goalkeeper Martin Coleman helped Cork to a 1-17 to 3-8 victory.^[10] The victory also resulted in a second All-Ireland winners’ medal for O'Doherty, while he also had the honour of lifting the Liam McCarthy Cup.

1978 saw Cork dominate the provincial championship once again. Clare provided the opposition in second consecutive Munster showdown between the two sides. The game was a close affair and one which Cork could have lost. At the full-time whistle Cork still had a narrow 0-13 to 0-11 win ^[11] to give O'Doherty a fourth Munster title. This victory paved the way for Cork to take on Kilkenny in the subsequent All-Ireland final. The stakes were high as Cork were attempting to capture a first three in-a-row since 1954. The game, however, was not the classic that many expected. Cork were never really troubled over the course of the seventy minutes and a Jimmy Barry-Murphy goal helped the team to a 1-15 to 2-8 victory over their age-old rivals.^[12] This victory gave Cork and O'Doherty a third All-Ireland title in succession.

In 1979 Cork were invincible in the provincial championship once again. A 2-15 to 0-9 trouncing of Limerick gave the county a record-equaling fifth consecutive Munster title.^[13] After this game it looked likely that Cork were set for a fourth consecutive appearance in the All-Ireland final and the chance to equal the seemingly unbeatable record of four championships in-a-row. The All-Ireland semi-final saw Galway catch Cork on the hop once again. A 2-14 to 1-13 defeat ended the dream of four in-a-row.

Cork captured back-to-back National league titles in 1980 and 1981, however, O'Doherty's move to Los Angeles resulted in him missing these campaigns. After a few years out of the championship limelight Cork returned in 1982 with O'Doherty winning his sixth Munster hurling winners' medal following a 5-31 to 3-6 trouncing of Waterford.^[14] At one stage of that Munster final game Cork were nearly thirty points ahead when Ray Cummins got through on goal. He could have sent the sliotar into the net for a goal, however, in a sporting gesture, he handpassed it over the bar.^[15] The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Cork take on Kilkenny. 'The Rebels' were the red-hot favourites, however, Kilkenny surprised. Christy Heffernan scored two goals in a forty-second spell just before the interval to take the wind out of Cork's sails. Ger Fennelly got a third goal within eight minutes of the restart, giving Kilkenny a 3-18 to 1-15 victory.^[16] It was to be O'Doherty's last outing for Cork as he later decided to retire from inter-county hurling.

References