Cork and Tipperary set for historic final

Cork vs. Tipperary hurling final: All-Ireland

Date: Sunday, July 20th, Dublin Throw-in: 15:30

The most important prize in hurling history is being held between Cork and Tipperary on Sunday, as the two teams prepare for the most recent installment of the game.

Cork and Tipperary had their first recorded meeting in 1741 near Rathcormac, County Cork, long before the GAA as we know it.

The fixture would dominate Munster’s final day as two of the hurling’s traditional “big three” vied for provincial honors, which also included Leinster’s Kilkenny, to claim another victory in the All-Ireland championship, Cork finishing second with 30 titles, two ahead of Tipperary in third.

However, Cork have lost four finals since their previous triumph in 2005, and it has been 20 years since Liam MacCarthy last visited the Lee.

The Premier County’s hunger for success is no less raging because they have a proud record to defend having been crowned champions in every decade since the GAA’s founding in 1884, but are still not ready to climb the mountain in the 2020s. However, Tipperary’s wait is significantly shorter with their 28th triumph in the 2019 final.

Both counties have used the “back door” to their advantage since 1997’s introduction of the “back door,” which initially gave the provincial finalist winners of Munster and Leinster a second chance in the All-Ireland series before Tipperary recovered from a Munster final loss to Clare that year to advance to hurling’s biggest day before falling to The Banner once more.

The Rebels won an All-Ireland qualifier between the two in 2014, but championship meetings have since been held outside of their provincial boundaries. Tipp lost in the semi-final, which was won by the Rebels, who had lost in the process.

Some of the best games in hurling have been produced by legends of the sport. Names like Jimmy Doyle, Michael “Babs’ Keating, and Nicholas English do cross the county border, just as they do in Cork, such as Christy Ring, Jimmy Barry-Murphy, Ray Cummins, and Jimmy Barry-Murphy.

In the opposite corner, Tipperary’s McGrath brothers Noel and John will battle it out for their hands on Liam once more, while Cork’s Patrick Horgan is desperate for a first All-Ireland medal to cap an outstanding career.