It's half a century since a team from Cashel graced the Harty Cup final

Above: The Cashel CBS team defeated by St Finbarr’s, Farranferris, in the Dr Harty Cup final in Charleville in 1973. Back, from left, PJ O’Brien, Pat Fitzell, Bernie Ryan, Jerome Whyte, Liam O’Neill, Christy Ryan, Tom Slattery, Br Malone. Middle row, from left, Liam O’Dwyer, Tom Ryan, Gerry Mulligan, Johnny Luby (captain), John Grogan, Michael Murphy, Michael O’Byrne. Front, from left, John Gleeson, Paddy Hayes, Joe Minogue, JJ Kennedy (Westside)

Cashel Community School’s involvement in Sunday’s Harty Cup final recalls the corresponding event of 50 years ago.

1973 was a significant year in Ireland: together with Great Britain and Denmark, we joined the then EEC; Erskine Childers replaced Eamon de Valera as President; Liam Cosgrave replaced Jack Lynch as Taoiseach; John Charles McQuaid, the one-time, all-powerful Archbishop of Dublin, died – and Cashel CBS qualified for a first-ever Harty Cup final.

Hard to imagine that it’s half a century since the CBS travelled to Charleville to take on the might of St Finbarr’s, Farranferris, for the coveted trophy. That class of ’73 went where none from the town had gone before – or since, until this year. The fact that they were well beaten on the day doesn’t take from the significance of getting there. After all, this was David versus Goliath writ large.

Back then Cork schools reigned supreme in the Harty. In the seventies decade alone, from 1970 to 1980 inclusive, the Harty trophy went to Cork in eight of the eleven seasons. St Flannans disrupted the pattern in 1976 and 1979 and, of course, Templemore CBS famously took the honours in 1978, but otherwise Cork schools had exclusive rights – and Farranferris was one of the mightiest of the lot.

Let’s then put Cashel’s task in its context. In 1973 St Finbarr’s achieved the third of a four-in-a-row of Harty wins. Twice in those years they added the All-Ireland title. It was their golden age; they were a mighty force. Others have matched their four on the trot, such as North Monastery, St Flannans and Limerick CBS, but none has managed five.

This was the context of the Cashel CBS bid in 1973. In a sense they slipped in the back door. Back then the winners of the B competition (Corn Phadraig then and now the Corn Mhic Thomais Cholaim), got a shot at a Harty semi-final.

It was a sort of bonus prize for winning the B, though nobody expected a school coming through that route to seriously challenge the big boys for the Harty.

Eyebrows were raised then when the CBS dramatically took out De Le Salle of Waterford in the Harty semi-final. This shouldn’t be happening but it did, on a day when John Grogan hit an amazing 3-4.

Where did these Cashel pretenders come from? Well, I guess, context is everything. This was the era of an extraordinary underage upsurge by the King Cormacs. Nothing like it had been seen before. In 1971 they’d swept the boards at Under 15 level, doing the double with county titles in both codes. In ’72 they were Under 16 county hurling champs. By ’74 they had the county minor double on the sideboard. They were untouchable.

Br Noonan in the primary school was one of the main drivers. An old-style Christian Brother, his passion for Gaelic games was only matched by his dislike of soccer. At lunch time in the pitch on the Golden Road the primary boys would play soccer until the Brother appeared at the gate. Then, without any comment from anyone, they’d automatically start handling the ball. As soon as he disappeared it was hands-away and back to the “foreign” game.

Monto Carrie was another huge driver of underage success during those years. He was one of those inspirational characters who left a deep imprint on anyone who fell under his influence. Never a harsh word, it was always encouragement and praise, drawing the best out of lads.

Tragically, before 1973 was out he was gone, killed in a car accident heading to a game in Tipp Town. His loss to the King Cormacs, and indeed the CBS, was incalculable.

The club success of the King Cormacs inevitably fed into the CBS, where a sideboard of trophies arrived during those years – Rice Cup, Croke Cup, Fitzgerald Cup, Kinane Cup and then, top of the pile, Corn Phadraig. Never before had such a small school made such an impact.

Driving all those teams was one player more than any other – John Grogan. He was immense in every sense. Very tall – he was a man before he was a teenager – but his hurling ability was huge also. Nobody could drill a free with the ferocity that he could.

Foul anywhere near goal and you might as well tell the umpire to put up the green flag. He was the bane of many an opposition team during those years and, of course, he developed to enjoy a significant career with Tipperary, nominated for an All-Star on one occasion, at a time when the county was in the doldrums.

But, of course, the Harty team of ’73 wasn’t a one-man show. The King Cormacs backboned the team with players who’d all been part of the club’s extraordinary underage wave; players like Michael Murphy, PJ O’Brien, Joe Minogue, Gerry Mulligan, Christy Ryan, Jerome White, Tom Slattery, Mick O’Byrne and Pa Fitzell.

Pa, as I recall, was the youngest player on that Harty team and it was the first time I saw the budding talent that would eventually lead to a fine Tipperary career.

Then, as now, neighbouring parishes had some input too. Johnny Luby of Golden was the Harty captain, a big player on the team and a big personality. Paddy Hayes, Kickhams, was a sturdy centre back. Others too made that grade such as Bernie Ryan, Golden and Johnny Gleeson, Dualla.

For the rest of us warming the bench was our lot. In my case a panel passenger, about as useful as a fifth wheel on a car, something you’d hope to avoid calling upon.

Anyway, when the team lined up against Farranferris on March 11 in Charleville it was more in hope than expectation. Br Malone, the manager, encouraged and cajoled and chastised in about equal measure. This was his moment too, but the odds were too heavily stacked.

For Cashel this was new, for St Finbarr’s it was bread and butter stuff. They’d been here so often before, done the deed and knew the routine.

Farna was a famous establishment, the alma mater of luminaries ranging from Sean O’Riada to John A Murphy, from Canon Michael O’Brien to Bill O’Herlihy.

On the hurling front also they nurtured many a Cork star over the years – Tim Crowley, Kieran Kingston, Johnny Crowley, John Gardner, Tom Kenny, Mark Foley (who dares to speak of 1990!).

The most notable presence on their team of 1973 was Tadhg Murphy, the star of that side and later a Cork dual player of considerable achievement.

It was too much for the minnows from Cashel. By half-time a 3-7 to 1-3 gap had opened. The final count was 5-14 to 2-5. No argument there, though the CBS had their goal chances that might have altered the complexion of things, though hardly the result.

Incidentally it was a thirteen-a-side competition back then, something I’d forgotten, like much of the detail of the games.

For a Corn Phadraig winner to add the Harty Cup would be akin to a Seamus O’Riain winner (Roscrea last year) adding the Dan Breen. Such wonders belong more to fiction than reality. So, the CBS class of ’73 has no reason to feel embarrassed about the margin of defeat – their presence alone in the final marks them out as remarkable.

One final statistic puts everything in context. Cashel CBS in 1973 had a pupil population of 164. The present Community School caters for around 450 boys in a total register of about 900 pupils. A different scale entirely.

For a school with a mere 164 souls to challenge the might of the likes of Farranferris was remarkable. Back then the Harty was often the preserve of large schools, with boarders swelling the numbers and drawing lads with hurling ambitions from many quarters. Today things are more egalitarian, there’s a certain levelling of the pitch.

St Finbarr’s are no more. They closed to boarders in 2000 and six years later the school closed for good.

Cashel too has seen much change. The old CBS on the Golden Road expanded in the 70s as numbers increased but eventually the three schools in the town amalgamated and the Community School opened its doors to pupils in September 1994.

A new era then and a new drive to join the elite ranks of Harty winners.