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Why Cork Cant Win More All Irelands In Football

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I was reading the same type post for Mayo which I know is a unique situation at this stage, but it got me thinking, say Cork, 1989 & 1990 and 2010..some great players on both teams and indeed inbetween since, too many to mention, yet seem to find Kerry a huge stumbling block most years, and when they do get over Kerry, they seem to have used up their fire for knock out rounds...not a criticism, alway like Cork since a child with drawn replays in Munster against Kerry and 1983 Munster final with Tadhg Murphys goal was such a sensational finish...Cork have the talent no doubt..is it there is so much of it the wrong players are not being picked or something...always a lovely footballing side...

Fairplayalways (Offaly) - Posts: 1034 - 21/09/2021 13:03:36    2382046

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In terms of GAA it is a hurling county.

16 years without Liam is an absolute scandal by them.

Football only the number one sport in West Cork which has a lower population than the other rural areas in the north and east of the county and hurling is number one in the city. A lot of 'footballers' in Cork are hurlers first and foremost.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13707 - 21/09/2021 13:37:49    2382061

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I think they say in Cork if you can't play hurling then you play football, they should be doing a lot better though, massive county and a great history, always a fair team to play against and the best fans I've ever mixed with.

Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 2747 - 21/09/2021 14:08:05    2382071

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Not sure why they dont win more All-Irelands but with their population and resources surely splitting them should be considered?

Ban (Westmeath) - Posts: 1415 - 21/09/2021 14:58:33    2382083

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To be fair to Cork, they have won the double something no other county has done and when their hurlers and footballers were underachieving their ladies excelled in both football and camogie!

baire (Galway) - Posts: 1794 - 22/09/2021 08:52:17    2382232

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Replying To MesAmis:  "In terms of GAA it is a hurling county.

16 years without Liam is an absolute scandal by them.

Football only the number one sport in West Cork which has a lower population than the other rural areas in the north and east of the county and hurling is number one in the city. A lot of 'footballers' in Cork are hurlers first and foremost."
Yes indeed they have about fives times the number of hurlers Limerick have.

Oldtourman (Limerick) - Posts: 4318 - 22/09/2021 10:08:19    2382255

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Replying To MesAmis:  "In terms of GAA it is a hurling county.

16 years without Liam is an absolute scandal by them.

Football only the number one sport in West Cork which has a lower population than the other rural areas in the north and east of the county and hurling is number one in the city. A lot of 'footballers' in Cork are hurlers first and foremost."
I'd just like to add to the above that there is no real interest in football in Cork or indeed Limerick. In the oughties Limerick and Cork had two two relatively good teams and had some great battles. Yet at the the end of the decade, in '09, when they met in the Munster Final in Cork ,there was only 9,000 people at it. When they meet in a Munster Hurling there will always be close to 50, 000 and thousands of would be attenders will be unable to attend, because of lack of space.

Oldtourman (Limerick) - Posts: 4318 - 22/09/2021 10:17:18    2382259

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Was surprised myself when it was in the news a few weeks ago that the 500-person limit wouldn't apply to the delayed 2020 Cork senior football final, that only about 2,500 were expected at it anyway.

I know there might have been less interest in it than usual because of how it was last year's final, but still, that seems a very small number for a county of Cork's size and footballing tradition (even if that tradition is mainly confined to West Cork). We generally get about 3,000 at the football final even here in Wexford.

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 2244 - 22/09/2021 12:52:03    2382304

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Replying To Oldtourman:  "I'd just like to add to the above that there is no real interest in football in Cork or indeed Limerick. In the oughties Limerick and Cork had two two relatively good teams and had some great battles. Yet at the the end of the decade, in '09, when they met in the Munster Final in Cork ,there was only 9,000 people at it. When they meet in a Munster Hurling there will always be close to 50, 000 and thousands of would be attenders will be unable to attend, because of lack of space."
That's incredibly insulting to many people in Cork and Limerick, as there are strong football areas in both counties. In Limerick's case, successive county boards have suppressed football progress over the years, with one significant exception: the development squads that were launched in the late 1990s catered equally for football and hurling, leading to dual underage success in both codes. This led to the excellent Limerick football teams of 03/04. It was significant that the funding for the next big development phase (funded by JP) was directed almost entirely on hurling - the "powers that be" making sure that any notions of being a proper dual county would be pushed back. It is only in very recent years that decent football academy structures have been established, leading to some renewed hope.

football first (None) - Posts: 1259 - 22/09/2021 14:16:27    2382327

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There are no hurling snobs worse than the Cork hurling snobs, its a bit rich for them to constantly declare its a hurling county when the hurling county has failed to deliver all ireland success for near 20 years now

HuddHastings (Longford) - Posts: 144 - 22/09/2021 14:22:28    2382328

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Replying To football first:  "That's incredibly insulting to many people in Cork and Limerick, as there are strong football areas in both counties. In Limerick's case, successive county boards have suppressed football progress over the years, with one significant exception: the development squads that were launched in the late 1990s catered equally for football and hurling, leading to dual underage success in both codes. This led to the excellent Limerick football teams of 03/04. It was significant that the funding for the next big development phase (funded by JP) was directed almost entirely on hurling - the "powers that be" making sure that any notions of being a proper dual county would be pushed back. It is only in very recent years that decent football academy structures have been established, leading to some renewed hope."
On the contrary - I'd say myself the fact that there was only 9,000 at that Munster Final, when there'd be multiples of it at a hurling final between them, is absolute proof that there's relatively little interest in football in the counties, across the general population and GAA communities there.

That's not to disregard the fact that some people in some areas in both counties take football very seriously and make great efforts to promote and develop it. But you do have to acknowledge that despite those great efforts, most people who'd make the effort to go to a hurling final weren't interested enough to make the same effort for football.

It's the same here in Wexford. When our senior footballers made the All-Ireland semi-final back in 2008, there were less than 5,000 tickets sold in the county. Yet whenever our hurlers are in a big match in Croke Park, we've got probably 30,000 or more there. So again, despite the great efforts made to get us that far and the talented team we had at the time, most people just weren't interested enough to go.

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 2244 - 22/09/2021 14:44:21    2382334

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Replying To Pikeman96:  "On the contrary - I'd say myself the fact that there was only 9,000 at that Munster Final, when there'd be multiples of it at a hurling final between them, is absolute proof that there's relatively little interest in football in the counties, across the general population and GAA communities there.

That's not to disregard the fact that some people in some areas in both counties take football very seriously and make great efforts to promote and develop it. But you do have to acknowledge that despite those great efforts, most people who'd make the effort to go to a hurling final weren't interested enough to make the same effort for football.

It's the same here in Wexford. When our senior footballers made the All-Ireland semi-final back in 2008, there were less than 5,000 tickets sold in the county. Yet whenever our hurlers are in a big match in Croke Park, we've got probably 30,000 or more there. So again, despite the great efforts made to get us that far and the talented team we had at the time, most people just weren't interested enough to go."
Hurling and Football are very different sports to watch. It's a bit unfair out of some of the earlier posters to call someone who preferred hurling a snob. Where I am more lads would play football than hurling. The club fields 2 adult football teams but only 1 adult hurling team. A good few of the members I know would prefer to go to watch Wexford hurling teams than football teams though. If we had a sustained period of success at football that would probably change though. It's why there are more Liverpool and Man Utd fans than Millwall ones around these parts too!

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 11841 - 22/09/2021 15:21:14    2382350

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Replying To Viking66:  "Hurling and Football are very different sports to watch. It's a bit unfair out of some of the earlier posters to call someone who preferred hurling a snob. Where I am more lads would play football than hurling. The club fields 2 adult football teams but only 1 adult hurling team. A good few of the members I know would prefer to go to watch Wexford hurling teams than football teams though. If we had a sustained period of success at football that would probably change though. It's why there are more Liverpool and Man Utd fans than Millwall ones around these parts too!"
In all honesty Viking and I don't say this to be confrontational but Wexford have very little success in hurling either.

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6031 - 23/09/2021 10:58:11    2382494

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Replying To Greengrass:  "In all honesty Viking and I don't say this to be confrontational but Wexford have very little success in hurling either."
Unfortunately that's very true, and any one of us here would admit readily that we've had nowhere near the success in hurling that we'd like. But it doesn't change the fact that across the board, there's far more interest in hurling here than football.

Could say the same in reverse about several other counties. For example, I've some knowledge of Monaghan hurling, not too far from yourself. A friend of mine worked there for a few years after college back in the 90s, played for a club there, won a few county titles and even played with the Monaghan county team.

His Monaghan club came down to play us twice, and we went up there once. They were a good club, and fiercely interested in hurling. But fact of the matter is that no matter what they or any other Monaghan hurling team might ever achieve, there'll always be more interest in football there.

As an aside - that friend of mine has now spent almost 20 years in Australia. He tells people there "I'm from Wexford, and I played inter-county hurling". He just doesn't tell them who he played it for!

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 2244 - 23/09/2021 11:40:40    2382502

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Replying To Pikeman96:  "On the contrary - I'd say myself the fact that there was only 9,000 at that Munster Final, when there'd be multiples of it at a hurling final between them, is absolute proof that there's relatively little interest in football in the counties, across the general population and GAA communities there.

That's not to disregard the fact that some people in some areas in both counties take football very seriously and make great efforts to promote and develop it. But you do have to acknowledge that despite those great efforts, most people who'd make the effort to go to a hurling final weren't interested enough to make the same effort for football.

It's the same here in Wexford. When our senior footballers made the All-Ireland semi-final back in 2008, there were less than 5,000 tickets sold in the county. Yet whenever our hurlers are in a big match in Croke Park, we've got probably 30,000 or more there. So again, despite the great efforts made to get us that far and the talented team we had at the time, most people just weren't interested enough to go."
Yes Pikeman and sheer practicalities come into it as well. In 1953 Wexford had a number of dual players, who played in both Leinster losing narrowly to both Louth and Kilkenny. Many of the said players were beginning to put mileage on the clock and they got together and made the hard decision to concentrate only on hurling- they won the next three Leinster Titles and two All Irelands and you could say football in Wexford has never really been the same since notwithstanding a good Wexford Football Team was there in the oughties. The fact is the likes of Wexford, Limerick and Kilkenny would always struggle to be at the top table in both sports.

Oldtourman (Limerick) - Posts: 4318 - 23/09/2021 12:04:43    2382515

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Replying To Greengrass:  "In all honesty Viking and I don't say this to be confrontational but Wexford have very little success in hurling either."
No we have only won a handful of all Irelands on both codes but then up until the Celtic tiger years and the Dublin commuter belt expanding as far as north Wexford we had a relatively small population. Being a genuinely dual county also definitely hurts us in both codes. If we were set up with predominantly hurling clubs or areas and predominantly football clubs or areas like most other counties we would probably do better at both at intercounty. But then we would be going away from the true dual club model. I like the way my children get equal exposure to both hurling and football and both get given equal priority. And more importantly so do they. And a correction to my previous post we have 2 adult teams in hurling also not sure what I was thinking. Think its because there are more lads who dont play hurling and only play football than the other way around which was the point I was trying to make!

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 11841 - 23/09/2021 12:07:59    2382516

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Replying To baire:  "To be fair to Cork, they have won the double something no other county has done and when their hurlers and footballers were underachieving their ladies excelled in both football and camogie!"
A-Tip****ry-hem...

Tacaí Liatroma (Leitrim) - Posts: 1029 - 23/09/2021 13:32:20    2382540

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Replying To Viking66:  "No we have only won a handful of all Irelands on both codes but then up until the Celtic tiger years and the Dublin commuter belt expanding as far as north Wexford we had a relatively small population. Being a genuinely dual county also definitely hurts us in both codes. If we were set up with predominantly hurling clubs or areas and predominantly football clubs or areas like most other counties we would probably do better at both at intercounty. But then we would be going away from the true dual club model. I like the way my children get equal exposure to both hurling and football and both get given equal priority. And more importantly so do they. And a correction to my previous post we have 2 adult teams in hurling also not sure what I was thinking. Think its because there are more lads who dont play hurling and only play football than the other way around which was the point I was trying to make!"
Great post Viking. I think you have your priorities right. It is right and proper that children get exposure to both games. Ultimately the most important function of any sporting organisation is that it affords people most especially children, opportunities to play the games. The club is where this happens. Inter county success is wonderful but affording people opportunities to play is more important.

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6031 - 23/09/2021 13:51:32    2382544

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Replying To Fairplayalways:  "I was reading the same type post for Mayo which I know is a unique situation at this stage, but it got me thinking, say Cork, 1989 & 1990 and 2010..some great players on both teams and indeed inbetween since, too many to mention, yet seem to find Kerry a huge stumbling block most years, and when they do get over Kerry, they seem to have used up their fire for knock out rounds...not a criticism, alway like Cork since a child with drawn replays in Munster against Kerry and 1983 Munster final with Tadhg Murphys goal was such a sensational finish...Cork have the talent no doubt..is it there is so much of it the wrong players are not being picked or something...always a lovely footballing side..."
My father who was a great Galway man used always say that the Galway hurlers and the Cork footballers were cut from the same cloth. They could always find ways to lose big matches. Mind you at this stage it's fair to ask why the Cork hurlers don't win more senior All Irelands. They've only won three All Ireland senior hurling titles in the last 31 years. Given the size of their pick and the small number of genuinely competitive counties in the senior hurling championship three All Irelands in 31 years is a very poor return.

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6031 - 23/09/2021 15:25:53    2382575

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Replying To HuddHastings:  "There are no hurling snobs worse than the Cork hurling snobs, its a bit rich for them to constantly declare its a hurling county when the hurling county has failed to deliver all ireland success for near 20 years now"
They are. Those some people then cry about the lack of hurling in football counties. The difference between us and Cork is that Donegal has no heritage in hurling.

The code popular up here had more in common with shinty but the snobs down south killed that off. And that attitude still persists today. Reminded of Donal Og and his claim that Gaelic football is the biggest barrier to the growth of hurling.

Rolo2010 (Donegal) - Posts: 738 - 23/09/2021 21:08:30    2382646

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