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Fenton and Cork daring to dream of an end to All-Ireland famine

Three-time All-Ireland winner says the almost 20-year hiatus has been hard to take in hurling-mad Cork

John Fenton of Cork in action against Limerick's Pat Creamer in 1987. Fenton won three All-Irelands and captained Cork to glory in 1984. Photograph: Inpho
John Fenton of Cork in action against Limerick's Pat Creamer in 1987. Fenton won three All-Irelands and captained Cork to glory in 1984. Photograph: Inpho
Paul Keane
Tue Jul 02 2024 - 06:00

Some Cork hurling nostalgia to begin what could be a week of weeks for the Rebel County.

Cork will play Limerick again, this time at Croke Park, and, for those of a certain vintage, it’s a fixture that always drags the mind back to 1987, John Fenton and that goal in Thurles.

Fenton is closing in on 70 now, and chairman of his club Midleton, but he still gets reminded about that low stinging, sidewinder which he rocketed beyond Limerick’s Tommy Quaid. It was only a Munster semi-final, albeit a replay, but as the years have gone on the context has seemed almost irrelevant.

“If it’s a career marker, I’ll settle for it,” smiled Fenton, a three-time All-Ireland winner who accepts he’ll probably be remembered mostly for the goal.

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The footage is there in all its glory on YouTube, a long Ger Cunningham Cork puck-out breaking loose off Tomas Mulcahy, Fenton cleverly shovelling the sliotar ahead of himself before doubling on it and sending it fizzing past Quaid. Was he 45 metres out? Easily. It felt like it came from somewhere down near Hayes Hotel.

“I remember being at the 1993 league final between Cork and Wexford in Thurles,” said Fenton. “I was going into the stand with my son and for some reason there was a football game on before it and Tommy Quaid was standing at the entrance gate into the Thurles pitch.

“I just said to him, ‘Jesus, Tommy, don’t tell me you’re taking up that game?!’ He turned and said, ‘At least I might see that ball!’ That’s the only conversation I had with Tommy Quaid about it.

“Look, he just happened to be the goalkeeper that was there, he was a great goalkeeper. His son is doing fantastically well.”

Quaid’s son is, of course, current Limerick goalkeeper Nickie, which circles us back to this Sunday’s potential epic. Safe to say we won’t be seeing any outrageous ground stroke goals from downtown this time?

“Absolutely,” said Fenton, lamenting the near death of an old art.

“I was looking at some of our fellas’ hurleys, if you held them they wouldn’t touch the ground they’re so small. They’re 32, 33 inches. My hurley was 35 inches, an extra three inches to strike the ball on the run. It’s a possession game now and I think it’s doing nothing for the game of hurling as a spectacle.

“At the time we were spontaneous, we had a full-forward line that wanted the ball in hard and fast and quick and often. Those were the instructions.

“When I struck that ball, I could see a red jersey in front of the goals. I think John Fitzgibbon was there, I didn’t know who it was but that’s what the target was. Look, the ball bounced, I hit it, it was a good day, a lively sod and the ball took off. I did that thousands of times in training, I was bound to get one right.”

Any sort of goals Cork can muster this weekend would suffice for Fenton, they don’t have to be worldies. A tap in, an ugly deflection, any of them will do as they seek to end a near 20-year All-Ireland barren streak. When he lifted the MacCarthy Cup as captain in the centenary year of 1984, he couldn’t have imagined they’d ever experience such a drought.

“That was the 25th victory in 100 years, so an average of one in four, we would settle for that now again,” he said.

Fenton was speaking at the launch of the 23rd annual Circet All-Ireland GAA Golf Challenge. It will take place at Killarney GC on October 17th and 18th. Glenflesk clubman Jerry O’Leary, who suffered serious spinal injuries in an accident, will be this year’s beneficiary. By the time the golf begins, Cork could even have ended that All-Ireland drought.

“We went from 1954 to 1966 without winning one,” said Fenton. “That was a long time in itself. This 20-year hiatus has been hard to take in Cork, to be quite honest with you. Cork, while we would be a dual county, you see in the attendances that hurling is the first preference. You could actually feel the lift around the whole county the day we beat Limerick in Munster. Hurling lifts Cork people and Cork people love hurling and love winning at hurling and with style as well.”