All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1997

Infobox Hurling All-Ireland
year=1997


team=Clare
titles=3rd
captain=Anthony Daly
manager=Ger Loughnane
munster=Clare
leinster=Wexford
ulster=Down
connacht=Galway
poty=Jamesie O'Connor
matches=19
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1997 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Guinness Hurling Championship) was the 111th edition of Ireland’s premier hurling competition. The championship ran from May to September of that year, culminating with the All-Ireland final, held at Croke Park, Dublin on 14 September. The match was contested by Clare and Tipperary, with Clare taking the title by 0-20 to 2-13. It was the first year that the 'back-door system' for defeated provincial finalists was introduced.

Format

The 1997 championship saw the biggest ever innovation in the competition's format up to that point. The 'back-door system' was introduced to provide more matches in the All-Ireland series of games. From the first competitions in 1887 until 1996 if any team was defeated at any stage of the Provincial or All-Ireland competitions it meant automatic elimination. This system was deemed the fairest as the All-Ireland Champions were effectively the team who won all of their games. However, there were some problems with this system. Over the years Galway had become the only credible hurling team in Connacht, thus giving them an automatic pass into the All-Ireland semi-finals every year. Similarly in Ulster there were many problems as hurling was much weaker and confined to a small few counties in the north-east.

While the Munster, Leinster and Ulster provincial championships were played as normal the new plan introduced by the Gaelic Athletic Association allowed the defeated Munster and Leinster provincial finalists another chance to play in the All-Ireland series of games. While the two provincial final winners would automatically qualify for the All-Ireland semi-finals the two defeated provincial teams would join Galway and the Ulster provincial final winners in two play-off games or ‘quarter-finals.’ The two winners from these two games would then qualify for the semi-finals where they would be drawn against the Leinster and Munster champions. Repeat games would be avoided in the All-Ireland semi-final stage.

Results

Ulster Senior Hurling Championship

footballbox
date = June 22
Semi-Final
team1 = Down
score = 1-15 – 1-10
team2 = Derry
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Casement Park, Belfast----footballbox
date = July 6
Final
team1 = Down
score = 3-14 – 0-19
team2 = Antrim
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Casement Park, Belfast----

Connacht Senior Hurling Championship

footballbox
date = July 13
Final
team1 = Galway
score = 6-24 – 0-5
team2 = Roscommon
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = ----

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

footballbox
date = May 18
1st Round
team1 = Offaly
score = 3-20 – 0-8
team2 = Meath
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Cusack Park, Mullingar----footballbox
date = May 18
Quarter-Final
team1 = Dublin
score = 5-15 – 2-8
team2 = Westmeath
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Cusack Park, Mullingar----footballbox
date = June 8
Quarter-Final
team1 = Offaly
score = 1-11 – 2-7
team2 = Laois
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Croke Park, Dublin----footballbox
date = June 22
Semi-Final
team1 = Kilkenny
score = 2-20 – 2-13
team2 = Dublin
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Croke Park, Dublin----footballbox
date = June 22
Semi-Final
team1 = Wexford
score = 3-12 – 2-12
team2 = Offaly
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Croke Park, Dublin----footballbox
date = July 13
Final
team1 = Wexford
score = 2-14 – 1-11
team2 = Kilkenny
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Croke Park, Dublin
Attendance: 55,492----

Munster Senior Hurling Championship

footballbox
date = May 18
Quarter-Final
team1 = Clare
score = 3-24 – 1-6
team2 = Kerry
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Cusack Park, Ennis----footballbox
date = May 25
Quarter-Final
team1 = Limerick
score = 2-20 – 1-17
team2 = Waterford
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Semple Stadium, Thurles----footballbox
date = June 8
Semi-Final
team1 = Clare
score = 1-19 – 0-18
team2 = Cork
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Gaelic Grounds, Limerick----footballbox
date = June 15
Semi-Final
team1 = Tipperary
score = 1-20 – 0-13
team2 = Limerick
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Semple Stadium, Thurles----footballbox
date = July 6
Final
team1 = Clare
score = 1-18 – 0-18
team2 = Tipperary
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork
Attendance: 43,560----

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

footballbox
date = July 26
Quarter-Final
team1 = Tipperary
score = 3-24 – 3-8
team2 = Down
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = St. Tiernach's Park,
Clones----footballbox
date = July 27
Quarter-Final
team1 = Kilkenny
score = 4-15 – 3-16
team2 = Galway
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Semple Stadium,
Thurles----footballbox
date = August 10
Semi-Final
team1 = Clare
score = 1-17 – 1-13
team2 = Kilkenny
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Croke Park,
Dublin----footballbox
date = August 17
Semi-Final
team1 = Tipperary
score = 2-16 – 0-15
team2 = Wexford
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Croke Park,
Dublin----

Paths to the final

Munster Quarter-Final

Clare’s championship campaign began at home in Ennis on 18 May with Munster quarter-final with Kerry. The men from ‘the Kingdom’ posed few problems for the men from the ‘Banner County’ as they recorded an easy 3-24 to 1-6 victory.

Munster Semi-Finals

The first Munster semi-final pitted Clare against Cork in Limerick. The Gaelic Grounds had been an unhappy hunting ground for many a Cork team over the years, however, this time it looked as if ‘the Rebels’ were going to break their own hoodoo. Seánie McGrath gave Clare captain Anthony Daly an unaccustomed to roasting while the game was still in doubt coming into the dying seconds. Clare led by 0-19 to 0-18 when a Ger O'Loughlin shot found Stephen McNamara in front of the Cork goal. McNamara made no mistake in sending the sliothar past Ger Cunningham to clinch a 1-19 to 0-18 victory.

Tipperary’s championship campaign began a month later than Clare’s on 15 June. That day the men from the ‘Premier County’ took on Limerick in the second Munster semi-final. Limerick were still smarting after their All-Ireland defeat the previous September at the hands of Wexford. They provided little opposition as Tipperary were the ten-point winners by 1-20 to 0-13.

Munster Final

Both Tipperary and Clare clashed in the Munster final for the first time since 1993. The opening thirty-five minutes at Páirc Uí Chaoimh saw Clare play some brilliant hurling with Brian Lohan giving one of the great full-back performances in a Munster decider. They led by 0-13 to 0-8 at the interval; however, seven minutes into the second half Tipperary had drawn level and were really motoring. Seánie McMahon put Clare ahead shortly afterwards, however, Tipperary equalized and both sides remained level for the rest of the half. With the game entering the dying seconds Tipp’s John Leahy found himself unmarked in front of goal, however, he miss-hit his shot. Up at the other end of the field David Forde found himself in a similar position to Leahy and sent a tremendous shot to the net to secure a 1-18 to 0-18 victory. After receiving the Munster Cup Clare captain Anthony Daly delivered an infamous acceptance speech where he declared that his team were ‘no longer the whipping boys of Munster.’ This victory allowed Clare to advance directly to the All-Ireland semi-final while Tipperary had a second chance at the All-Ireland title via an extended route through the All-Ireland quarter-final or ‘back door’ system.

All-Ireland Quarter-Final

Tipperary’s third game of the championship was an All-Ireland quarter-final meeting with the Down, the winners of the Ulster Championship. Historically, the winners of the northern provincial decider provided little opposition for teams from their Munster or Leinster counterparts. This game, although an historic one due to the fact that it contained a team that had already been beaten in an earlier round of the championship, proved no different. Tipp were easy winners with a 3-24 to 3-8 score line. Furthermore, the team’s performance, even against a very poor opposition, indicated that Tipperary were far from out of the hunt for the All-Ireland title.

All-Ireland Semi-Finals

Sunday 10 August saw Clare take on defeated Leinster finalists Kilkenny in the first of two All-Ireland semi-finals. The biggest threat to the Clare defenders was D.J. Carey who scored 2-8 against Galway in the All-Ireland quarter-final. He was closely marked on the day while his penalty shot was expertly saved by Davy FitzGerald. With the score at 1-16 to 0-8 Carey pounced again to score a goal in the final quarter, however, by then it looked as if the game was beyond Kilkenny. The goal launched a spirited fight back by ‘the Cats’, however, Clare were stronger and won by 1-17 to 1-13.

A week later on 17 August Tipperary lined out against Wexford in the second All-Ireland semi-final. Wexford, as reigning All-Ireland champions and back-to-back Leinster champions, would be no push over. Tipperary, however, had learned a lot from their Munster final defeat and their victory over Down. They were ready for Wexford and ambushed them with fantastic hurling and skill. The final score of 2-16 to 0-15 indicates a reasonably comfortable win for the Munster runners-up.

All-Ireland final

Overview

Sunday 14 September was the date of the 1997 All-Ireland senior hurling final between Clare and Tipperary. It was an historic occasion in the history of the championship as it was the first time that two counties from the same province were appearing in the championship decider. Both sides had already met during the year in the Munster final when Clare defeated Tipperary. Clare had last won the All-Ireland title two years earlier in 1995 when they defeated Offaly while Tipperary last claimed the championship title in 1991 when they beat Kilkenny.

Match report

At 3:30pm Dickie Murphy of Wexford threw in the sliothar and a much talked about game got under way. In fact, the game turned out to be one of the best of the decade. Tipperary had a good breeze behind them for the opening thirty-five minutes; however, they struggled to find their feet. After a tough opening quarter Tipp’s wind advantage only resulted in a 0-3 to 0-2 lead. The Tipperary team eventually found their groove as Declan Ryan and John Leahy fired over some more points and by the twenty-fifth minute they were five points ahead. Tipp forged ahead and looked towards building a match-winning lead by half-time. Clare rallied and a brilliant two-minute spell yielded three unanswered points, two of which came from All-Ireland debutante Niall Gilligan. He was giving star defender Paul Shelley an unexpected torrid time during the first half. At half-time Tipperary were ahead by 0-10 to 10-6, however, Clare were in the ascendancy.

Within fifteen seconds of the restart Liam Doyle, one of Clare’s unsung heroes, sent over another great point. Three Clare points followed in quick succession over the next six minutes before a Colin Lynch effort leveled the game at 0-11 apiece. The Clare management then brought on David Forde in a move that would prove most beneficial. He entered the game as a right corner-forward; however, he proceeded to roam all over the forward line. The decision by his marker, Michael Ryan, not to follow him proved costly as Forde quickly sent over two quick points before setting up a third to give Clare a 0-17 to 0-12 lead with ten minutes left in the game. It looked as if Clare were going to run away with the title, however, there were a few more twists in store. Substitute Liam Cahill put Tipp back in the game with an opportunist goal. With four minutes left in the match teenager Eugene O’Neill doubled on a free that had come back off the crossbar and sent the sliothar into the net. Tipp had taken a 2-13 to 0-18 lead as the game entered the dying minutes. Ollie Baker leveled the scores after landing a huge point before Colin Lynch found Jamesie O'Connor on the right-hand side and fifty yards out from goal. O’Connor’s effort flew straight over the bar and landed in the hand of team manager Ger Loughnane who was standing behind the goalposts. With seconds remaining in the game Tipperary launched one final attack. A great pass from Brian O'Meara found John Leahy in front of the Clare goal. A point would have resulted in a draw; however, Leahy went for broke and sent a low shot in towards the bottom of the net. Goalkeeper Davy FitzGerald saved the shot and cleared the sliothar. With that the full-time whistle was blown and Clare were the champions with a 0-20 to 2-13 victory.

tatistics

footballbox
date=1997-09-14
15:30 BST
team1=Clare
score=0-20 – 2-13
team2=Tipperary
report=
goals1=
goals2=
stadium=Croke Park, Dublin
attendance=65,575
referee= Dickie Murphy (Wexford)

{| width=100% style="font-size: 90%"MATCH RULES
*70 minutes.
*Replay if scores level.
*Three named substitutes

References

* Corry, Eoghan, "The GAA Book of Lists" (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).
* Donegan, Des, "The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games" (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).
* Sweeney, Éamonn, "Munster Hurling Legends" (The O'Brien Press, 2002).

ee also