Dermot Mac Curtain

Dermot Mac Curtain (born 1957) is an Irish former sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Blackrock and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1977 until 1987.

Playing career

Club

Mac Curatin was barely out of the minor ranks when he joined the Blackrock senior team in 1975. That year he lined out in his first county final as 'the Rockies' faced Glen Rovers. He collected a coveted county senior championship winners' medal on that occasion following a remarkable 4-11 to 0-10 victory.^[1] Blackrock later represented Cork in the Munster series of games and reached the final. Waterford's Mount Sion provided the opposition; however, Blackrock recorded a huge 8-12 to 3-8 win.^[2] It was Mac Curtain's first provincial club winners' medal. The subsequent All-Ireland final pitted Blackrock against James Stephens. Five points down at half-time, the Kilkenny club came storming back and defeated Mac Curatin's side by 2-10 to 2-4.

Even though Glen Rovers gained revenge in the county final of 1976, Blackrock bounced back in 1978. Once again it was 'the Glen' who stood in 'the Rockies' way; however, Mac Curtain added a second county championship medal to his collection following a huge 4-12 to 1-7 victory. Once again 'the Rockies' stormed through the provincial championship and defeated Newmarket-on-Fergus in the final by two goals, giving Mac Curtain a second Munster club medal. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Cork take on Kilkenny again. This time it was Blackrock versus Ballyhale Shamrocks. Ray Cummins scored two goals in rapid succession in the opening thirty minutes to put his club in the driving seat. At the full-time whistle Blackrock were the winners by 5-7 to 5-5. It was Mac Curtain's first All-Ireland club winners' medal.

In 1979 Blackrock made it two county titles in-a-row after an eight-point defeat of St. Finbarr's. In a similar sequence of events to previous years the club later defeated Dunhill of Waterford to take the Munster club title. It was Mac Curtain's third provincial club medal. Blackrock's All-Ireland trail came to an end at the semi-final stage.

The next few seasons saw Blackrock go into decline. The club lost the 1982 county final to St. Finbarr's, however, three years later in 1985 Mac Curtain's side triumphed once again. A 1-14 to 1-8 victory gave him a fourth and final county title.

Inter-county

By 1974 Mac Curtain was a key member of the Cork minor hurling team. That year he won a Munster medal at that level before winning a second in succession in 1975. That same year he won an All-Ireland medal at minor level. In 1976 Mac Curtain had graduated onto the Cork under-21 team. That year he captured a Munster title at that level, before adding an All-Ireland medal to his collection. He won a second Munster under-21 title in 1977.

In 1977 Mac Curtain made his debut with the Cork senior hurling team. That year he came on as a substitute to win his first senior Munster title. This was later converted into his first senior All-Ireland medal following a win over Wexford in the final. In 1978 Mac Curtain repeated these victories with Cork by capturing his second Munster and All-Ireland titles. 1979 saw Mac Curtain win a third Munster medal, however, Cork were defeated by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. In 1980 and 1981 Cork relinquished their Munster titles, however, Mac Curtain won back-to-back National Hurling League medals with his native-county. In 1982 Cork were back and Mac Curtain won his fourth provincial medal. Unfortunately, his side were later defeated by Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final. 1983 saw Mac Curtain win a fifth Munster medal, however, Kilkenny defeated Cork again in the All-Ireland final.

In 1984, the centenary year of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Mac Curtain won a sixth Munster Championship medal following a thrilling game against Tipperary. He later added a third All-Ireland medal to his collection following a defeat of Offaly in a special All-Ireland final in Semple Stadium. In 1985 another Munster title came Mac Curtain's way, however, Galway were victorious over Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final. In 1986 a fifth consecutive provincial medal brought Mac Curtain's overall tally up to eight. He missed the All-Ireland final win over Galway to injury. He returned in 1987 but Tipperary defeated Cork in the Munster final. Mac Curtain later retired from inter-county hurling.

References